Sylvie's Story(1986)

Ancestral Voices(en)

An educational documentary spanning two continents, opening up a much-needed debate about traditional African spiritual systems; their cosmologies, ideologies and underlying ethical principles. Modern science no longer refutes the origins of mankind being in Africa and similarities in the cosmological ideologies of African esoteric systems with those found many established world religions today, suggest that it was not only people that migrated, but also concepts and themes that then provided bedrock for the formation of other systems of belief.

The Things I Cannot Change(en)

"This feature documentary is considered to be the forerunner of the NFB's Challenge for Change Program. The film offers in inside look at 3 weeks in the life of the Bailey family. Trouble with the police, begging for stale bread, and the birth of another child are just some of the issues they face. Through it all, the father tries to explain his family's predicament. Although filmed in Montreal, the film offers an anatomy of poverty as it occurs throughout North America." - NFB

Sable Island(en)

This short documentary profiles the uniquely cloistered wildlife of Sable Island, known as the “Atlantic graveyard” due to its inhospitable conditions. Barren sands and endless gales proved too much for human settlement on this island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Only a small group of researchers and maintenance people occupy the island; horses run wild, seals and birds multiply profusely, and the Ipswich sparrow has found a fruitful breeding ground for itself. Sable Island provides a perfect opportunity to observe nature in an untouched, organic laboratory.

The Boys Next Door(nl)

The Boys Next Door is a short documentary in which director Bobbie Fay Brandsen examines how she should live together with her new neighbors, Mootie from Syria, Meron from Eritrea and Salihou from Senegal. A film about integration, cultural differences, idealism but even more about the question: 'can we, despite all our differences, live together and if yes, how?' This film is one of the graduation documentaries from the class of 2017 made by a crew entirely consisting of students of the Dutch Filmacademy.

Maalbeek(fr)

Sabine is looking for a missing image: a day that has left its mark forever and that everyone remembers but her. But maybe this absence is what allows her to move on with her life?

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat(fr)

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations(de)

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.

Olympia: Part Two – Festival of Beauty(de)

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory(fr)

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Clint Eastwood's West(en)

An entertaining look at Clint Eastwood's storied career as a Western icon and filmmaker, featuring interviews with Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Costner, Frank Darabont, John Lee Hancock and many more.

Walter Potter: The Man Who Married Kittens(en)

Amateur taxidermist, Walter Potter, became an unlikely success by putting his creatures in human positions and scenarios, referred to as anthropomorphic taxidermy. Potter's Museum, filled with his creations and collection of oddities and curiosities dazzled millions for over a hundred years until the collection's unfortunate separation in 2003. While largely about the man and his creations, the film also takes a look at the obsessive nature of collecting, as well as the controversial history of stuffing dead animals.

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing(en)

Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment

L'île de Pâques(fr)

The first Easter Island documentary, filmed in 1935 when the Belgian naval ship Mercator came to collect Drs. Henri Lavacherry and Alfred Métraux, who had arrived six months before to carry out archaeological and ethnological work. The film, directed with melodramatic gusto and featuring a full orchestral score by Maurice Jaubert (who also did the narration), shows islanders, the monuments, and a public dance. A theme of decay and decadence characterizes the film, the motif portrayed gruesomely by extensive close-ups of the inhabitants of the leper colony there at the time. The film suited a romantic image of a mysterious lost civilization, the survivors eking out a pitiful existence on a barren rock. (Grant McCall)

The Battle of The Alamo(en)

I Think It's Clogged(en)

This short film explores the resolution of a plumbing problem through a narrative lens compiled from found footage sourced from pornographic websites.

Billie Holiday: A Sensation(en)

A documentary about the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday (1915-1959). There exist many myths and legends about the Jazz Singer Billie Holiday — one of the greatest voices of the last century. Most of them tell the story of the tragic victim of drugs, alcohol, men, color, or the circumstances of her upbringing. To some extent she contributed herself to these legends, especially in her autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues". In recent years, more and more records and reports have shown a different picture of her. These statements of confidants, colleagues and friends clean up with many of the legends and show a strong personality who has been anything but a pitiable victim. Billie Holiday was a strong-willed and determined person and a very complex personality who did not correspond to the classic victim type.

Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions(en)

A short making of feature about the 1966 John Frankenheimer movie Grande Prix

Le plafond de verre(fr)

This is the story of the few people who went ahead, beyond racial prejudice. And their struggle to open the workplace to other people.

Forever(en)

Père-Lachaise - one of the world's most famous and beautiful cemeteries - is the final resting-place of a gifted group of artists from all eras and corners of the world. Some - such as Piaf, Proust, Jim Morrison and Chopin - are worshiped to this day. Others have fallen into oblivion, or are visited occasionally by a single admirer. In Forever we see the mysterious, calming and consoling beauty of this unique cemetery through the eyes of people of flesh and blood. Many come for their 'own' beloved: husbands, wives, family and friends. Others Honor 'their' artist by leaving behind a personal message or a flower. While admirers share with us the importance of art and beauty in their lives, the graveyard gradually reveals itself as a source of inspiration for the living. Death offers little consolation except for the passing of time, the melancholia of a moss-covered tomb, and the beauty and power of a piece of music, a poem or a painting Written by Cobos

Welcome to Africville(en)

Welcome to Africville gives voice to what may have been marginalized members of an Afro-Canadian community in 1969. It's intention is to be a catalyst to thought and reflection about the lives and struggles of people from that community whose stories still go untold. It is the fictional account of a family. We listen to the stories of three generations of women and their friend Julius on the day their community is to be destroyed by the municipal government of Halifax. This story is a portrait of four individuals coping with universal uncertainties and insecurities.