Period Pieces

Beluga Days(fr)

From the lower St. Lawrence, a picture of whale hunting that looks more like a round-up, with a corral, whale-boys and all. In 1534, when he stopped at the island he named l'Île-aux-Coudres, Jacques Cartier saw how the Indians captured the little white beluga whales by setting a fence of saplings into off-shore mud. In the film, the islanders show that the old method still works, thanks to the trusting 'sea-pigs,' the same old tide, and a little magic.

Briser le code(fr)

Corbo(fr)

Montreal, spring 1966. Jean Corbo, 16 years old, born to a Quebec mother and an Italian father, is torn between his two affiliations. After befriending two young far-left activists, he joined the Front de Libération du Québec, an underground radical group. Jean, from then on, marches inexorably towards his destiny.

Entretien en six temps avec Gilles Groulx(fr)

This feature-length documentary brings together six of the rare television interviews given by Gilles Groulx between 1966 and 1983. Through these interviews, the filmmaker's ethical and aesthetic concerns are revealed. A striking coherence emerges in his thinking regarding his conception of cinema and the role the filmmaker should play in his culture and society.

All Five Millions of Us(pt)

"All Five Millions of Us" is a hybrid of documentary and fiction feature film about father absence, based on data released by the National Council of Justice: there are 5.5 million children without paternal recognition in Brazil.

September Five at Saint-Henri(fr)

This short film is a series of vignettes of life in Saint-Henri, a Montreal working-class district, on the first day of school. From dawn to midnight, we take in the neighbourhood’s pulse: a mother fussing over children, a father's enforced idleness, teenage boys clowning, young lovers dallying - the unposed quality of daily life.

Coupures(fr)

Vietnam Story(en)

A cinematic impression of Vietnam, told through the eyes of Vietnamese immigrants.

Warren Oates: Across the Border(en)

A retrospective of the work of the late actor Warren Oates, with clips from his films and interviews with cast and crew members who worked with him.

It's the Heart That Dies Last(fr)

At 47, Julien is an eternal misfit with no real job. But now that he has published an autobiography recounting his childhood memories, a complicated relationship with his mother and troubling family secrets, success is knocking on his door. Julien and his mother have cut ties a long time ago and she doesn't know about the book. Living a sad and miserable life in a retirement home, she renews contact with her son to make up for lost time. But is that all there is to it?

Under New Management(en)

This film is about the francization of Québec that has taken place since the Parti Québécois won power from the Liberals in 1976. It shows how the once powerful anglophone community is now questioning its very survival. It discusses some of the motivating forces behind Québécois nationalism. The film concludes by asking if the Canadian nation can survive if neither of its major language groups is welcome in the territory of the other.

The Hugo's Brain(fr)

The Hugo's Brain is a French documentary-drama about autism. The documentary crosses authentic autistic stories with a fiction story about the life of an autistic (Hugo), from childhood to adulthood, portraying his difficulties and his handicap.

Who We Are(en)

Autism spectrum disorder (DSA) - It is not what they have, but what they are, who they are. They are Felix, Anthony, Marc and Brigitte. They are different.

A Night of Knowing Nothing(bn)

L, a student in India witness to the government's violent response to university protests, writes letters to her estranged lover while he is away.

Lamento(de)

Janette et filles(fr)

Janette Bertrand, 96, is at the time of the balance sheets. Where are the women, where is the fight for gender equality? An hour of History with a capital H and Love with a capital A, to not forget anything and, above all, never stop moving forward.

The Ongoing Conversation(en)

An Editor recounts the diaries of a failed film production as they attempt to construct a new narrative from the remaining footage.

Aya(fr)

Aya grows up with her mother on the island of Lahou. Joyful and carefree, she likes to pick coconuts and sleep on the sand. However, her paradise is doomed to disappear under the waters. As the waves threaten her house, Aya makes a choice: the sea can rise, but she will not leave her island.

NDDJ (Notre-Dame-du-Jambon)(fr)

Karan and Rohan, two biracial brothers raised in a marginal environment, are finding ways to get stimulated on a normal summer day. They embark on a trip to buy candies to avoid boredom. This film plays with the sense of boundaries between what is real and what is fiction. It is a film about the love of two brothers and their singular reality in the countryside of Quebec.

Real Lies(fr)

Marco Valois wants to direct a serious movie inspired by the life of a soldier living with post-traumatic stress disorder. He soon realizes that the young soldier home from Afghanistan won't open up that easily. Marco, willing to do just about anything to get his story, follows Éric Lebel to his hometown.