Directing
An NFB crew filmed a group of three families, Cree hunters from Mistassini. Since times predating agriculture, this First Nations people have gone to the bush of the James Bay and Ungava Bay area to hunt. We see the building of the winter camp, the hunting and the rhythms of Cree family life.
A film account of the siege and fall of France's major fortress in North America by the British in the Seven Years War
The super-companies of this film are multi-national corporations that treat the world as one market. They take raw materials from one place, process them in another, and sell them everywhere. Shot on four continents, Super-Companies provides a provocative view of the way our world is being shaped by economic powers that are often at odds with the needs of people.
This documentary from 1980 depicts a factory community in China where over 6000 workers process, spin and weave raw cotton into 90 million yards of high-quality cloth per year. Also seen are the workers' residential, social, recreational and educational facilities, all located on factory property. The film presents an engrossing study of a lifestyle that is very different from that of the Western world.
By the late 1800s the free-ranging buffalo of the western plains of North America were almost extinct. This documentary is the story of the buffalo's revival. Live action, eye-witness accounts and archival photos document our fascination with this ancient and legendary animal.
Bridgeview, British Columbia is less than 30 kilometres from downtown Vancouver. The residents were promised a sewer system in 1953, but more than 20 years later the sewer system has yet to be built.
The Children of Soong Ching Ling is a 1984 Canadian short documentary film directed by Gary Bush. It is about the humanitarian work in support of children by Mrs. Soong Ching-ling, or Madame Sun Yat-sen, in particular the orphanage she sponsored. China has 350 million children under the age of 15. Understanding their problems is essential to understanding China. This revealing documentary vividly conveys the experiences China's children are undergoing and shows how the Chinese are attempting to provide their children with the health, education and skills they will need in the modern world. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
This documentary is about the conservation ethic in Canada that led to the national parks systems around the world. Includes interviews with the then-Minister of Natural Resources, Jean Chretien.
Blockade follows the Barriere Lake Algonquins as they take on the government and the logging industry in a struggle to save their traditional hunting grounds and way of life. In September, 1989, this small First Nations community blockaded six new logging roads, calling for a moratorium on logging and insisting that the government address their concerns. Filmed on location during the period of the blockade, this film raises important questions about our attitudes toward the environment, the exploitation of our natural resources and the rights and treatment of Indigenous peoples.
In March, 1974, the Cree of the Mistassini area in northern Québec met to discuss their long-term future. After three hundred years of minimal contact with the white man, they had been offered 'compensation' by the government of Québec for the effects of the James Bay power project. But they decided that nothing, neither jobs nor money, meant more to them than their land. The film presents the issues under these headings: The Conflict, The Hunting Culture, The Schools, The Villages, The Fight for the Land.
This film is about the francization of Québec that has taken place since the Parti Québécois won power from the Liberals in 1976. It shows how the once powerful anglophone community is now questioning its very survival. It discusses some of the motivating forces behind Québécois nationalism. The film concludes by asking if the Canadian nation can survive if neither of its major language groups is welcome in the territory of the other.
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975, hailed by governments as a model for future land claims and self-government settlements - is considered Canada's first "modern Treaty." 15 years later, Robert Bourassa's dream of northern hydro-electric power has become a nightmare for the James Bay Cree. In FLOODING JOB'S GARDEN, Boyce Richardson revisits communities he first filmed in the 1970s, before Hydro Quebec began its work, documenting 20 years of massive change in Cree country. As Bourassa and Hydro Quebec prepare for Phase 2, the Crees are mounting an international campaign to protect the environment and ensure responsible development.
Documentary showcasing the thoughts of the local Cree people regarding the planned James Bay hydro project on their land.
