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Mastering classic pinball arcade games requires focus, agility and dedication. Robert Gagno has all these traits. It might explain why he surged from a complete unknown to one of the world's best players in five years. The achievement is even more impressive considering he was diagnosed with autism at age three. His success on the pinball circuit made him part of a community that provided acceptance and encouragement. With his parents' support and determination, Robert has exceeded every expectation placed upon him. As he approaches adulthood, his next challenge is to become more self-sufficient and gain his independence. From high-stakes tournaments across the continent to his day-to-day search for employment, we follow Robert's persistent progression to overcome obstacles and manage the highs of success and lows of falling short. In Wizard Mode, flashing lights and triple combos highlight an outstanding individual who continues to beat the odds and set records.

Positive Men begins as a docudrama which illustrates the impact of the AIDS epidemic on gay men in the early 1980s. Memories of New York and San Francisco are the backdrop for seven dramatic scenes which designate the intersection of community support, medical science, and gay politics that emerged in response to the AIDS epidemic. Words and images from these scenes resonate throughout the documentary portraits which follow. The interviews, conducted in Toronto and San Francisco (1993-1994), feature artists, filmmakers, AIDS community workers, writers and volunteers who have made unique contributions within the cultural and community responses to AIDS.

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is the striking new documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris.

An account of a young Italian boy who was taken in by a Canadian military unit during World War II.

In this evocative meditation, a disturbing link is made between the resource extraction industries’ exploitation of the land and violence inflicted on Indigenous women and girls. Or, as one young woman testifies, “Just as the land is being used, these women are being used.”

Skateboard video from Vancouver

Women peace activists speak out.

O’Bomsawin enjoys a deep rapport with her gregarious subject, who recounts her life primarily through celebrating the friendships she found along the way.

A documentary that examines the issue of forced live organ harvesting from Chinese prisoners of conscience, and the response - or lack of it - around the world. It's happened before: governments killing their own citizens for their political or spiritual beliefs. But it’s never happened like this. It’s happened so often that the world doesn’t always pay attention.

M.C. Escher is among the most intriguing of artists. In 1956 he challenged the laws of perspective with his graphic Print Gallery and his uncompleted master-piece quickly became the most puzzling enigma of modern art. Fifty years later, can mathematician Hendrik Lenstra complete it? Should he?

In a community that is based on celebrating your uniqueness, and love of all things geek, why is the Little Boys Club so determined to keep women out?

In an emotional tribute, Montreal graffiti artist Fonki returns to Cambodia to paint a giant mural of his relatives killed in the genocide. During his time there, he connects with a group of Cambodian youth who have also returned hoping to breathe new life into their destroyed culture.

This short documentary films some of the wild animal species that have adapted to the city of Vancouver, from the familiar pigeons and starlings to the less familiar herons nesting in Stanley Park and a coyote in a farmer's field.

Resilience is dedicated to those whose lives have been fragmented by intergenerational trauma, but who wish to break the cycle.

Between Days follows the Arc'teryx snow team in the Japanese Alps during a season-defining storm cycle. Nine riders from four countries, united by a shared language of storm riding. What happens when nine snowboarders from four countries arrive in Japan’s Alps in the middle of a season defining storm cycle? The universal language of “dig yourself out, ride until your legs give in, then do it all again” dissolves all barriers — forging a quiet bond through the raw experience of storm riding. Guided by snowboarding legend Tadashi Fuse, the crew dives into hip-deep powder turns and Japanese philosophical reflections found in the highs and lows of the mountains. This is a snowboard film like no other — familiar yet entirely new. With a stellar athlete line-up, shot in stunning black-and-white on 16mm, featuring Sherpas Cinema–certified cameramen, and produced by Robyn van Gyn and legend Shin Campus, it’s blessed with some of the most unreal powder imaginable.

A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con.

Toyohiko "Yuki" Ishikawa is a world renowned wrestling master. This is his legendary tale. "Ring of Dreams" documents Ishikawa's history of learning from Karl Gotch and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, establishing the original BATTLARTS in Japan, and eventually teaching his craft in Canada at Battle Arts Academy.

