Discoveries from Canada World Cinema

November 11, 1918 - An armistice signaling the end of the First World War was signed shortly after 5am. The ceasefire would come into effect at 11am.

Two backyard wrestlers decide to go pro. Unfortunately for them - they suck.

After a wasted life of digging holes and filling them back in, Chris is faced with the task of digging his last hole.

Within two weeks, Sgt. Hardbutt has to clean up the crime in the streets before the Governor arrives. Hardbutt is forced to supplement his overworked staff with civilian "recruits" who he schemes to use to a disastrous advantage.

After her death, Gabrielle writes a poignant posthumous love letter to her grieving husband, Philippe, who is enduring the family ritual of the funeral alone.

A film adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy using the complete text of the play but performed by child actors.

A detective investigates the mystery of a woman that claims some invention was stolen from her.

A POV documentary following filmmaker Teresa Alfeld's journey uncovering the story of her childhood best friend's dad, Doug Bennett, leader of the legendary 1980s Canadian party band Doug and the Slugs.

Morag Gunn, a writer who is having trouble with her teenage daughter, examines her own relationship history, which includes a period of turbulence with Jules. While she and Jules have known each other since childhood, he is no rock of stability. In addition, he is white, while she is part Native American, so the teenage Morag experienced racism he can only imagine. Even after they have a daughter, she struggles against the emptiness within her.

The investigation and exposure of the US sugar industry’s systematic hijacking of scientific study to bury evidence that sugar is—in fact—toxic.

A man falls in love with a pretty ghost and travels back in time to save her soul from an evil knight.

The story of Alice Herz-Sommer, a German-speaking Jewish pianist from Prague who was, at her death, the world's oldest Holocaust survivor. She discusses the importance of music, laughter, and how to have an optimistic outlook on life.

Bino wants to obtain the power of Claire de Lune, a mysterious flying creature.

On summer vacation a young teenager finds himself hanging out alone on the streets of his neighbourhood, all his friends having gone to the country with their parents. Near his home he meets a disturbing character, a drug pusher looking for clients, who introduces him to an artificial paradise. The teenager discovers a seductive and terrifying world that frequently draws him back to his neighbour.

This documentary short is the first film made by an all-Aboriginal film crew, training under the NFB's Challenge for Change Program. It was shot at Akwesasne (St. Regis Reserve). Two spokesmen explain historical and other aspects of Longhouse religion, culture, and government and reflect on the impact of the white man's arrival on the Indian way of life.

When Maria witnesses an accidental family tragedy, she's told it never happened and must decide what to do with the truth.

The Price of Cheap tells the stories of modern slaves in textiles manufacturing supply chains and the brave individuals fighting on the ground against immeasurable odds to help them. We follow a man named Joseph Raj, who runs an organization called T.E.S.T. (Trust for Education and Social Transformation) in Tamil Nadu, India as he goes on raids to rescue underage children from unsafe and labour intensive factories. We hear from the survivors he has helped rescue, hear of their horrific experiences, and desire for education and change. Academics and social justice workers weigh in on why the issue of forced labour persists.

A timid officer worker becomes both pariah and Pied Piper when she unleashes her confessional, scathingly honest pop compositions upon friends and co-workers, in this hilarious comedy from Vancouver’s Kris Elgstrand (Doppelgänger Paul).

A documentary on the mysterious and influential pianist.

Koffi, a young Ivorian trumpeter, arrives in Montréal with nothing but the legacy of his father to guide him. Lost between the city’s noise and the silence of his past, he must confront his roots to finally find his voice.

Penned by Mordecai Richler and set in wartime Montreal, this touching telefilm stars Saul Rubinek as Mervyn Kaplansky, a young writer from Toronto who boards with a family on St. Urbain Street only to find his aspirations undermined by the colourful yet desperate characters that surround him. Rubinek delivers a very touching performance as the boyish idealistic writer, and he is backed by a strong supporting cast that includes Harvey Atkin, Janet Ward and Peter Boretski.

A young woman falls in love with a shoplifter in her family's convenience store, setting off a series of mishaps involving a lost doll, a loaded gun and a grandmother who speaks only Korean.

Abandoned on the doorstep of a Montreal orphanage, Johanne Harrelle eventually rose to prominence as a gifted artist, actress, and one of North America's first Black models. Simply Johanne deftly explores her complex and audacious life through archival footage, interviews with loved ones and performances of her writings by three contemporary actresses. The film chronicles the journey of a magnetic and passionate woman who defied the expectations of her time.

A short documentary about the intricate nativity scenes of Michele Pascuzzi.

The SPACE KNIGHTS are a group of slightly outdated superheroes who drive Honda accords that when linked together, can transform into a variety of giant robots, from a pterodactyl, to a giant T-Rex, to a saber tooth tiger. They use these and other powers to stop a never ending stream of bizarre creatures and insane villains. The irreverent comedy follows the misshapen adventures of the crime-fighting team who must battle bickering and in-fighting almost as much as the external foes they face.

