Production
"La Course destination monde" is a Canadian reality television series, which aired on Télévision de Radio-Canada from 1988 to 1999. The series was a filmmaking competition which sent young, emerging filmmakers from Quebec around the world to make short films about their destinations, with prizes awarded at the conclusion of each season to the best films coming out of the competition. The show premiered in 1988 as "La Course des Amériques", sending filmmakers to destinations in North and South America. The second season, "La Course Amérique-Afrique", continued to highlight destinations in the Americas as well as opening to destinations in Africa, while the third season, "La Course Europe-Asie", centred on destinations in Europe and Asia. From the fourth season onward, the show was titled "La Course destination monde", and permitted filmmakers to travel to anywhere in the world.
A Losing Game follows three people who ran for office in the 2022 Quebec provincial election, casting a critical eye on its electoral system and the many ways in which it is dysfunctional.
Director Dominique Leclerc spent years depending on medical devices for her survival. Then, looking for alternative solutions, she entered the world of emerging technologies. Posthumans follows her as she meets with cyborgs, biohackers, and transhumanists who are trying to use these technologies to outsmart illness, aging—and even death. The documentary looks at pressing ethical and political questions that are sure to impact the future of our species.
There is no indication that this typical online flirtation between two strangers would turn into a case of shocking international intrigue. For months, Sandra in Montreal and Amina, a Syrian-American, bond romantically and intellectually. Encouraged by Sandra, Amina launches a blog called "A Gay Girl in Damascus," representing a marginalized voice in the Middle East on politics, religion, and sexuality. Rapidly garnering worldwide attention, Amina becomes something of a star blogger. But when Syria enters the Arab uprising of 2011, Sandra receives word that Amina has been kidnapped, and soon the search for Amina becomes a global concern and an even larger mystery to solve.
Inside a shelter, participants in a talking circle share their experiences of intimate partner violence as a way to regain their dignity and strength to act. Powerfully empathetic, Après-coups creates a space of sisterhood and solidarity—a chorus of voices breaking down the walls of silence.
A white room. The aging bodies of actors Gilles Pelletier and Françoise Graton testify to a love that has triumphed over time and a captivating lover's dialogue emerges between two octogenarian bodies defying inertia, old age and death. With music by the group Forêt, this sensuous short film depicts the tremblings of desire and the most elemental components of love.
Some 12,000 oil and gas platforms remain at sea. What happens when one reaches the end of its life? In an experimental audiovisual journey to the shores of Scotland, acclaimed filmmaker Karl Lemieux (Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Quiet Zone) documents the painstaking process of dismantling these industrial behemoths. Metal creaks, excavators crunch and workers weld against desolate landscapes, captured on 16-mm film manipulated with photochemical processes, and amplified by Swedish artist BJ Nilsen’s haunting sonic landscape. The result is a ritual that seems both alien and undeniably Earthbound.
At the Waseskun Healing Center, men with troubled and violent pasts follow a treatment plan based on Indigenous philosophy. In the great tradition of cinéma vérité, director Steve Patry spends an extended period of time at the centre, producing a gripping film that captures daily life in this unique alternative detention facility.
On the edge of the Arctic Ocean, the community of Taloyoak, Nunavut, is working to feed its families. Soaring grocery prices and the high cost of hunting and travel in the North leave many households facing food insecurity. Nirilaurta tells the story of a community that draws on Inuit culture, land-based knowledge and kinship to nourish their bodies, spirits and one another.
They belong to the armed wing of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is also an active guerrilla movement. The mission of these female fighters? Defend Kurdish territory in Iraq and Syria, and defeat ISIS (the armed militants of the so-called Islamic State group), all while embodying a revolutionary ideal advocating female empowerment. As filmmaker Zaynê Akyol follows their highly regimented lives, seasoned fighters like Rojen and Sozdar openly share with us their most intimate thoughts and dreams. Even as fighting against ISIS intensifies in the Middle East, these women bravely continue their battle against barbarism. Offering a window into this largely unknown world, Gulîstan, Land of Roses exposes the hidden face of this highly mediatized war: the female, feminist face of a revolutionary group united by a common vision of freedom.
This short documentary revisits Mi’kmaq territory, where an iconic moment was captured in 2013—igniting into a symbol of Indigenous resistance and halting fracking exploration on unceded lands.
Kenbe La: Until We Win chronicles the inspiring journey of Alain Philoctète, an artist and activist who dreams of developing a permaculture project in his native country even as he fights an ongoing battle with cancer.
Jireh Gospel: Hearts in Chorus is an intimate and uplifting portrait of Montreal’s celebrated choir. Directed by Wylem Decaille, the film follows the ensemble as they prepare for their Christmas concert, revealing the group’s passion and commitment. Through soulful performances and candid moments, it celebrates gospel music as an act of faith and community that can transform hearts, heal the soul and inspire joy.
Haunted by visions of the future. Vilified by the political establishment. Charming beyond belief. Behold the dazzling ascent of Brian Mulroney, the “Boy from Baie-Comeau” who built a brand-new Canada.
With little more than a 16-mm camera and a bedrock love of place, renegade filmmaker Mike Jones broke the trail for Newfoundland’s cultural renaissance. Through never-before-seen footage of the comedic chaos that was CODCO, Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones summons this chapter of Canada’s hilarious history in a joyful journey of rediscovery featuring Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer and more.
A few years ago, the al-Mahamids fled Bashar al-Assad and Syria to settle in Montreal. A nuanced portrayal of a courageous family coping with a seemingly interminable war, thousands of kilometres away, that continues to affect their lives.
In this documentary short, several men go through a job interview eager to get a fresh start in life. With each question that's asked, we glimpse tiny snippets of their lives along with their hopes and fears. Nicolas Lévesque's Interview with a Free Man cleverly toys with viewers through its oblique narration, constantly upending our expectations.
While searching for clues about the death of her brother, who was lost at sea, Virginia Tangvald embarks on a fascinating investigation into her family’s dark secrets. Calling into question the idyllic life of her father, legendary sailor Peter Tangvald, her quest dismantles the myth of absolute freedom and offers the hope that a toxic cycle has been broken.
With candor, humour and courage, a group of African-Canadian women challenge cultural taboos surrounding female sexuality and fight to take back ownership of their bodies. Combining her own journey with personal accounts from some of her radiant, endearing friends, co-director Habibata Ouarme explores the phenomenon of female genital mutilation and the road to individual and collective healing, both in Africa and in Canada.
This short documentary transports us to the Saint-Félicien racetrack, where engines are running hot and excitement has reached a fever pitch. With its thunderous soundtrack, jarring backfires and choking clouds of smoke, Martin Bureau's Hell Runs on Gasoline! takes us deep inside a chaotic battle to the finish. Race cars hit the track, accidents pile up and the flames of burning engines wreak havoc - an infernal vision that soon dissipates into an eerily silent cemetery of abandoned carcasses.
