"This documentary depicts a canoe being built in the traditional manner. Cesar Newashish, a 67-year-old Attikamek of the Manawan Reserve North of Montréal, uses only birchbark, cedar splints, spruce roots, and gum. With a sure hand he works methodically to fashion a craft unsurpassed in function or beauty of design. Building a canoe solely from the materials that the forest provides may become a lost art, even among the Native Peoples whose traditional craft it is. The film is free of spoken commentary but text appears on the screen in Cree, French, and English." - Anthology Film Archives
"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
"This film is one of the first French Unit productions of the “Société Nouvelle/Challenge for Change” program. When an old area of Montréal is to be demolished to make way for a new low-income housing development, is there anything the residents can do to protect their own interests? The film documents such a situation in the Little Burgundy district of Montréal and shows how the residents organized themselves into a committee that successfully influenced the city’s housing policy." - Anthology Film Archives
Feature-length documentary as part of Pierre Perrault's Abitibian Cycle. The filmmaker questions the past and present of Abitibi and draws up, face to face, the promises of colonization in the 1930s and the great disappointment caused by the closing of the land in the 1970s. There are witnesses to the heroic era, including the cultivator Hauris Lalancette, as well as extracts from films by Father Maurice Proulx (1934-1940).
A documentary about direct-cinema from its very beginnings (Nanook of the North) to the fake-direct-cinema of the Blair Witch Project. All the important direct-cinema filmmakers are portrayed and/or interviewed: Leacock, Wiseman, Maysles, Pennebaker, Reisz and others.
"Montréal under the snow and the cold winter. It is the period of the year when the garage owners strike it rich. The automobile at the service of man? This small opus would rather show the contrary. This is one in a series of eight films titled “Chronicle of Everyday Life,” a project that filmmaker Jacques Leduc took four years to realize, and whose goal was to revisit Direct Cinema at a moment when it was already heavily “contaminated” by mainstream TV." - Anthology Film Archives
Michel Brault, l'instinct de vue
Radiohead performance recorded at 93 Feet East, London, 16th January 2008.
This independent documentary goes further than the Feds to reveal the most talked-about show on TV: its starts, production techniques, and secret locations deep in the heart of New Jersey. Hosted by John Fiore (Gigi of The Sopranos), and featuring Marie Ruffolo.
The unbelievable story of Leonid Bernshtein, a young Jewish soldier who rose to become the leader and led the operation to destroy the secret facility of the notorious Nazi V2 ballistic missiles.
Path in progress on the intentions of those who think badly. The discomfort of the mind of those who have no discomfort is greater than that of those who make discomfort their natural expression. "Troppolitani Outside Where?" it is a journey through the folds of the human and inhuman mind. A one-way trip that does not allow for escape: you remain trapped in the thought of whoever is in front of you. One is stunned by the astonishment that the deviated mind is able to arouse.
Features exclusive behind-the-scenes access and never-before-heard audio of the MLB umpires who worked the 2012 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers.
The Remarkable Mr Kaye is a blatantly biased portrait by filmmaker Paul Cox about the life of Norman Kaye - actor, musician and compassionate lover of life. Norman Kaye and Paul Cox first met in Melbourne in 1967. Norman, a music teacher and 'after hours' actor and Paul, a stills photographer, discovered in each other a mutual desire to explore their ideas and dreams through film. So began a 36-year working relationship that ceased only as the curtains of Alzheimer's Disease gradually closed around Kaye. There are few films by Paul Cox that are without some significant contribution, on-screen or off, by Kaye. Whether as lead actor or in a supporting role; as composer or performer, Kaye influenced everyone around him with guileless enthusiasm and humour. The Remarkable Mr Kaye includes film extracts and personal memories in a moving film that is homage to friendship and a creative partnership that shaped and changed Paul Cox's life.
This special sees Louis travel to America to investigate the story of a man who has become one of the most controversial and captivating icons of recent times: the gun-toting, self-described 'gay hillbilly' and 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic.
After battling double pneumonia and being declared dead for a moment, the filmmaker’s uncle emerges with vivid, detailed visions. Uncle Bardo animates these memories via an inventive mix of documentary and experimental stop-motion animation, offering a mesmerizing glimpse into Bardo’s altered consciousness, blending reality and imagination in a narrative that’s both simple and intricately visualized.
A documentary on the artist Winfred Rembert, whose paintings depicted bigotry in America in the latter part of the 20th century.
The story of an unsung hero in filmmaking and the racial barriers he faced growing up and into his career, through archival footage of himself and his films, and what made his camerawork so innovative and unique.
Saving JONES is an award winning biographical social commentary about the abuse and discrimination of dogs as it directly relates to human abuse. Pit bull type dogs are the most abused, discriminated against and murdered dogs on earth. Saving Jones is a heartwarming yet tragic, inspiring and truthful look at why what is happening to these inherently good dogs is a direct reflection of a broken society and everyone's problem. All profits from earned from this film go directly to the Stand Up For Pits Foundation, a national charity dedicated to educating, advocating and saving the lives of pit bull type dogs.
Mankind from Space is an epic journey of discovery. Using mind-boggling data and CGI, it traces humankind’s story from hunter-gatherer to dominant global species. Seen from the global perspective of space, this special shows the breath-taking extent of our influence, revealing how we’ve transformed our planet and produced an interconnected world of extraordinary complexity.
Annie Girardot, ainsi va la vie