To the Tar Sands(2008)

Nanook of the North(en)

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Pea Soup(fr)

Images and sounds are spliced together in this journey to the heart of the political, economic and cultural oppression of the Quebec people. A reflection on neo-colonial exploitation and the cancer of alienation. To the very Canadian multiculturalism of Trudeau and the métissage of the multinationals, celebrated by the high priests of the dominant ideology, is contrasted the idea of acculturation, even deculturation. A way of resisting as good as any other.

Hookers on Davie(en)

Filmmakers Holly Dale and Janis Cole explore the culture of Davie Street, located in the underbelly of Vancouver, where dozens of prostitutes work and live every day. Surprisingly, they find that the sex trade there is stable and largely non-violent, and that the women who work on Davie Street meet daily to discuss safety and health issues and don't use pimps. The film also includes candid interviews with the prostitutes and footage of negotiations with potential clients.

Finding Dawn(en)

Acclaimed Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh presents a compelling documentary that 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. This is a journey into the dark heart of Native women's experience in Canada. From Vancouver's Skid Row to the Highway of Tears in northern British Columbia, to Saskatoon, this film honours those who have passed and uncovers reasons for hope. Finding Dawn illustrates the deep historical, social and economic factors that contribute to the epidemic of violence against Native women in this country.

The Great War(en)

A historical recreation of the experience of Canadian soldiers in World War One, with a cast of descendants of the people who participated in it.

Let's Go Get Small(en)

The Canadian Coast Range is a humbling place. The range dwarfs both exceptionally large human beings and egos with its foreboding size. Norseman Productions follows Dave Treadway and Henrik Windstedt as they push into the range on snowmobiles in pursuit of big lines the Coast Range is never short of.

Flor Brilhante e as Cicatrizes da Pedra(pt)

My Prairie Home(en)

A true Canadian iconoclast, acclaimed transgender country/electro-pop artist Rae Spoon revisits the stretches of rural Alberta that once constituted “home” and confronts memories of growing up queer in an abusive, evangelical household.

Oil Sands Karaoke(en)

Oil Sands Karaoke is a documentary about five oil patch workers vying to win a karaoke contest in one of the most controversial places on the planet - Northern Alberta's infamous Oil Sands. These five characters know they're at the center of a global controversy and yet they continue to work there under extremely arduous physical conditions for long hours for extended periods without a single day off. Why? Obviously for the high wages. But what could motivate a person in this situation to sing karaoke, let alone take it seriously? A documentary unlike any other, Oil Sands Karaoke will make us laugh, sing along, and perhaps re-examine our biases

Out: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Youth(en)

Made in the early 1990s, this award-winning Canadian documentary presents the stories of gay and lesbian teenagers who have come out to their family and friends. The journeys for most were emotional and sometimes painful, but ultimately a source of strength and hope. Also included are the tales of young transvestites and street hustlers who have had to leave home because of rejection by their families. P-Flag, a support group for parents of gays is also briefly profiled.

John Muir in the New World(en)

The life and the career of John Muir come to life through this inspiring and beautiful documentary set against the magnificent landscapes of the American West. The Scottish-born naturalist was one of the first nature preservationists in American history, inspiring others through his writing and his advocacy to keep the wilderness wild. Shot in high definition in the spectacular landscapes that shaped Muir - and were, in turn, shaped by his devotion.

The Continuum Project(en)

The Continuum Project follows some of the world's best climbing talent around the globe to document bold new routes and daring repeats on ice, rock, and in the alpine. The film focuses on these climbers' drive to explore, their passion for the mountains and the climbing lifestyles.

Pepedrilo(es)

Pepedrilo and his peculiar connection with nature are embodied by the care and protection of a crocodile sanctuary, whose stability is put in danger day by day by the threat of men.

To Wake Up the Nakota Language(en)

“When you don’t know your language or your culture, you don’t know who you are,” says 69-year-old Armand McArthur, one of the last fluent Nakota speakers in Pheasant Rump First Nation, Treaty 4 territory, in southern Saskatchewan. Through the wisdom of his words, Armand is committed to revitalizing his language and culture for his community and future generations.

Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment(en)

This 1991 Academy Award®-winning documentary uncovers the disastrous health and environmental side effects caused by the production of nuclear materials by the General Electric Corporation.

Radio Bikini(en)

It starts with a live radio broadcast from the Bikini Atoll a few days before it is annihilated by a nuclear test. Shows great footage from these times and tells the story of the US Navy Sailors who were exposed to radioactive fallout. One interviewed sailor suffered grotesquely swollen limbs and he is shown being interviewed with enormous left arm and hand.

The Shetland Experience(en)

The environmental measures taken by the oil industry at the Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands.

One Word(en)

A documentary about the impacts of climate change on the Republic of the Marshall Islands and its people. Most parts of the Marshall Islands are less than 5.9 feet above sea level. Forecasts predict the uninhabitability of the country by 2050.

What About Me: The Rise of the Nihilist Spasm Band(en)

A documentary about the Canadian noise band.

Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives(en)

Ten women in Canada talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: discovering the pulp fiction of the day about women in love, their own first affairs, the pain of breaking up, frequenting gay bars, facing police raids, men's responses, and the etiquette of butch and femme roles. Interspersed among the interviews and archival footage are four dramatized chapters from a pulp novel, "Forbidden Love".