British Columbia
Abalone Odyssey
A chronicle of the Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Abalone Project, or BHCAP, a community stewardship project on Vancouver Island that couples First Nations wisdom with western science to revive the threatened population of the pinto abalone.
Against the Current
Against the Current follows the struggle of a small native band in British Columbia, the Uchucklesaht on Vancouver Island, in their struggle to restore a once-healthy salmon run.
Amazing Grays: A Celebration of the Crone
On Vancouver Island, a group called the Amazing Grays host an annual gathering to celebrate aging. This video presents six themes on the aging process: the force of gravity, menopause, cronehood, role models, life passages, and feminine spirituality.
Athlii Gwaii: The Line at Lyell, Parts 1 & 2 • Ravens and Eagles: Haida Art (Series 2)
In 1985, a small but resolute group of Haida elders joined the front lines to fight clearcutting on Lyell Island.
Ayaa: A Hero's Journey
In any small town, you quickly know who your neighbours are, but in a trailer park in Chase, British Columbia, two neighbours discovered a spiritual connection that spanned continents and time, miraculously reuniting them fifty years after their first encounter.
BACKBONE: Vancouver Experimental Cinema 1967-1981
Celebrating artistic innovation in Vancouver from 1967 to 1981, this documentary follows a period when Canada was an international hub for experimental film. Vancouver artists, on Canada's west coast, had a particularly dynamic scene that inspired an enduring body of work that resonates today.
Barkerville, British Columbia • Ghost Towns of Canada
This episode of Ghost Towns of Canada explores Barkerville, British Columbia that was known not only for money-making opportunities due to fantastic amounts of gold, but also for its cultural openness.
Beyond the Gardens' Wall: The Immigrant Workers of Tod Inlet
Stories of early 20th century Sikh and Chinese immigrants who built first a cement plant, and then the Butchart Gardens, enriches the history of Vancouver Island, while illustrating the harsh impact Canada's restrictive immigration laws had on those communities.
Box of Treasures
This film takes a look at the opening of the U'mista Cultural Centre, a world-class museum in Alert Bay, British Columbia built by the Kwakwaka'wakw people.
Canadian Steel, Chinese Grit
This documentary, released for distribution in November 2000, delves into the history of the Chinese workers without whom Canada's national railway could never have been realized.
The Canneries
The Canneries is a historical exploration of the salmon canning industry along the coast of British Columbia.
Canyon War: The Untold Story
Canyon War covers the tumultuous events of 1858 in British Columbia-events which led to a little-known war that could have escalated, had it not been for the persuasive diplomacy of Chief Spintlum of the Nlaka'pamux First Nation.
The Caretakers
In 2014, actiivists of all ages, ranging from First Nations people to long-time Vancouver residents and new Canadians, ascended Burnaby Mountain in Canada's third largest city. There they made camp on the proposed route of a future pipeline. Their determination to do whatever it takes to keep the project from going forward springs from a firm belief in the need to protect this area of unceded Coastal Salish people for future generations.
Cassiar, British Columbia • Ghost Towns of Canada
This episode of Ghost Towns of Canada explores Cassiar, British Columbia, where in 1952 one of the world's best known asbestos mine was opened. By the 1970s, with a new awareness of the health risks associated with asbestos the future of the Cassiar did not look bright.
Cedar and Bamboo
Four people of mixed Chinese and First Nations heritage talk about their heritage and identity.
Cry Rock
Banchi Hanuse returns to her home in Bella Coola. She enjoys the stories of her people. While there, she reflects on the nature of the oral tradition, wrestling with whether she should film her grandmother's stories or just listen.
Cue the Muse
This cinematic journey searches the secrets of uninhibited creativity, following four Vancouver artists: master painter and AIDS activist Tiko Kerr, ballet dancer Alexis Fletcher, luthier Nicole Alosinac and fiery singer Colleen Rennison of the blues-rock band No Sinner.
Do It with Joy!
This classic documentary from the 1970s tells the off-beat story of an itinerant group of tree planters in the wilds of northern British Columbia. Musicians, ex-loggers, environmentalists and a mime artist all come together for this uplifting film.
Edible Seaweeds: What the fucus? • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)
In 2002 Dr. Dolly Garza, a professor at the University of Alaska, took early retirement to come and live on Haida Gwaii full-time. She is originally Haida from Alaska but married a future hereditary chief of the Haida nation. Dolly has been harvesting seaweed for most of her life and shares her knowledge as an advocate for the many benefits of incorporating seaweed into a healthful diet.
EJ Hughes Restoration: Triumph Over Hard Times
Unexpectedly, while tearing down an old hotel, workmen uncovered hidden behind a false wall a lost masterpiece by British Columbia's premier landscape artist-E.J. Hughes.
Every Year the Salmon Come Back • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 3)
Salmon were one of the most prolific species of fish in the ocean, common in all waters surrounding North America and as far south as New Zealand. Stocks have declined on the west coast and in Atlantic Canada, wild salmon are no longer available in the market place, having been replaced by the omni-present farmed fish.
The Fast
The Fast follows Doreen Manuel on her journey into the Rocky Mountains for a four-day fasting ceremony to tap into her inner power as a storyteller.
Finding Our Way
Three 30-minute films, made in partnership with two First Nations bands in the Carrier territory of north central British Columbia, describe conflict over land and sovereignty and ask if there is a way forward.
A Forgotten Legacy: Spirit of Reclamation
One hundred years ago, the Fraser River Gold Rush opened the door for hundreds of Euro-Americans seeking their fortune. For the indigenous people of British Columbia, this overnight stampede triggered the ebb of a way of life forged on barter and trade. A Forgotten Legacy: Spirit of Reclamation explores the participation and adaptability of British Columbia's Native people as a new economy overtook the land.