The story of WWF villain, Luna Vachon. Raised by a family of wrestling legends, wrestling was her first love. Reaching the peak of her fame in the 90s, Luna’s biggest hurdle was challenging the mainstream wrestling industry and their view on women at that time She aimed to be the biggest, baddest wrestling villain that ever lived. But despite her successes, both her stage persona and reality started to blur. The guilt of abandoning her two sons to pursue her dream job, being diagnosed as bipolar, abuse, and addiction would prove too much. While the crowd yelled out ‘Lunatic’ to her in-ring heel character, little did they know a dark cloud of mental health struggles plagued her in real-life.

Shot in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and bound by elements of fiction, this unexpected documentary short is a glimpse into faith-based sentiment and inexplicable loss. While a man searches for his kitchen appliances in the bushes, elsewhere a grinning preacher takes souvenir snapshots for his congregation, and a woman with a disability journeys to a quieter place.

In Iran, higher education is a crime—for Bahá’ís. The Forbidden University exposes a secret underground network where students and teachers risk prison, raids and exile, for the right to learn. Told through daring first-person accounts and striking animated reenactments, this is the hidden story of a secret beacon of hope born in the shadows.

Lesbian National Parks and Services' Endangered Species are a series of public service announcements, created by the indefatigable Lesbian Rangers, who serve the lesbian wilds from dawn to dusk and well beyond.

What causes mental illness? Do our thoughts, moods, and behaviours depend upon what we eat? Psychiatrists Abram Hoffer and Humphry Osmond met in Saskatchewan in 1951. They set out to prove that the symptoms of schizophrenia could be controlled with healthy, unprocessed food and large doses of vitamins. 60 years later, it looks like they may have been right.

A portrait of a wife's adorable support and selfless love during her husband's final days as he battle's dementia.

The film features exclusive footage of the dancers from the series "The Next Step", as they prepared for their first-ever tour in Canada. Also includes live performances and exclusive interviews with cast members.

When Cartier wintered at Cap Rouge near Québec City in 1641, he claimed to have detected diamonds in the surrounding hills. Was he so very wrong? Three centuries later, 15,000 men have come to excavate the iron mountains of the Canadian tundra where the rust of those diamonds still sparkles.

The Pond Inlet Inuit in Nunavut live with the memory of a tragedy: in 1943, 25 people –over half the population of the community – died within the span of a few days. This personal and intimate documentary brings us into homes and lives of Ruth and Elisapie, two survivors of this tragedy.

Documentary included with the DVD Rush in Rio (2003). Provides an almost hour-long look at the band and its crew during the final dates of their 2002 Vapor Trails Tour, specifically their first-ever Brazilian shows in Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. Behind the scenes footage shows the band weathering the rigors of a sometimes comically catastrophic tour, with their innate humor and grace. This documentary, by longtime Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan, shows the band and crew at their most light-hearted, though still thoughtful. We see the band's arrival in Brazil, to the unexpected onslaught of Brazillian fans boiled over in the culmination of a lifetime's anticipation. Following this are insights from the band and their crew, which provide a view into their longevity as well as ample evidence of the individual strengths and varied senses of humor that helped them achieve it.

The story of the first woman on earth, as she journeys through mythical landscapes in search of her soul-mate.

My Jules Verne, by director Patricio Guzman, presents modern-day explorers who retrace the paths of some of Jules Verne's intrepid characters. Accompany Hubert Reeves, Laurence de La Ferrière, Hubert Falco and others to the Antarctic, to the centre of the earth, under the seas and into outer space.

Filmed in the quaint prairie town of Herbert, Saskatchewan, Heaven or Not by filmmakers Zuzana Hudackova and Danijel Margetic is an intimate portrayal of one man's tireless journey to give his life greater meaning. John Gerbrandt, a WWII veteran, has been singlehandedly building a 7,000-square-foot house over the past three decades with nothing more than his pension and salvaged materials. With no formal training, he is fuelled by a powerful determination to prove his worth to his God, his family, and his community. John's story transcends day-to-day life in a small town and reaches the realm of deep spirituality marked by an unwavering commitment. Now at the age of 84, suffering from health problems and the financial burden of property taxes, John might not be able to finish his lifelong endeavor.

