Discoveries from Canada World Cinema

The story of Iraq's only heavy metal band and their fight to play music.

The appearance is a satirical comedy that mocks the small Quebec people and its excessive religiosity.

A first-rate French-Canadian spy must tangle with a female Chinese spy who is in love with him.

A down-on-their luck thrash metal band gets a once in a lifetime gig. But the seeds of animosity have already begun flourishing in their claustrophobic environment.

Scrolling excerpts from the diary of George Wallace's would-be assassin Arthur Bremer at screen bottom, Hank Aaron cards and ephemera from his entire career up top, and alternating audio clips of popular songs and highlights from the news throughout Aaron's career.

In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed ceramics workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act - the take - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. Armed only with slingshots and an abiding faith in shop-floor democracy, the workers face off against the bosses, bankers and a whole system that sees their beloved factories as nothing more than scrap metal for sale.

A murder has been committed on a balcony. But it is only one of the many balconies attached to a large apartment block. Strange things are transpiring of each of them on loop. As the eye attempts to take them all in, the murder soon seems entirely unimportant.

The sudden approach of a giant meteorite to Earth gives Tintin nightmares of death. Luckily, it lands in the Arctic Sea. Then, Tintin is appointed press delegate aboard Captain Haddock's ship Aurora, along with an international expedition to find it.

A young woman, and her last memories of the five people who loved her most, recalled while experiencing a catastrophic event.

A cowboy out to find out who murdered his brother discovers that the killers may not be who he thought they were.

A series of deeply personal short films centered around the debut album of the musical duo Pornographie Exclusive (Severine Cayron and Jerome Vandewattyne). It is a cinematic, musical, and surreal journey that follows two stoic outlaws as they wander through a world suspended between end and beginning, dream and reality. Their road trip leads them through strange places and encounters with lost souls, immersing them in both absurd and philosophical reflections. Shot in a guerrilla filmmaking style with a warm, grainy look, each poetic tableau of their adventure weaves together the different segments of this unique anthology directed by international filmmakers. In these parallel realms, it is not the story that inspires the music, but rather the music that gives birth to the stories.

After reading a bedtime story to her daughter, Alice Tremblay leaves her daughter's room and enters her own fairytale.

When Remy, an ad consultant, falls in love with Sarah, the newest star of an ad campaign, sparks fly. The only problem is that they are both married. Sarah's husband knows she will eventually get tired of Remy while his wife just can't let go. At first she throws him out, begs him to come back, cheats on him, hates him, and finally slumps into the worse depression ever. It is amazing what love can do...

"I am not from this place," declares a French cowboy. An old toothless man asks, "Do you know why you're here?" These shape-shifting personalities infect young children with an evil signal in the form of a Dutch TV show. The red-eyed girls and boys believe they can now become other people and monsters, much to their delight.

A man undergoes a ritual in which he is possessed by three lustful, witchy women of decidedly supernatural pedigree. After his acclaimed Thanatomorphose, genre filmmaker Éric Falardeau is both behind and before the camera in this sensory extravaganza, somewhere between an occult hallucination and a self-portrait of conflicted masculinity, that serves up a heady mix of horror, poetry and unbridled eroticism. A tribute to the magic of Méliès, the early American avant-garde and underground film (think: Kenneth Anger), Asmodeus renders bodies and fluids transcendent through its use of textured black-and-white Super 8 and in-camera special effects. A cinematic memento mori that’s at once carnal and otherworldly.

The rock music scene of the early 1970s--the Rolling Stones, the Stampeders, Whiskey Howl, Alice Cooper--they're all here! Along with classic footage from concerts and recording sessions, Rock-A-Bye looks behind the scenes at record companies and radio studios. The stars also have their say. Ronnie Hawkins chats from the back seat of a Rolls, and Zal Yanovsky of The Lovin' Spoonful tells hilarious anecdotes of his rise to fame, which lasted only 18 months. The camera also goes into a small New York club where Muddy Waters sings and plays guitar, the bluesman who inspired so many great rock musicians. The film ends with Alice Cooper, the first shock rocker, singing "Dead Babies" with a doll and a hatchet. This classic, entertaining rockumentary captures an era!

A young woman discovers a mysterious VHS tape.

After a bad breakup, a seasoned wedding photographer decides to start shooting divorces.

Unable to let go of his ex-girlfriend Eva, Nick and his brother Michael perform a ritual to bring her back into his life. The ritual works, but what returns isn't her. Now trapped with a seductive and violent entity wearing Eva's face, Nick must confront the true cost of his obsession.

