Transitions

In this feature drama, a Canadian Indigenous youth attempts to find a place for himself. He faces culture shock as the educational system teaches him to be a white man and tries to find a way of life more meaningful to his Indigenous culture and ancestry.

One of six Canada Vignettes from the NFB production Don Messer - His Land and His Music, featuring one of the principal performers, Marg Osburne, who has since passed away.

After repeated attempts to obtain service from the public transportation authorities, these suburban Ottawa residents finally decided to do it themselves.

Filmed in the Canadian Rockies and in Garibaldi Park, this documentary features magnificent footage of mountain solitudes and the wildlife found there, of natural splendour in all its changing moods. The film carries the implicit warning that all this may pass away if people do not seek to preserve it. Without words.

This documentary short is a portrait of violinist, composer and dreamer Maurice Zbriger, who shared his music with Montrealers for over half a century. He hired musicians and singers and conducted them in free concerts financed with income from his ownership of Schwartz's, the famous smoked meat restaurant. The Concert Man looks at Zbriger's life, his passion for music and the people who were a part of his dream.

What happens to two dying coal towns in British Columbia when an American corporation provides a contract for millions of tons of coking coal? The film follows the consequences for the towns of Natal and Michel, suggesting that industrial growth has its price, especially with regard to the environment.

This short documentary profiles a group of men from the Toronto Lakeshore Oldtimers Hockey Club. Although middle-aged, they still play the game with as much energy and passion as they did 25 years ago. They claim that playing hockey is more fun now than it was when they were kids, despite the toll of aches and pains, injuries, gruelling schedules and late-night partying. Cares and responsibilities are cast aside once they are on the ice, and the locker room becomes a haven of uncomplicated camaraderie and fun. In refusing to grow old gracefully, they feel they won't grow old at all!

The territory of Akwesasne straddles the Canada-U.S. border. When Canadian authorities prohibited the duty-free cross-border passage of personal purchases - a right established by the Jay Treaty of 1794 - Kanien'kéhaka protesters blocked the international bridge between Ontario and New York State.

A little drama, almost a love triangle, filmed on the Canadian Atlantic coast, about a fisherman, his girl, and his boat. The boat needs a new engine but the owner lacks the cash. His girl's undertaker brother has money enough if he can be persuaded to lend it. What develops in the film is an object lesson showing that neither a boat nor a girl can be taken too much for granted.

One of six Canada Vignettes from the NFB production Don Messer - His Land and His Music, featuring one of the principal performers, Don Messer, who has since passed away.

The International Ox Pull, highlight of the Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, annual fair, is a holdover from the pioneer past when oxen cleared the land and tilled the soil. These beasts of burden have lost none of their pulling power, as demonstrated when they drag tons of weight loaded on sleds (the winner pulls up to 6 tons!). Competing teams come from various parts of the Maritimes and the Northeastern United States.

An NFB crew filmed a group of three families, Cree hunters from Mistassini. Since times predating agriculture, this First Nations people have gone to the bush of the James Bay and Ungava Bay area to hunt. We see the building of the winter camp, the hunting and the rhythms of Cree family life.

"The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar" tells the story of Emery Prometer, a proud bush worker in Ottawa Valley, resisting government aid to support his family. The film compassionately depicts their struggles and the resolve of Emery's daughter, Rosie, (Margot Kidder in her film debut) to break the cycle of poverty through education. This '60s NFB standout authentically portrays their dignity amid hardship, showcasing Canadian filmmaking despite hurdles from private broadcasters' cost concerns. The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar won eight Canadian Film Awards, including Best Picture (John Kemeny, Barrie Howells), Director (Peter Pearson), Cinematography (Tony Ianzelo), Screenplay (Joan Finnegan) and Lead Actor (Chris Wiggins).

"The Art of the Animator" series examines the creative thoughts and processes behind the meticulous work of several animators; this part examines the work of Ishu Patel, Caroline Leaf and John Weldon - animators who create motion out of still images, in what is often lonesome and painstaking work. By observing these artists at work, the filmmakers show the deft and quite magical process of animation that requires great commitment, patience and artistic cleverness.

This short animation transports us from the farthest conceivable point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence, an atom of a living human cell. The art of animation and animation camera achieve this exhilarating journey with a freshness and clarity. Without words.

This feature-length documentary offers an inside look into the workings of a travelling circus. Filmed in 1976, directors Tony Ianzelo and Torben Schioler followed the Royal Brothers' Circus as they set up their tents and put on their show. Fascinating to watch, the film captures the 24-hour-a-day brand of magic that the circus evokes while revealing the nature of the people who run it.