The Boy Who Saw Through

Textile workers recall with pride the long- suppressed story of the General Textile Strike of 1934 when 500,000 Southern mill laborers walked off their jobs.

This short film was an experiment in using video recordings and closed circuit television to stimulate social action in a poor Montreal neighbourhood. A citizen's committee filmed people's concerns and then played back the tapes for the community. Upon recognizing their common problems, people began to talk about joint solutions. It proved an important and effective method of promoting social change.

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.

Students seeking greater control over the hiring of faculty occupy the offices of the Political Science Department at McGill University. The film crew lives with the students and follows their action through confusion, argument, dissent, and negotiations with faculty. The result is an intimate view of a student political action.

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.

People on welfare are rarely heard. What do they go through? How do they feel? How do concerned social and welfare workers feel about the welfare system? What is welfare supposed to do? In this film, welfare recipients and social case workers talk about the problems of being "up against the system." Part of the "Challenge for Change" series.

Documentary about the blacklisted folk group The Weavers, and the events leading up to their triumphant return to Carnegie Hall.

PSA about the history of Syphilis and the medical treatments used to combat it that's meant to raise the public awareness of the dangers of this insidious modern plague and the necessity of blood screenings and treatments.

A documentary on the iconic song "We Shall Overcome" and its important legacy in the American Civil Rights movement, echoing all over the world as a recognizable song of struggle against social injustices. Singers and activists talk about its origins, used during a workers strike in the mid 1940's, and how the lyrics and its significance slightly changed in the next decades.

George Stoney investigates the living conditions, both good and bad, in the rural, segregated South.

Chicken farmer John Lloyd learns the importance of blood tests when he gives his pregnant wife a dose of the clap after a one-night fling with a lonely waitress.

Two charming seniors consider the pros and cons of entering a "home". Do old-age institutions fit the needs of those they are designed to help?

Ex-fisherman Billy Crane in Brampton, Ontario, at an industrial job with regular hours. Here he tells why he left Fogo Island and says he has no regrets. (See also Billy Crane Moves Away.)

American documentary film-maker George C. Stoney visits the Aran Islands to try and unravel some of the myths surrounding a film that had engrossed him as a youngster - Robert Flaherty's famous documentary "Man of Aran" released in 1934.

Neorealist mental health film produced for parents and health care workers. Palmour Street shows the daily life of an African American family and demonstrates how good parenting prepares children for adulthood and nurtures emotional growth.