Poetry for Sale

An erotic, stylised documentary celebrating the history and culture of black lesbians. Contemporary interviews are interwoven with a sultry narrative set in 1920s Paris, showing the relationship between a femme jazz singer and her butch daddy lover.

Columbus' 4th voyage has been a total failure: he has not found the westward passage, he has no gold to show, he has lost men and ships and his efforts to build a colony have fallen through. The monarchs of Spain are not going to restore the rights and privileges which were taken away from Columbus after the first voyage. And Columbus will be shamed. Many of his sailors who have survived, can't face the journey home. They will choose to remain on Hispaniola or neighbouring Puerto Rico.

In the early twentieth century, the Hotel Nueva Isla was an emblematic luxury hotel. After the Cuban Revolution, it was confiscated by the State and became a shelter for homeless people. Located in Old Havana, today it is an imposing ruin. Jorge de los Rios, a retired clerk, is one of the few residents who remain there, along with La Flaca, his lover, and Waldo, a young itinerant. As the rest leave for safer places, Jorge clings to his dilapidated home and its buried treasures, slowly digging his way through its debris. The film speaks poignantly to a lost generation who fought in the Cuban Revolution and dreamed of a better society.

Below the belt cancers and a below the radar cause are thrust into the limelight as N.E.D., or No Evidence of Disease, a rock band of GYN Oncology Surgeons, put the plight of their patients center stage in this riveting story of women fighting for their lives.

La Théorie du Tout

Celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of Pakistan, this video identifies the keys to understanding the country’s present through its political history. Ever since its creation in 1947, Pakistan seems to have been a prisoner of the conflicting geopolitical legacy which hampers its political and economic development. Political divide stems from multiple factors such as its antagonism with India, its relationship to neighbouring Afghanistan, and its strategy of changing alliance with world powers, in addition to the banner of Islam which, unable to unite ethnic groups, has at times exacerbated conflict between Muslims in this country of 150 million inhabitants that plays - and will continue to play for a long time to come - a central role in worldwide political and strategic affairs.

Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.

"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

One of the greatest neuroscience breakthroughs is having discovered that babies are far more than a genetic load. The development of all human beings lies on the combination of genetics, the quality of the relationships and the environment they are set on. The Beginning of Life invites everyone to reflect: are we taking good care of this unique moment, which defines both the present and future of humankind?

Meet Tajikistan's answer to the Jackson family. Nearly 80, Allo "Papa" Alaev rules his celebrated folk music clan with an iron tambourine. Beginning with his unilateral decision to emigrate to Israel, the gifted musician micro-manages nearly every aspect of their lives, both on stage and off. From every meal made in his kitchen to what instrument each member will play, the patriarch accepts nothing less than total commitment and obedience. Every child and grandchild lives in their single-family house in Tel Aviv. All but one, that is. His only daughter, Ada, chose her own way in life, a sin her father will not forgive. As generations clash over new musical directions, competing personal interests and Papa's advancing age, the family show must go on—but who will lead the band? Set to a blazing tribal soundtrack, drama and drumbeats sing out from every entertaining exchange in this grand family affair.

The world couldn't keep its eyes off two athletes at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer - Nancy Kerrigan, the elegant brunette from the Northeast, and Tonya Harding, the feisty blonde engulfed in scandal. Just weeks before the Olympics on Jan. 6, 1994 at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Kerrigan was stunningly clubbed on the right knee by an unknown assailant and left wailing, "Why, why, why?" As the bizarre "why" mystery unraveled, it was revealed that Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, had plotted the attack with his misfit friends to literally eliminate Kerrigan from the competition. Now two decades later, THE PRICE OF GOLD takes a fresh look through Harding's turbulent career and life at the spectacle that elevated the popularity of professional figure skating and has Harding still facing questions over what she knew and when she knew it.

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.

Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music goes against the stereotype of their age group. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs for a concert in their hometown.

Isla chatarra describes the phenomenon of the ubiquity of automobiles in Puerto Rico. The island measures slightly less than 9,000 square kilometers, but has 25,000 kilometers of paved road, one of the highest proportions in the planet. Puerto Rico is one of the countries with the largest number of vehicles per kilometer (of road) and third in the world in number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants. The film was produced with the idea to raise consciousness and create a dialogue about the ongoing situation of our dependence on cars. It also shows the dangerous circumstances of an island that is slowly being covered by scrap metal.

Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary The People of the Kattawapiskak River exposes the housing crisis faced by 1,700 Cree in Northern Ontario, a situation that led Attawapiskat’s band chief, Theresa Spence, to ask the Canadian Red Cross for help. With the Idle No More movement making front page headlines, this film provides background and context for one aspect of the growing crisis.

LIGHT FLY, FLY HIGH follows Thulasi, a young Indian girl born outside caste, and whose life is in many ways pre-determined. She is expected to marry and accept her place at the very bottom of the social ladder. But Thulasi dreams of a different life. She wants to be free, and enters the boxing ring to fight for independence. Through a sports program, young athletes in India can be recruited into government jobs. Thulasi has talent, but she is held back because of her background. She depends on the head of the boxing club to help her, but he expects things in return. Thulasi has no money and she refuses to be exploited.

Fate brings a young woman to idyllic Karelia in Russia, near the Russian-Finnish border. She meets an old woman, Santra, who represents the only remaining link to the Karelian culture of her ancestors. This film is about the difficulty and beauty of finding a home.

ANA ANA is a cinematic poem about four young creative Egyptian women. Most of the material is filmed by the characters themselves, who worked with the film’s directors in a process of collaboration and mentorship over a course of two years. The four main characters find creative ways to express what is hidden within their hearts: speaking of their dreams and desires in an extraordinarily open and intimate way, and using metaphors, and cinematic storytelling to transform the every-day struggles of their lives into the sublime. Set in the overwhelming chaos of Cairo, the film also oscillates back and forth between an empty and abstract desert, which might be real or unreal.

The Mona Lisa Curse is a Grierson award-winning polemic documentary by art critic Robert Hughes that examines how the world's most famous painting came to influence the art world. With his trademark style, Hughes explores how museums, the production of art and the way we experience it have radically changed in the last 50 years, telling the story of the rise of contemporary art and looking back over a life spent talking and writing about the art he loves, and loathes. In these postmodern days it has been said that there is no more passé a vocation than that of the professional art critic. Perceived as the gate keeper for opinions regarding art and culture, the art critic has supposedly been rendered obsolete by an ever expanding pluralism in the art world, where all practices and disciplines are purported to be equal and valid. Robert Hughes, however, is one art critic who has delivered a message that must not be ignored.

2021 marks the 50th anniversary of "Coal Miner’s Daughter," the Loretta Lynn song that became a book, a feature film, and an indelible part of popular culture. Like so many other songs written by Lynn, the lyrics told the story of her life and spoke to women who struggled to make ends meet. Lynn’s simple, straightforward song stories gave legitimacy to the joys, heartaches, struggles and triumphs.