As the last person on earth, a young man faces off against his greatest enemy: his own thoughts.

A young couple on a fishing trip with their son decide to explore an area of remote wilderness known as the Stickman’s Hollow. Told through the surviving pieces of footage from their fateful trip, the film documents the family’s vacation as they are mercilessly hunted in the forest by an unknown force, and the dark past of the hollow is brought to light.

Stoney Point Natives assemble at Ipperwash Provincial Park for what began as a peaceful protest.

ECSTASY is a contemporary and relevant film about how drugs transcend all borders of society and affect every facet of our lives. But when it leaves it takes away your soul. A new party drug arrives on the rave scene in a college town and is consumed openly by young people. It's irresistible making you feel invincible, beautiful, intelligent and loved. This haunting psychological thriller centers around a mother's struggle to save her daughters from going down the same dark path she once took, a handsome jock's (Charlie Bewley, from "Twilight - New Moon") misplaced faith in God stemming from the temptations that surrounds him, and three college girls horrific experience with their drug-induced guilt, fears and demons

Farley's been a bad dog. He's been digging up the garden, squishing the squash, and chasing other dogs at the pet show. Elly labels him a “Good-for-Nothing.” Meanwhile, Michael makes an enemy of Brad Luggsworth by showing him up in front of his girlfriend. On Hallowe’en night, Farley escapes, forcing John to look for him while he takes Elizabeth Trick-Or-Treating. Farl is nowhere to be found, but when Brad and his buddies corner Michael alone in an alley, he's got a shot at redeeming himself.

Can a work of art remain relevant 200 years after its creation? Ludwig van Beethoven’s last completed symphony proves it’s possible.

a relentlessly nerve-wracking deadlock between three convicts and an emergency response team deployed to quell the rebellion.

An accomplished repo man from Vancouver takes a new hire under his wing, while their morals and limits are tested on the job.

Hugo is an only child. A public altercation seems to confirm the rumor of domestic violence. Passionate about fashion and infatuated with beauty, this teenager dreams of becoming a couturier, like the master of French ready-to-wear Yves Saint Laurent.

Emma feels responsible for the accident that caused her mother's death.

Through an intimate and artistic lens, yet investigative and political, Milk brings a universal focus on the politics, commercialization and controversies surrounding birth and infant feeding over the canvas of stunningly beautiful visuals and poignant voices from around the globe.

When a morning show producer makes a New Year's resolution to say yes more, she crosses paths with a confirmed Yes man who just might hold the key to her biggest story and to her heart.

As teens ransack a suburban home for food and clothing, one recounts how he got there and how desperation has changed him.

William Kurelek's The Maze is a documentary film about the life of celebrated Canadian artist William Kurelek, "dramatically told through his paintings and his on-camera revelations." The film documents the artist's struggles with attempted suicide and what he called a "spiritual crisis."

Sculpting Memory places Atom Egoyan in an audiovisual environment woven from the fabric of his own films―a conceptual move that references Egoyan’s adaptation of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape while evoking Egoyan’s own work as a moving-image installation artist and his concern with the recording and displaying of images.

A teenager overhears a phone call and inserts himself into the father-son story behind it. As this strange 'conversation' develops, two separately wounded lives slowly wind into a double helix of pain, regret, and filial love.

Edited from almost 100 km of film footage shot during the Games, this feature documentary is a breathtaking portrait of the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Much more than a simple record of the Games, the film approaches each event with the intention of revealing the athlete - whether winner or loser - as a unique individual.

This short documentary takes a look at the changing face of PEI's agricultural industry. Once famous for its spuds and red mud, this tiny island province now has higher than average cancer and respiratory illness rates. Is there a link to industrialized farming? Rather than dwelling on PEI's worrisome mono-cropping practices, Island Green dares to ask: What if PEI went entirely organic? The stirring words of PEI-born poet Tanya Davis are coupled with beautiful imagery and poignant stories from the island's small but growing community of organic farmers, reminding us that we can rob the land only so much before it robs us of the nourishment we need for life. Island Green is ultimately a story of hope and a healthy promise.

The girlfriend of a man murdered for a debt falls in love with the killer.

