Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration

Box of Treasures(en)

In 1921 the Kwakiut'l people of Alert Bay, British Columbia, held their last secret potlatch. In 1980 at Alert Bay, the U'mista Cultural Centre (U'mista means "something of great value that has come back") opened its doors to receive and house the cultural treasures which were seized decades earlier and only then returned to the people. The center also took up activities such as recording stories told by elders so that some part of the past would always be alive and teaching children about their heritage in order to make them feel connected to their ancestors. This film documents the cultural significance of these events for today's Kwakiut'l people. It is an eloquent testimony to the persistence and complexity of Kwakiut'l society and to the struggle for redefining cultural identity for them.

Toad to Nowhere(en)

Two filmmakers journey to Arizona's Sonoran Desert to find bufo alvarus, a psychedelic toad. TOAD TO NOWHERE is a documentary about healing, hallucinogens, and looking within to explore the unknown.

Vancouver: No Fixed Address(en)

There is no topic that unites all of Vancouver quite like that of housing. At every dinner party, social gathering, or chance meeting in the street, everyone has an opinion, and they want to share it. Charles Wilkinson’s new film Vancouver: No Fixed Address tackles the subject from a multiplicity of perspectives. A chorus of voices chime in — everyone from David Suzuki, to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Seth Klein, Condo King Bob Rennie, Senator Yuen Pau Woo, and lots of regular Vancouver citizens.

The Water Dwellers(en)

This short documentary introduces us to a town where no one pays rent: Simoom Sound in central British Columbia, where loggers live on sturdy river craft. Every week there are visitors: the general storekeeper, the flying postman and most importantly, the forest ranger, who is ever alert to the threat of fire.

Gurdeep Singh Bains(en)

Gurdeep is a thirteen-year-old Canadian Sikh whose family runs a dairy farm near Chilliwack, British Columbia. They have retained their language and religion. Attendance at the Sikh temple, playing soccer with his schoolmates, and working on the farm are all part of Gurdeep's well-integrated life, but sometimes he feels a little different from the other children because he wears a turban. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.

Coast Modern(en)

A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.

Nomoto: A BC Tragedy(en)

The injustice of the Japanese internment is explored through the story of Kyuichi Nomoto, one of the first Japanese Canadians to graduate from UBC, who suffered a breakdown deep in the BC Interior.

NiiSoTeWak: Two Bodies, One Heart(en)

NiiSoTeWak means “walking the path together.” Tapwewin and Pawaken are 10-year-old brothers trying to make sense of the world, their family and each other. They’re already grappling with some heady questions about identity. What does it mean to be a twin? What does it mean to be Cree? How do you define yourself when you’re forever linked to someone else? The twins discuss these questions with their two elder brothers — 22-year-old actor Asivak and 20-year-old basketball player Mahiigan — and their parents, Jules and Jake.

This Was the Time(en)

When Masset, a Haida village in Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), held a potlatch, it seemed as if the past grandeur of the people had returned. This is a colourful recreation of Indigenous life that faded more than two generations ago when the great totems were toppled by the missionaries and the costly potlatch was forbidden by law. The film shows how one village lived again the old glory, with singing, dancing, feasting, and the raising of a towering totem as a lasting reminder of what once was.

c̓əsnaʔəm: the city before the city(en)

People often think of Vancouver as a new city, when in fact this region has been occupied for 9,000 years. This film aims to correct that with a meaningful reminder of the history and prehistory of this land and her first people.

Island of Whales(en)

This film joins five of the world's leading whale researchers on a scientific expedition around Canada's Vancouver Island. Spectacular photography and sound recording, both above and under water, provide an imtimate look at killer, gray, and humpback whales, and the world they inhabit. Island of Whales examines the communication, habitat, food supply and behaviour of whales. What emerges is a picture of creatures more sophisticated and complex than ever before imagined. At the end of the film, we are left with one compelling question: Can these magnificent creatures survive in the face of declining food supplies and pollution?

Sarah McLachlan: A Life of Music(en)

The life of pop superstar Sarah McLachlan comes alive in this intimate documentary that has McLachlan talking about her fame, her loves, her family and her music. Learn about her relationship with her adoptive parents, when she first discovered her musical talent, and how she came up with the idea for the Lilith Fair music festival. The film also includes performances of hits "Building a Mystery," "Into the Fire" and "I Will Remember You."

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Closing Ceremony(en)

Closing Ceremony

Totems(en)

For Indigenous peoples the totem pole is the symbol of life, portraying the relationship between humans and animals. Fitting into the landscape of British Columbia, these monuments, witnesses to an ancient and powerful culture, look down at us. The group "Indians of British Columbia" singing group provide a powerful soundtrack as Haida and Tsimshian people talk about poles in their communities.

The Wolf: Marine Mammal(en)

The wolf of British Columbia is on a quest to master water, fishing and swimming. According to several specialists, the wolf is at the first stage of a process that could turn it into a marine mammal. How will its evolution unfold?

Carts of Darkness(en)

In the picture-postcard community of North Vancouver, filmmaker Murray Siple follows men who have turned bottle-picking, their primary source of income, into the extreme sport of shopping cart racing. Enduring hardships from everyday life on the streets of Vancouver, this sub-culture depicts street life as much more than stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The films takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face, and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.

The Alpinist(en)

Marc-André Leclerc, an exceptional climber, has made solo his religion and ice his homeland. When filmmaker Peter Mortimer begins his film, he places his camera at the base of a British Columbia cliff and waits patiently for the star climber to come down to answer his questions. Marc André, a little uncomfortable, prefers to return to the depths of the forest where he lives in a tent with his girlfriend Brette Harrington. In the heart of winter, Peter films vertiginous solos on fragile ice. He tries to make appointments with the climber who is never there and does not seem really concerned by this camera pointed at him "For me, it would not be a solo if there was someone else" . Marc-André is thus, the "pure light" of the mountaineers of his time, which marvel Barry Blanchard, Alex Honnold or Reinhold Messner, interviewed in the film. An event film for an extraordinary character.

These were the reasons(en)

This film takes us into the harsh realm of BC's early coal mines, canneries, and lumber camps; where primitve conditions and speed-ups often cost lives. Then, the film moves through the unemployed' struggles of the '30s, post WWII equity campaigns, and into more recent public sector strikes over union rights.

Canadian Pacific I(en)

Canadian Pacific I is made up of a series of slowly dissolved shots done from the same framing over several months. The camera frames a window with a railway yard in the foreground, a bay in the space behind it, and misty mountains in the extreme distance. Trains occasionally pass by in the foreground. Huge ships move across the bay. Blue mists hover over the mountain heads.

Beautiful Lennard Island(en)