Production
This short drama is a portrait of colonial administrator, Governor General and statesman Lord Durham (1792-1840). When Durham recommended self-government in Canada, he closed the door on his own political success. But in the end, the policies he declared for Canada became the pattern for self-rule in the rest of the Commonwealth.
This short film recreates the story of David Thompson – a man who, over the course of his lifetime, mapped a-million-and-a-half square miles of uncharted territory. His achievement remains unsurpassed.
This short film offers a picturesque tour through the maple-wooded hills alongside Québec's Lièvre River in autumn to the accompaniment of acclaimed poet Archibald Lampman’s poem Morning on the Lièvre. Trees are ablaze with colour, and their splendor is reflected in the mirrored surfaces of the water, offering a glimpse of the landscape Lampman knew so well through the poet’s eyes and words. Lampman’s poem is read by broadcaster and poet George Whalley, with accompanying score by composer Eldon Rathburn.
Six-part series tracing the origins of the city, its transformations and prospects, based on Lewis Mumford's book The City in History. Aired by CBC in their Explorations strand.
This short film depicts how a small Canadian city, bearing the name of Stratford and by a river Avon, created its own renowned Shakespearean theatre. The film tells how the idea grew, how a famous British director, international stars and Canadian talent were recruited, and how the Stratford Shakespearean Festival finally became a triumphant reality.
This short film brings together animated interpretations of four poems by great Canadian wordsmiths: "Riverdale Lion" by John Robert Colombo, "A Kite Is a Victim" by Leonard Cohen, "Klaxon" by James Reaney and George Johnston’s "The Bulge."
A young boy has developed an ability to see through walls, much to the consternation of his stuffy Victorian parents.
This short documentary studies the fate reserved to young people through the ages. Drawing from paintings, archival footage and various other documents, the film demonstrates that during the 16th and 17th century, young people lived happily alongside their elders. This equilibrium was broken in the 19th century, when the defense of the young and the protection afforded by reformers and educators created the generation gap evident in Western society today. Will dialogue between society’s young and less young ever resume?
This documentary presents a before-and-after picture of people in a large-scale public housing project in Toronto. Due to a housing shortage, they were forced to live in squalid, dingy flats and ramshackle dwellings on a crowded street in Regent Park North; now they have access to new, modern housing developments designed to offer them privacy, light and space.
In our mobile society some families move a lot, and children have to make new friends just when they are becoming comfortable with the ones they have. This film tries to show what goes on in the mind of a nine-year-old girl who finds her happiness disturbed both by a move to another street and by her father's increasing drunkenness.
No description available.
This short documentary offers a portrait of life on a cattle ranch, for both its human and animal inhabitants. Featuring sprightly music by folk singer Pete Seeger and narration by theatre actress Frances Hyland, the film is shot through the seasons on a large Canadian cattle ranch near Kamloops, British Columbia. With hundreds of cows and calves on the ranch, there’s no shortage of work to be done: soil cultivation and crop maintenance are taken care of by seasonal ranch hands while the resident cowboys—“anxious guardians”—brand and breed their bovine charges.
Pioneers struggle to establish a town in the harsh unsettled wilderness of northern Quebec during the depression.
This short film brings together animated interpretations of 4 poems by great Canadian wordsmiths: “From the Hazel Bough” by Earle Birney, “Travellers Palm” by P.K. Page, “Death by Streetcar” by Raymond Souster, and “A Said Poem” by John Robert Colombo.
This short biopic profiles Montreal lawyer-turned-politician George-Étienne Cartier as he campaigns to unite English and French Canada under Confederation. The political world of a century ago comes to life as we hear debates in the Parliament of Upper and Lower Canada amidst political strife and personal feuds. Ultimately, Cartier skilfully allays the fears of party and sectional leaders, convincing them that federal union would protect, rather than weaken, Quebec’s cherished rights of language and religion. The eloquent and enigmatic Cartier was instrumental in shaping the Canada that was soon to emerge.
This short film offers a glimpse into the life of Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine, the Chief Justice who died prematurely but left French Canada a legacy of political freedom. Shot entirely in Montreal, the film begins on the day of his death, and flashes back to tense moments throughout his life. French with English subtitles.
This short film realistically portrays the conflict Henry Hudson experienced when he went in search of an open water route to the Orient, and no one would follow him. What he discovered instead was an inland sea, a discovery that ended in tragedy.
This film tells the story of the Red River settlement, now the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The pioneer venture of Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, to establish a colony brought opposition from the North West Company, the Hudson's Bay Company’s powerful rival. A fine cast of actors portrays the ensuing dispute.
This short drama is a portrait of Quebec lawyer and politician Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871). A proud, defiant man, skillful in parliamentary debate, and Speaker of the Lower House, his heart was with the people being pillaged by the business elite. When legislation became the instrument of private advantage, Papineau brought government to a standstill. - NFB
Why does a housewife concerned for her family's welfare feed them so inadequately that she endangers their very lives? The film is a humorous and satirical attempt to remind the average housewife that it is not enough to be aware of modern food facts; they must also be applied in daily food purchasing and preparation. (NFB)