A heartwarming and comedic look at a unique father and son relationship. Documentary director Bryan Friedman reunites with his long-estranged bodybuilding father, 59-year-old "Grandmaster" Bill Friedman, as he pumps iron, tans, and watches his weight - all in preparation for a final shot at winning back the senior bodybuilding title he once held.

Korea is a divided nation. Filmmaker Min Sook Lee sets out on a revelatory, emotion-charged journey into Korea’s broken heart, exploring the rhetoric and realism of reunification through the extraordinary stories of ordinary people.

In the picture-postcard community of North Vancouver, filmmaker Murray Siple follows men who have turned bottle-picking, their primary source of income, into the extreme sport of shopping cart racing. Enduring hardships from everyday life on the streets of Vancouver, this sub-culture depicts street life as much more than stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The films takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face, and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.

In the magical world of La Nouba, dreams become reality and talent turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. La Nouba is, literally, a waking dream come true – clowns, ballerinas, trapeze artists, an incredible BMX bicycle act – and much more.

This documentary examines the battle strategies of citizens, scientists, loggers, environmentalists and First Nations people who are fighting over the liquidation of public forests and, with it, a way of life.

The film explores key moments in the history of the Expos as well as the relentless efforts to bring major league baseball to Montreal. Continuation of the work released in 2003.

The year: 1969. Headlines blare war and civil unrest while John Lennon and Yoko Ono are in love. The eccentic rock 'n' roll couple has just gotten married, and more than happy to be together, they want to change the world. Lying in a hotel bed surrounded by journalists, they announce their mission for peace and invite the rest of the world to symbolically climb into bed with them and share their dream. People call them silly, naive, even ridiculous, yet one famous couple's bed-in spread new hope that there really could be an end to war, hate and violence. Here is rare footage from that amazing time, including footage from John and Yoko's wedding, the infamous bedside confrontation between John and conservative cartoonist Al Capp, Lennon debating media expert Marshall McLuhan, and meeting Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Now twenty years after Lennon's murder, Yoko and others involved in the peace mission reflect on the events of that magical, mystical year.

Through six interconnected stories, from a SETI researcher to a Finnish sauna elf, GOLDILOCKS reveals how heat governs the systems that shape our world, exposing the delicate temperature balance that drives life, transformation, and the fragile equilibrium of existence.

Out of love for Huskies, nature and cold winters Dave and Kristen Olesen moved from Minnesota to the North West Territories in Canada 25 years ago to create their own little universe on the magnificent East arm of Great Slave Lake. With their two daughters Annika 15 and Liv 12 and their 37 dogs, the Olesens enjoy a unique lifestyle in the wide open wilderness far away from civilization. One winter they all leave their self-built homestead with ten dogs on a two and a half thousand mile family expedition allowing Annika to run the Junior Iditarod in Alaska. As unexpected obstacles all along the trip culminate in three heavily injured dogs the whole endeavor is at risk. Optimism, love and loyalty prevail on this exciting epic family voyage.

This feature documentary is a factual account of the life of policemen at one station in Montreal, drawn from 60 days and nights of on-the-spot filming in the early 1970s. It is a view of life in the inner city that usually only the policeman has reason to encounter. There are ugly incidents here, but there is also reassurance that people in trouble do have help at hand.

Director Albert Nerenberg asks why the subject of boredom has been so religiously avoided and shows that boredom isn't what you think it is.

This short film is an introduction to oyster farming in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Showing the various stages of oyster cultivation, the film highlights the sampling of larvae by Department of Fisheries biologists, the staking of oyster beds by farmers, the nurturing of spat, and underwater scenes showing the dragging of the seabed with cotton mops to ensnare starfish, which prey upon the oyster. Final sequences show the grading and shipping of oysters and their arrival at the seafood restaurant or family dinner table.