A family move into an abandoned orphanage and they soon learn that their new home has a disturbing history and that they aren't alone…

The Marco Polo has just circumnavigated the globe in less than six months! She is the Queen of the Seas. A new age of travel has begun! From a shipyard in Saint John, New Brunswick, to Liverpool and Melbourne and, finally, to a watery grave off the coast of Prince Edward Island, The Marco Polo: Queen of the Seas offers a fascinating account of a legendary ship during the golden age of sail in the 19th century.

Larry Towell is a photographer with the prestigious Magnum agency. For 40 years, he has travelled our troubled planet, capturing the unspeakable. In this cinematic diary, he looks back on his profession, his doubts, the need for images, the absurdity of borders, the danger of “getting used to war” and the essence of his quest, which is also that of the film: humanity. Yet another impressive work by Matthieu Rytz, talented filmmaker born in Nyon!

Paul-Émile Borduas, Québec's voice of the Quiet Revolution, reflects on the impact of his writing and art in his Paris studio.

Toronto-born Norman Jewison first gained prominence producing for Canadian television, then went on to greater success making Hollywood theatrical features. In this film he is seen directing a large international cast and crew in the film version of the musical hit 'Fiddler on the Roof'. Between scenes, Jewison talks freely about many aspects of the film industry and some of his experiences in it. A candid study of a director in action.

A drug addict awakens to find the girl he is with dead, and must rush to escape the consequences.

Set in a possible future where people have been forced stay in big cities due to the degradation of the natural world. The virtual world has expanded to a level of realism that transcends reality. The most popular activity in the virtual world is a hunting game. A group of people manage to get out of the city to go for a real hunt. Nothing could quite prepare them for what's to come...

The story of Sophie and Jacob, two Romanian Jews who meet as refugees from the Holocaust. An attempt at keeping their light flickering.

John Hofsess’s The Palace of Pleasure emerged from the psychedelic haze of 1960s postmodern art. It was a blistering work that combined arresting abstract imagery with the wounded expressions of a young couple, edited into a collage of mass culture imagery and album and book jackets, all of it framed as a therapeutic treatment. Addressed to a generation coming up in an era of protest and social change, where many found themselves increasingly burdened with hopelessness, paranoia, and neurosis, The Palace of Pleasure was offered as a cleansing ritual, a post-Freudian expelling of dammed-up energies that anticipated The Primal Scream. In this video, Stephen Broomer discusses Hofsess’s therapeutic ambitions, how the film was composed of Hofsess’s earlier films, and the sensual spell of the work, the way in which it commands us to enter into a universal fellowship of touch that circulates, from us to us, through us, to strain the boundaries between the self and the other.

Suspecting that the cecassion of the tides may indicate an impending earthquake, Seismologist Alice arrives in her hometown of Baie-Comeau, Quebec to commence her investigation. Soon confronted by numerous figures from her past, the unusual weather and inexplicable behavior of the citizens lead Alice to believe that something beyond her comprehension is occurring to her old hometown...

Two thieves who hate each others steal a lot of money and they end up tied together.

Céline Dion has not been on stage since March 2020. Interrupted by the pandemic, then postponed due to the star's affliction with stiff-person syndrome, the Courage tour has been shelved. Céline is on pause. Can we hope for her return, or should we leave it to the doctors?

SITTING ON THE EDGE OF MARLENE is a darkly comedic feature film drama that centers on a mother-daughter con artist duo. An adaptation of the Billie Livingston novella titled The Trouble With Marlene, it is a bittersweet and emotional journey that deals with dysfunction, love and addiction and ends with an unusual deliverance for the compelling mother and daughter duo.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the words "moose" and "cock" were to suddenly come together to form a new word? This hard-hitting short film probes the possibilities.

Six strangers awake to find themselves the new tenants of a mysterious old house. Terrorized by insane Tiki-men in masks and taunted by their deranged captors,it soon becomes clear that only one singular action will save them: Kill.

A hard-boiled US Sergeant and a chatterbox Nazi are forced to team up to destroy a sexy, French, damsel Vampire in war torn France.

Zack doesn't have your ordinary adolescent problems. Transported back in time to medieval England, he lands in the middle of a vicious battle between an evil witch and Merlin, the master sorcerer, for control of Arthur's kingdom. It's up to Zack to help Merlin and Arthur reclaim the magic sword Excalibur and return Arthur to his rightful place on the throne.

Red Iron Road is an animated horror anthology series, based on the works of famous European authors. Each of the episodes are between 10-20 minutes, produced with different creative partners in unique visual styles to suit each story.

Documentary about the production of Bunk #7.