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Details the life and work of 19th century Canadian photographer William Notman. Includes interviews with Nora Hague, Roger Hall, Dr. Lilly Koltun, Jeff Nolte, Dennis Reid, Joan Schwartz and Stanley Triggs.

In The Fine Arts, Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby mock their own lack of inspiration: a woman confesses that she’s speaking French in the nude because she has no good ideas but admits that her solution is unoriginal. "I hate the fine arts, I am disgusted by the fine arts, because, um, the fine arts are always made with artifice."

Triangles of confusion dance to the music of Natural Snow Buildings. Made for the 2007 WNDX One Take Super 8 Event in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

A young man encounters a dark force in this surreal and time twisting thriller.

Tensions is high at a long deserted summer camp where an independent slasher movie is being filmed. With the clock counting down and very little time for re-shoots the cast and crew are at each other's throats. Literally! What began as minor on-set differences became grounds for a unscripted bloodbath. No need for special effects when there is a machete wielding psychopath around. Non-stop action, excessive violence, and who could forget lesbians make Camp Death a must see for any horror fan. Get ready because there is a new face in horror! .....And you thought slashers died in the 80's!

An anonymous narrator, alone in his apartment, cannot tell if his inner life is composed of memories of dreams or memories of reality. Using a mixture of super-8 Kodachrome and nostalgic 1980's advertisements, the film captures the way pop culture ephemera are repetitively imposed on us until we feel they are our creation.

Alice is the daughter, the ‘oriental pearl’, of filmmaker Nicole Giguère. ‘Big Noses’ is the familiar Chinese term for Westerners such as Nicole. In the late 1980s, Quebec led the way in adopting children from The People’s Republic of China. Since then, over 5,000 Chinese children, mostly girls, have found a home in Quebec. This documentary follows Alice over a span of ten years, as she and many of her friends face the challenges of growing up in a white world. The one hour program presents Big Nosed parents and their Chinese daughters, sharing their love, concerns and expectations as they learn to adopt each other. Members of Quebec’s long established Chinese community also express their views on this emotional and sometimes controversial issue. The film is a portrait of an ever-changing world, and shows how the presence of so many new Quebecers with almond-shaped eyes can contribute to the evolution of our society.

This mixed media video piece explores the healing process of recovery from childhood sexual abuse through the interwoven mediums of story, poetry, dance and visual art. For survivors and their supporters.

A brief adventure tale set in a one dimensional world.

A look into Canada's incredible strides with progressive politics, while at the same time the U.S. has become increasingly polarized on such issues as the Drug War and Gay-marriage. Canada now presents a sharp contrast between itself and its southern neighbor, making converts of many a U.S. citizen.

Four Feet Up is an intimate portrayal of child poverty in Canada by award-winning photographer and documentary filmmaker Nance Ackerman. Twenty years after the promise of the House of Commons 'to eliminate poverty among Canadian children,' 8-year-old Isaiah contemplates what 'less fortunate' means as he finds his voice through his own magical drawings and photographs. Four Feet Up invites us into the lives of this determined family, revealing an intimate and touching experience of child poverty in one of the world's richest nations.

Perfect...a summer day, a sandbox...a meditation on the transience of consciousness.

In 1975, Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, a 30-year-old Nova Scotia born-Mi'kmaq, was shot dead, execution style, on a desolate road in South Dakota. Nearly three decades later the crime remains a mystery. Aquash was highly placed in the American Indian Movement (AIM), a radical First Nations organization that took up arms in the 1970s to fight for the rights of their people. The Spirit of Annie Mae is the story of Aquash's remarkable life and her brutal murder. It is a moving tribute from the women who were closest to her: the two daughters who fled with their mother when she hid from the FBI; the young women she inspired to embrace Native culture; and the other activists, including Buffy Sainte-Marie and investigative journalist Minnie Two Shoes, who stood in solidarity with her. All are still trying to understand why she met such a violent death. Follow them on their journey as they celebrate the life of a woman who inspired a generation of Indigenous people.

Against The Odds describes different forms of resistance that existed in the German concentration camps like: smuggling of medicines, sabotage in weapons factories (especially the large effect it had on the German secret weapons programs), preparations for rebellions and escapes, and the mission of Capt. Pilecki, a Polish officer who purposefully got himself sent to Auschwitz in order to set up an underground organization in that Camp.

Come and experience Tippi's world!

A visual duet consisting of a 16mm film and a 16mm photogram self-portrait collage. It is inspired by earthly pleasures and wonders as revealed in the vibrant marvels of Stan Brakhage's cinema and in the central panel of the 1504 triptych by Hieronymous Bosch titled “The Garden of Earthly Delights.”

A new deadly virus is transmitted to humans via mosquito bites and then learns to control their corpses. A bunch of survivors let their guard down once they find shelter and sex in each other.

CRANKY follows three teams competing to be local champions in an open sea race like no other in North America. It is also a poignant look at an island way of life and a seafaring culture that has changed little over the centuries.

Egan’s first film and her first experiment in translating written text/language into an aural object. “finger petals” is a handmade cameraless film which uses collage techniques to sculpt the images and sound. The visual composition was made by meticulously cutting, shaping and collaging flowers onto the filmstrip. The sound treatment is created by pasting e.e. cummings’ poem “somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond,” the letters themselves forming the audio as their graphic shape is translated into sound.

This film from Canada's legendary punk pioneers, D.O.A., features exciting live tracks from the band's formative years: 1978 - 83. Includes all the raw emotion, activism, humor and deadly renditions of their greatest songs.

Bombay Calling is a feature documentary film directed by Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, Bombay Calling chronicles the lives of young call center workers in Bombay (Mumbai) India.

In one breath and, because he walks fast from one room to another, breathlessly, he tells a life story in an occasionally hesitant tone. He regards it as a way to knowledge, with many bends and side turns and with steep treacherous slopes. That way is metaphorical, but also certainly literal.

What could a person gain by cycling across Canada? The cyclists on this trek know nothing about cycling. It is clear from the start that a lot of learning will take place throughout the seven-week journey this summer. The elements of wind, sun, spandex and road construction tame the wildest spirits on the team. Everyone has a wall to go through, but how badly does each one want to smash through it. Does the fear of what lies on the other side prevent someone from finishing the trip?

The journey of a someone in search of his roots. He is pursued by his childhood self who has already written his own future, and foretells the amnesia which will doom this traveling. Here is a life made of pictures, an allegory and reflection of life inside ‘the society of the spectacle.’

Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh puts a human face on a national tragedy: the murders and disappearances of an estimated 500 Aboriginal women in Canada over the past 30 years. Explores the deep historical, social, and economic factors that contribute to this epidemic of violence against Native women.

Award-winning film makers Joshua and Jonathan Steckley provide a candid look into one of the world's little-known, competitive sports. Against all odds, competitors from all over the globe gather for the annual World Crokinole Championship in Tavistock, Ontario. This film takes an inner look into the sport of Crokinole through the lives of four competitors. Viewers see its history and amazing popularity, and experience the stress of not only the competitors but the organizers -- organizers who wonder not only if the tournament will be a success, but if the competition will go on at all.

A film about virtue signalling.

An intimate, eye-opening account of a lesbian baby boom in Canada during a period of rapid legal reform and social change. It is told entirely through the hilarious, rueful, self-reflective words of sixteen diverse parents (of newborns to six-year-olds) and would-bees, living in Toronto and London, Ontario. They take different sides on every controversy (known donors v frozen, liking clinics or hating them, how much biology matters, being ‘two mommies’ or ‘a mom and an other parent’, seeing homophobia everywhere or nowhere), but they are all passionately articulate about this strange new world of queer family-making.

An erotic poem, a video camera is accidentally left on during a thunderstorm.

"It is to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes," wrote Arthur Conan Doyle to his former professor and mentor, Dr. Joseph Bell, in 1892. A distinguished physician and professor of medicine at Edinburgh University, and a forensic expert for the British Crown, Joseph Bell was well known for his remarkable powers of observation and deduction. In what would become true Sherlockian fashion, he had the ability to deduce facts about his patients from otherwise unremarkable details. Based on extensive research into the life of Bell and including tantalizing accounts of the connections between Bell and Conan Doyle, this biography is for anyone interested in Victorian medicine, in the history of detective fiction, and in Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Considered by many to be most successful Canadian group ever, The Guess Who are revealed here in a new light. Including 20 minutes of revealing behind-the-scene footage from the band's preparation for the Running Back Thru Canada tour, this release provides an unflinching look at the band's more vulnerable moments. An interview with band front-men Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings paints a revealing portrait of two musicians. Refusing to sugarcoat anything, this release highlights the band's struggles to overcome personality conflicts. This release also features live performances of almost 15 The Guess Who hits, as well as six bonus tracks.

Openland is an art film guided by issues surrounding micro states and its derivative definitions. Through intertwining interviews, meta-narratives, and digital landscapes, Openland unfurls a dialogue between consciousness, individuality and collectivity.

This explosive new documentary tells the real story of an ancient secret brotherhood, a devastating new weapon of destruction, and a shocking target - the Vatican. The secret Illuminati does indeed exist. For the first time, the truth is exposed behind the horrifying plan for world domination. Does the Illuminati have the power to take control of the world? Is the Vatican in grave danger? Are there even more targets around the world? Have devastating weapons been positioned to cause catastrophic results? Could the unthinkable scenario actually happen? Is it happening already? These FANTASTIC REVELATIONS will shock you!

Lubricants are an essential part of modern machinery.

A struggling screenwriter falls victim to an unscrupulous talent & literary agent while trying to break into the entertainment industry.

Combining archival photos with new and found footage, this short film presents a personal, impressionistic rendering of what it's like growing up Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland, while living in a culture of denial. Vistas is a series of 13 short films on nationhood from 13 Indigenous filmmakers from Halifax to Vancouver. It was a collaborative project between the NFB and APTN to bring Indigenous perspectives and stories to an international audience.

An experimental documentary account of a butch dyke's journey to trans man, succinctly summing up the complexity of this journey in under 2 minutes.

Documentary about the social and environmental consequences of the rapid growth of hog operations .

Shahram Golchin is a professional film actor from Pre-Revolution Iran who was trapped between worlds in the prime of his career. Debilitated by a range of illnesses and a strong sense of exile, he is our window to the other characters of this film. Faces is an experimental documentary exploring the life and work of diasporic artists as they represent themselves through their art and stories. This multi-layered documentary reflects on politics, pop-culture, history and the power of popular media.

Five hours from Montreal, at the end of an endless road, is a lake, a favorite haunt of northern ospreys. The Lac Villiers Foundation, managed by a small family whose destiny is punctuated by the peace of the immensity of the boreal and by the demands of a life on the fringes of civilization, has set up its quarters there. This film plunges into his world and shares his way of life which, like ospreys, is on the verge of extinction.

This experimental animated short dissects the Earth's surface and soil. Filmmaker Alex Mackenzie uses a specially built film exposure device to study the insect world, with remarkable results. Living insects are rendered as photograms on the surface of film stock, pulsating and teeming with life.

Correspondent Michael Maclear revisits Vietnam to expand on his controversial wartime reports, which portrayed Vietnamese resistance as motivated by Nationalist rather than Communist ideology. Set against the 50th anniversary of the French surrender at Dien Bien Phu (May 7, 1954), which in turn led to U.S. involvement and defeat, this timely documentary contrasts superpower arrogance and the power of human resistance.

The story of Chloe Chan begins in elementary school, where she finds it difficult to fit in with the other kids.

Victims of rape during armed conflicts and their children resulting from those heinous crimes speak about their experiences.

"All you need is food," the Beatles could have sung if they had been inspired by Circuit marine, a whimsical fantasy about our cruel, carnivorous world. To be eaten or not to be eaten: that is the question for a ginger cat, a goldfish and a colourful parrot which a tender-hearted pirate tries to get to live happily together along with his hungry crew. We can only wonder who will be the next meal on this ship of food. As the ship pitches and rolls to a sprightly gypsy tune, the cat relentlessly pursues the goldfish, and even the parrot gets into the act. But who is predator and who is prey? Everyone ends up down someone's gullet. Isabelle Favez's colourful and humorous film is a tasteful reminder that we're all links in the food chain.

For over 50 years, the Kahnawake Mohawks, of Quebec, Canada occupied a 10 square block area in the North Gowanus section of Brooklyn, which became known as Little Caughnawaga. The men, skilled ironworkers, came to New York in search of work and brought their wives, children and often, extended family with them. The story of the Mohawk ironworkers is an important one and is one that has been told and continues to be told through documentaries, newspaper and magazine articles. Yet the stories of Kahnawake Mohawk women who lived in Brooklyn have gone untold.

The story of raw organic milk in Canada and the consumer’s right to choose It is illegal to distribute raw milk in Canada. In November 2006, twenty-five armed officers raided Michael Schmidt’s Glencolton Farms as he drove up the lane in his old Blue Bus on the way to deliver raw milk to his cow-share members in Toronto. Officials confiscated raw milk, cheese-making equipment, computers, and files. This film follows a year in the life of a Canadian activist farmer as he struggles to provide his “farm fresh milk” while battling authorities. Schmidt prepares for his trial and attempts to find a political solution to legally provide raw (unpasteurized) organic milk in Canada.

A historical account of the Ukrainian Resistance movement during World War II commencing with the Soviet German pact, the invasion of Poland, invasion/occupation by Germany, and resistance against the Red Army.

A visual metaphor for creative process as a sustained state of flux, whereby the deconstruction and reconfiguration of source material manifest themselves as a series of rapid abstract movements. Alluding to the cosmic dance of Shiva, the film is an expression of primal rhythmic energy, moving dialectically but without sublimation. Regeneration ignites destruction, and transformation invites mutation, through clashes of opposing modes such as video/film, surface/depth, and light/darkness.

Located on the northern shore of Bedford Basin, Africville was home to the many African-Canadian families who lived there for generations. In the 1960s, the city of Halifax expropriated Africville and residents were forced to leave their homes and businesses behind. Today, former residents of Africville are fighting for reparations and an official apology.

After 30 years of the War on Drugs, illegal narcotics have gone down in price, up in purity and availability, and way way up in demand. The heroes of this film are veterans of the Drug War, and they urge us to consider ending drug prohibition both at home and around the world. They have had a complete revolution in their thinking: now they are working to end the War on Drugs. Find out what happened to change their minds and how they became truly radical cops.

Can an eight-year-old boy dressed as a bunny change the world? He thinks he can.

Combining insightful interviews, fast cuts, and exciting competitive action, The Mongolian Eagle offers a privileged glimpse into the ancient and secretive world of sumo. Meet Kyokushuzan, a Mongolian wrestler who guides us through the hierarchy and rituals of this complex society as he pursues his goal to overcome all odds and become a Yokuzuna, or Grand Champion. Stunning visuals of Japanese and Mongolian landscapes intercut with behind-the-scenes revelations show us at first hand the difficult transitions these two ancient cultures deal with in their struggle to survive in the modern world. Length: 1 hour

The shield maiden of Gimli yearns for the drowned fisherman Mundi while her acolytes in mourning aid her in this fact-based account of a tragic accident.

Inside Hothouse 4 takes an informal look into the personalities and frenzy behind the fourth iteration of the NFB Animation Hothouse. A hand-held-mini-doc, reflective of the youthful iconoclasm of the eight emerging filmmakers (6 Canadians and 2 Brazilians). The Hothouse filmmakers and their NFB collaborators offer candid and oftentimes pithy comments on the nature of auteur animation filmmaking, the place and role of the NFB in that world, and the excitement and fear of making a first professional film. This year's Inside Hothouse mini-doc includes the process of generating podcasts for the Hothouse 4 web site.

A Skateboard video from up north

"In the Town of Banff they must have 50 candy stores on the main street. They sell these little candy deer. Banff is a National Park and so the real dear are all around you, and the stuffed and mounted ones too. I played with the images of the deer and idea of anthropomorphism in this piece. The sound track really up the ante on that." - Christina Zeidler