A Canadian documentary film depicting the discovery of the largest cave in Eastern Canada, the Grotte de Boischatel at Boischatel, Quebec

This feature documentary profiles the brave Canadians who fought in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. To save Spain's constitutionally elected government from the threat of a fascist dictatorship (which eventually prevailed), over 40,000 volunteers from around the world fought in Spain, and 1200 of those were the Canadians of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion. More than half of them never returned. This respectful, emotional and historically rich film is committed to the memory of those who truly believed in the cause of the Spanish Republic.

While AIDS may be one of the most feared diseases of modern times, there is still a degree of scientific debate over the subject of just how the disease originated, and how the first cases spread. Two filmmakers explore a controversial theory about the beginnings of the disease. Using interviews, newsreel footage, and documented research experiments, The Origin of AIDS examines how a combination of benevolence, careless lab procedures, and the need of a desperate few to cover their tracks could have led to one of the most serious pandemics of the 20th century.

The NFB filmed the table tennis competitions between teams of young Canadians and Chinese that took place in the People's Republic of China in the summer of 1973, the first time in twenty-five years that such filming was made possible. Shown are highlights of play at the China-Canada Friendship Meet, as well as some of the sightseeing taken in by the young Canadians--a visit, for example, to the Great Wall of China. Film without words.

When the 2004 tsunami hit the coast of Sri Lanka, 65-year-old Anton Ambrose's wife and daughter were killed. "In five minutes," he says, "I lost everything." A year later, Anton returns to Sri Lanka. With him is his nephew, award-winning filmmaker Rohan Fernando. A Tamil, Anton moved to California in the 1970s and became a very successful gynecologist. His daughter, Orlantha, made the opposite journey, returning to Sri Lanka where she ran a non-profit group that gave underprivileged children free violin lessons. Blood and Water is the story of one man's search for meaning in the face of overwhelming loss, but it is also filled with improbable characters, unintentional comedy and situational ironies.

A group of journalists gather together in secret meeting to share their best stories.

An experimental documentary about the spectacle of substance abuse on social media. More than 45 hours of footage, hundreds of pages of blog posts and interviews were distilled and remixed using glitch and cut-up techniques to insure anonymity, transcend the shock factor and unfold this complex, singular and stratified use of social media.

From the Academy-Award nominated creators of the Broadway show STOMP and the award-winning film Wild Ocean, The Last Reef is an uplifting, inspirational large-format and 3D cinema experience capturing one of nature's more vibrant and diverse wonderlands. Exotic coral reefs, vibrant sea walls in the sub-arctic pulsating with anemones and crustaceans: these biodiversity hot spots are as vital to our lives as the rainforests. Shot on location in Palau, Vancouver Island, French Polynesia, Mexico, and The Bahamas using groundbreaking 3D cinematography, The Last Reef takes us on a global journey to explore the connection of our cities on land with the ocean's complex, parallel world of the coral reefs beneath the sea.

An epic journey of courage, hope and generosity, filmed in 15 countries. Child of Nature follows 5 connected stories of young people who, against all odds are transforming their lives and the lives of those around them.

Summer unveils a new blueberry season in northern Canada. The fields are covered in blue and workers from all over scramble before the frost puts an end to the harvest. And yet this time of year is much more than just picking: it's a time of music and connection.

The film is filled with fun facts that show how cats make good pets, yet in other ways are wild and untamable.

A young Toronto drag performer launches a fundraising campaign for her friend Sondos, a young mother trying to support her family in Palestine

Chez Schwartz takes us inside a year in the life of Schwartz's Deli - the unique 75-year-old landmark on Montreal's historic Main. Filmed through changing seasons, from the quiet of early morning preparation to the frenetic bustle of packed lunch times and never ending line-ups, to the more relaxed ambiance late at night - Chez Schwartz is an evocative, cinematic portrait of a small spunky deli known worldwide equally for its atmosphere and smoked meat.

Boxing gym owner Joe Buckner recalls his troubling history and how that's shaped him into the man he is today. In the United States, about two thirds of released prisoners are rearrested within three years. Joe was determined never to go back. This is Joe’s story of pugilism, prison, and perseverance in his hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado.