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Canadian Cities (9)
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The Black SquirrelFadel Saleh 1999 57 minThis feature film is a different portrait of Ottawa, as transfigured by the loving but provocative gaze of well-known Francophone writer Daniel Poliquin. In his novels, the national capital metamorphoses, like the dreaded rat that supposedly changed into the city's ubiquitous black squirrel in a bid to win our affection. Alternating reality and fiction, the film reveals another Ottawa through the dreams and desires of his novels' characters - all portrayed by Poliquin himself. -
Bonjour Toronto!Clément Perron 1965 28 minA young Montrealer explores Toronto for the first time. Despite some ready-made notions, the visitor is eager to look and learn, and before long is caught by the excitement of the Queen City. Although some of his prior convictions are confirmed, he finds, somewhat to his surprise, that the city has much to offer, including a French bookstore.
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Capital CityFergus McDonell 1957 30 minThis short documentary presents Ottawa through the eyes of a veteran tourist guide who knows all the answers, from the height of the Peace Tower to the reason the Rideau Canal was built.
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Canada's Capital: Behind the ScenesIan Ferguson 1989 24 minThis short film presented in a TV news-magazine format, is hosted by 2 young Canadians and a zany reporter on location in Ottawa. Their mission: to explore the capital "behind the scenes." The result is an intriguing look at Canada's capital and how it serves people across the country.
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GlimpsesJean-François Pouliot 2010 6 minThis film depicts 24 hours in the life of an imagined city – a composite that draws on all Canadian cities. This imaginary day unfolds through the course of four seasons and reveals the nature of places and the people that make them so vibrant.
The images in the film slowly come together with deft, impressionistic touches. Adopting the rhythm of someone strolling through the city, they intermingle and reply to each other – evoking a different story for each viewer. -
A Prairie StoryAnne Koizumi 2006 1 minIn this short animation film a prairie landscape undergoes a metamorphosis from rural idyll to over-urbanized dystopia. Director Anne Koizumi laments the changing face of her hometown of Calgary in this critique of the bacteria-like spread of suburbia and exurbia.
Produced as part of the third edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Regina TelebusRex Tasker 1973 19 minThis short film from 1973 offers a report on Regina's successful experiment with dial-a-bus, a flexible service midway between a bus and a taxi. The idea is to provide passengers with door-to-destination transportation at an affordable cost.
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Saskatoon: Land and Growth ControlMichel Régnier 1974 56 minIn the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, an effective government policy of controlling land investment prevents speculation, keeps land prices down, and provides a good balance between commercial, residential and public areas.
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Toronto Boom TownLeslie McFarlane 1951 10 minThis short documentary studies the contrast between the sedate Toronto of the turn of the century and the thriving, expanding metropolis of 1951. Aerial views give evidence of the conversion of the old Toronto into the new--the city with towering skyscrapers, teeming traffic arteries, vast industrial developments and far-reaching residential areas housing over a million people.
Toronto's mid-century progress is also Canada's, as manifested in the building of Canada's first subway, and in the bustle of the nation's greatest trading centre--the Toronto Stock Exchange.
