A mysterious traveller journeys across space and time in search of the origin of the universe. Along the way, he arrives at a devastating realization. But when he voices his conclusion, his discovery is brushed off as the babble of a deranged man. The world continues to spin.
In I Like Girls, four women reveal the nitty-gritty about their first loves, sharing funny and intimate tales of one-sided infatuation, mutual attraction, erotic moments, and fumbling attempts at sexual expression. For them, discovering that they’re attracted to other women comes hand-in-hand with a deeper understanding of their personal identity and a joyful new self-awareness.
Limit Is the Sky is an unflinchingly honest portrait of a new generation of youth: diverse, ambitious, and driven by the seductive lure of big cash and the lifestyle it buys. The film follows six young Canadians, including refugees from the Middle East and Africa, who come to Fort McMurray, a city of immense sky and dusty winds. It is also the capital of the third-largest oil reserve in the world. “Fort Mac,” as it’s known, becomes a testing ground for these young dreamers as they struggle with their own perceptions of money, glory and self-worth, amid plummeting oil prices, an unpredictable economy and, most recently, a devastating wildfire.
Set in the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland’s rugged Fogo Island, Justin Simms’ short film HAND.LINE.COD follows a group of “people of the fish”—traditional fishers who catch cod live by hand, by hook and line, one at a time. Their secret mission? To drive up the price of fish. After a 20-year moratorium on North Atlantic cod, the stocks are returning. These fishers are leading a revolution in sustainability, taking their premium product directly to the commercial market for the first time.
Simms takes viewers deep inside the world of the brave fishers returning to past methods that hold tremendous potential for the future. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that’s making a comeback.
Worldwide, Arab men are depicted by the mainstream media as terrorists, suicide bombers, or at best, extremists. In Things Arab Men Say, Egyptian-born filmmaker Nisreen Baker paints a very different picture.
Join Jay, Ghassan, and their friends as they gather at Jamal’s Eden Barber Shop for a haircut, a shave, and a lively discussion on politics, religion and identity. Although located in St. Albert, an Edmonton suburb, Jamal’s shop could be anywhere, serving as a microcosm of the Arab community.
At times serious, but laced with deft humor, the film follows the group as they debate the issues at hand and express often-surprising views that bring us closer to changing the narrative surrounding their community.
Directed by Somali-Canadian filmmakers Asha and Roda Siad, this short documentary follows several refugee families during their first 19 days in Canada, as they navigate an unfamiliar terrain that has suddenly become their home. A unique look at the global migration crisis and one particular stage of asylum, the film reveals the human side of the refugee resettlement process and lays plain the realities faced on the difficult road towards integration.
Jacqueline isn’t quite in her right mind anymore, but she’s determined to take the train to the seaside, as she does every summer. Only this year, she’s constantly being followed by some woman who claims to be her daughter, and the trip takes some unexpected, phantasmagorical turns.
Franck Dion’s gentle, poetic film invites us to share the journey of an elderly woman living with degenerative dementia, as her confused mind leaves her open to danger.
For decades, the pulp and paper industry was the jewel in the crown of Canada’s economy. Today, with so many mills closing down, what future is there for the forestry communities that sprang up and prospered around them? Through lucid, inspired testimonials by former workers, this film delves into the industry’s glorious past and gauges the true impact of mill closings on local populations and on the way the forest is managed.
Seal hunting, a critical part of Inuit life, has been controversial for a long time. Now, a new generation of Inuit, armed with social media and their own sense of humour and justice, are challenging the anti-sealing groups and bringing their own voices into the conversation. Director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril joins her fellow Inuit activists as they challenge outdated perceptions of Inuit and present themselves to the world as a modern people in dire need of a sustainable economy.
A routine workday in a granite quarry turns surreptitiously into a captivating industrial symphony. While men work in the background, different equipment and machines perform for the camera as if they are individual dancers in a contemporary ballet.
A night in a bar like any other… Deftly capturing furtive glances, moments of euphoria and awkward situations, Serge Bordeleau blends tools borrowed from fiction filmmaking with documentary observation to construct a gallery of characters who provide undeniable proof that every night holds a myriad potential stories.
Lifeguards run down the beach and dive into the ocean to save swimmers from drowning. These dramatic rescues are captured by a hyperactive, spinning camera that becomes one with the elements and challenges how subjective a documentary may be.