The Eyes of Children

The Arrow(en)

The story of the Avro Arrow, the world's fastest fighter plane built in 1950's Canada, and how the project was dropped due to political pressure from the United States.

The Klondike Gold Rush(en)

Renowned as the richest gold strike in North American mining history, the Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899) set off a stampede of over 100,000 people on a colossal journey from Alaska to the gold fields of Canada's Yukon Territory. Filled with the frontier spirit, prospectors came and gave rise to what was one of the largest cities in Canada at that time - Dawson City. The boomtown, which became known as "the Paris of the North", earned the reputation as a place where lives could be revolutionized. Brought to life with excerpts from the celebrated book The Klondike Stampede - published in 1900 by Harper's Weekly correspondent Tappan Adney - and featuring interviews with award-winning author Charlotte Gray, and historians Terrence Cole and Michael Gates, The Klondike Gold Rush is an incredible story of determination, luck, fortune, and loss. In the end, it isn't all about the gold, but rather the journey to the Klondike itself.

The Secret Order(fr)

Phil Comeau shines a spotlight on the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier, a powerful secret society that operated from 1926 to 1965, infiltrating every sector of Canadian society and forging the fate of French-language communities. Through never-before-heard testimony from former members of the Order, along with historically accurate dramatic reconstructions, this film paints a gripping portrait of the social and political struggles of Canadian francophone-minority communities.

Stories Are in Our Bones(en)

In this layered short film, filmmaker Janine Windolph takes her young sons fishing with their kokum (grandmother), a residential school survivor who retains a deep knowledge and memory of the land. The act of reconnecting with their homeland is a cultural and familial healing journey for the boys, who are growing up in the city. It’s also a powerful form of resistance for the women.

The Boys in Red Hats(en)

On January 18, 2019, 17-year old Nick Sandmann, a student at the affluent Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky, was internationally villainized on social media and in the 24-hour news cycle as he and his classmates appeared to confront Native American elder Nathan Phillips on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. during a March for Life rally. Video clips of the interaction went viral overnight and Sandmann and his classmates faced worldwide outrage as the entire Covington Catholic community became the center of uncomfortable conversations about racism, privilege and politics.

A Second Transcontinental Nation(en)

Canada struggles to preserve her borders after the Treaty of Washington in this feature documentary. The country's survival as a nation independent of the United States rests in the balance, as the film shows in its exploration of historical context, underlying factors, and possible alternatives. Part 9 of the series Struggle for a Border: Canada's Relations with the United States.

Being Canadian(en)

What does it actually mean to be Canadian? This humorous documentary, featuring interviews with a who's-who of famous Canadians, hopes to find the answer.

NINA G: STUTTERER INTERRUPTED(en)

This one-of-a-kind comedy special showcases the comedian's riotous stand-up performance, exploring everything from the Disability experience to her Italian-Catholic upbringing to body image issues and more.

Light to Starboard(en)

This film presents the historical development of lighthouses in Canada, and shows the conversion from keeper-maintained lights to automated equipment.

Who Will Burry The Dead?(en)

This documentary offers a deep, candid, and historical look at the Christian experience of America's largest and best-known tribes: the Dakota and Lakota. Its exploration into Native American history also takes a hard and detailed look at President Ulysses S. Grant's Peace Policy of 1873, which was, in effect, a "convert to Episcopalianism or starve" edict put forth by the American government in direct violation of its Constitution. The devastation it had on the values of the people affected were dramatic and extremely long-lasting. Grant's policy was finally ended over 100 years later by the Freedom of American Indian Religions Act in 1978. Interlaced with extraordinarily candid interviews, this documentary presents an insider's perspective of how the Dakota and Lakota were estranged from their religious beliefs and their long-standing traditions.

The Last Stop(en)

The Élan School was a for-profit, residential behavior modification program and therapeutic boarding school located deep within the woods of Maine. Delinquent teenagers who failed to comply with other treatment programs were referred to the school as a last resort. Treatment entailed harsh discipline, surveillance, degradation, and downright abuse. Years later, the patients who were institutionalized in this facility still carry the trauma they endured, with mixed opinions on the impact of their experience.

Black October(en)

A documentary recounting the kidnappings of British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Vice-Premier & Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte by the FLQ on October 5, 1970 in Quebec.

Women in the Shadows(en)

Filmed on location in Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle Valley to Hudson Bay, the documentary traces the filmmaker's quest for her Native foremothers in spite of the reluctance to speak about Native roots on the part of her relatives. The film articulates Métis women's experience with racism in both current and historical context, and examines the forces that pushed them into the shadows.

European Tour '73(en)

A 15 minute documentary utilizing archival Super 8 film footage and original animation about a father fulfilling his dream of reconnecting his 5 small children to the steps of his own father when he fought for the Canadian military in WW2 through a trip to Europe in 1973.

Handcrafted Hopedale(en)

If you want to find world-class artisans, the small northern Labrador community of Hopedale offers you some of the best. Created through the St. John's International Women's Film Festival's FRAMED film education series, in partnership with the Nunatsiavut government, this film focuses on three prominent local craftspeople- two carvers and one traditional sewist.

Wings of Honour(en)

A feature-length documentary from Canadian Geographic Films, and presents a powerful and emotional story celebrating the 100-year history of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Through its backdrop of rarely seen RCAF archival footage and dramatic contemporary footage, the film showcases compelling stories from past and present RCAF members from across Canada.

White Ravens: A Legacy of Resistance(en)

Filmed on the island of Haida Gwaii, this documentary depicts the ongoing resistance and resurgence of the Haida people and their culture against the different manifestations and trauma of colonization.

In Jesus’ Name: Shattering the Silence of St. Anne's Residential School(en)

A poignant all-Indigenous English and Cree-English collaborative documentary that breaks long-held silences imposed upon indigenous children who were interned at the notoriously violent St. Anne’s Residential School in Fort Albany First Nation, Ontario. Use of a homemade electric chair at St. Anne's and the incorporation of testimony about student-on-student abuse makes this documentary stand apart from other films about Canadian residential school experiences. This film will serve as an Indigenous historical document wholly authored by Indigenous bodies and voices, those of the Survivors themselves.

Jacques Cartier, un Malouin au Canada(fr)

Threads That Tie Us: An Oshwal Odyssey(en)

The Halari Oshwals are a small community dispersed around the world yet held together by a history of sacrifices. But times have changed. This globalization has led to many problems within the community, and their numbers are dwindling. An Oshwal woman from Canada worries about the preservation and survival of her heritage in the hands of generations to come. She sets out on a pilgrimage to visit Oshwal communities in Kenya, where she was born; the UK, where she lived for a while; and India, where her parents originated. She discovers a shared concern for the future of the community and its traditions in the face of globalization and geographical disconnect, and explores what this means for the younger generation and their Oshwal identity.