Mountain Gorilla takes us to a remote range of volcanic mountains in Africa, described by those who have been there as ""one of the most beautiful places in the world"", and home to the few hundred remaining mountain gorillas. In spending a day with a gorilla family in the mountain forest, audiences will be captivated by these intelligent and curious animals, as they eat, sleep, play and interact with each other. Although gorillas have been much-maligned in our popular culture, viewers will finally ""meet the legend"" face to face, and learn about their uncertain future.

Of the Essence tells the story of a couple, Tom and Emily, who, after a chance encounter at a grocery store, have a fight which could end up being the last time they speak. Through alternating time lines between a frantic Tom racing through downtown St. John's and the catalyst encounter, Tom discovers that some battles are truly worth fighting, while others are insignificant in the grander scale.

Three friends hold up a restaurant owned by the mob and run into a Hit-man running after a hit gone wrong.

In Australia, four teenagers in a Sydney theater are astounded to hear the news that a nuclear war has broken out in Eastern Europe. They try to figure out the best way they can survive the coming conflagration.

Timothé tries to fit in when he gets invited to a goth show in a church club. A sensual meeting in the bathroom will change him forever!

A frustrated, despairing housewife and young mother of two, imprisoned by her domestic world and ignored by her succesful husband, becomes increasingly bereft of hope and a means of escape.

Christine attends her sister’s wedding with her two partners, Alex and Stephane. As the trio adjusts to their newly formed polyamorous relationship, Christine learns she is unexpectedly pregnant. The news sparks conflicting reactions and exposes tensions about commitment and the future. Surrounded by judgmental relatives and controlling parents, the wedding becomes a pressure cooker where private doubts and fragile dynamics surface. Over the course of the celebration, the three must confront what love, family, and responsibility mean for them.

A man returns home late to a twisted anniversary game left by his wife. As he follows the trail, the romance rots away, revealing something brutal, sick, and waiting for him at the end.

Fraser, 17, is a shy and introverted only child, but he speaks volumes on the court through his passion for basketball. Fraser has a chance to prove himself when the coach catches him practicing after school hours.

Haunted by three unfinished films, a filmmaker seeks to demystify his relationship with failure through encounters with past collaborators.

Would-be filmmaker Sophie left Africa for Canada as a child. After graduating, she films the daily doings as part of a summer job at a fair. When pointing the camera at herself, she reveals painful secrets from the past.

A behind-the-scenes documentary about Jason Eisener's grindhouse exploitation film Hobo with a Shotgun.

An international Yale graduate student falls for a captivating young woman who invites him to her family's Thanksgiving-only to discover he's become entangled in a chilling con that spirals into unimaginable horror.

When the real world turns sour, ten-year old Talia finds shelter in a fantasy world of ice and snow. But as life becomes more and more difficult, Talia's daydreams become less protective and more menacing.

This 1982 film explains the KGB infiltration of America. Who they are, what they are doing, and how well they have infiltrated North America.

In a modern retelling of Brazilian folklore, nervous and insecure Theo discovers love for the first time at a fantastical, avant-garde party.

David Suzuki, iconic Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist delivers a 'last lecture' — what he describes as "a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die". The film interweaves the lecture with scenes from the places and events in Suzuki's life — creating a biography of ideas — forged by the major social, scientific and cultural events of the past 70 years.

This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.

Tinamer is 27 years old when her mother dies. The funeral of this last one makes her relive certain events of her childhood which marked her forever.

A relentless captor preys on young women, forcing them into a deadly game of psychological warfare using costumes. When 17-year-old Skylar becomes the first to outsmart him, a battle of wits ensues in a fight for their very survival.

Expelled 87 is sent to earth with the mission of saving his species from immanent extinction. As he gets accustomed to a new world he is haunted by his old home.

"he gasps for a breath entwined, then on their back rests, eyes gaze at the sky".

In her reach for fame, wannabe influencer Kylie finds herself having to lurk in the shadows after a cheeky hit-and-run threatens to derail her coveted brand partnership.

After she rips out her creator's heart, Sam the Android takes to the streets to find him a new one, thinking that human organs can be replaced like defective circuits. But the mean city is no place for a beautiful android built by a mad scientist.

In 1997, the year Ellen DeGeneres comes out, John is a boy who dreams of becoming a cop. He wants to confide in his neighbor, Mr. Carter, that he is secretly in love with him. Time is of the essence as the 65-year-old heterosexual detective is moving away forever.

It's autumn in all its glory and Ludovic is playing in the park. A bigger teddy bear knocks him down, and the little cub is rescued by a little girl teddy bear. Her kind gesture teaches Ludovic that the magic of friendship can help him face the fiercest bully.

The story of the Toronto-based record store, Play De Record, and how it became a hub for underground music lovers across Canada.

When her mentor is kidnapped, a young relic hunter must locate an ancient technological artifact known as the Crown of Babylon, rumored to have the power to bring back the dead and possess the living, before a dangerous cult leader uses it to endanger their world.