This compact and comprehensive series explores what could be done to improve living conditions in lesser-developed countries.
A documentary investigation into "the aswang," a mythical creature in Philippine folklore-its origins, historical use as a tool for control and the place the aswang occupies in Philippine society today. DVD includes an extra feature, Aswang: A Journey into Myth.
This tribute to Métis leader Raoul McKay (1934-2014) pays tribute to a prolific storyteller, filmmaker, educator and leader who advocated tirelessly for the rights of Indigenous people both in his home province of Manitoba and across Canada.
Development and Debt looks at the history of the international development assistance that began in the early 1960s and conditions attached to that aid, often benefitting those providing it more than its recipients.
The Métis flag is the oldest Indigenous flag in the Northwest, dating back to 1816. As a young woman in Winnipeg reseraches her family roots, she learns about the early history of the Métis or Mechif people as they area also known.
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.
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.
"Deep down we're all fractured," an oil and gas representative tells young Aboriginal leader and lawyer Caleb Behn. Behn knows that feeling all too well, as he struggles with the role he'll play in protecting his traditional territory under Treaty 8 in northern British Columbia, an area that is currently under siege from some of the world's largest natural gas operations.
A young family from the Secwepemc First Nation lives in a traditional pit house near Kamloops in the Thompson River Valley of British Columbia. Their lives are rooted in concern for the environment, respect for unceded traditional territory and a return to traditional First Nations culture.
The Gwa'sala and 'Nakwaxda'xw First Nations people lived as two distinct groups along Canada's northwest coast. They traces their history, from traditions documented by Franz Boas and Edward Sheriff Curtis, the Indian Residential School experience and a forced relocation from traditional territories in 1964, to return visits to their homelands that ignited the healing process and aroused interest in rich cultural traditions. Two versions: 59 min and 45 min. Streaming available.
Interdependence explains that, concerned or not, everyone is affected—through trading relationships and other factors of interdependence such as health, the environment, economics and global security.
The Legacy of Colonialism examines the role worldview played in the 500 years of colonization that began in the 15th century, tracing historical structures contributing to the current status of many lesser-developed countries.
People from the Kwakwa'kawakw's 'NAMGIS First Nation take a canoe trip through their traditional territory on Vancouver Island. They reflect on their connection to the land-- the core of their lifeblood and culture, and on their intent to negotiate a modern-day Treaty with the government of British Columbia and the government of Canada.
In 1944, Charlie Post and Jimmy Dennis were both removed from their families to attend the Le Jac Indian Residential School. Just 10 years old, they never saw their families again. They share their experiences of event that illustrate why both men have spent a lifetime trying to overcome the impact of that traumatic day and the eight years that followed.
Family relationships and traditional teachings of Indigenous people were severely disrupted by the Canadian Government and church-run Residential and Confessional schools from the late 1800s until well into the 20th century. The Power of the Spirit explores state-sanctioned attempts to “take the Indian out of the child” and the efforts Indigenous people embarked on in the 1950s and 60s to chart new grounds for education and spirituality based on traditional learning.
Small Pleasures is a unique film featuring three women (First Nations, Chinese and European) who use the pre-colonial trade language of Chinook Jargon to convey to each other complex ideas about feminist resistance in late 19th century Canada.
Drama, documentary and poetic prose express the violence of colonization as Dorothy Christian portrays her spiritual journey through return to her traditional First Nations homelands.
When she was ten, Lisa Jackson fled Toronto to live with relatives in Vancouver to escape her mother's depression, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse - legacies of the residential school experience. Now, sifting through her memories and her mother's letters, she constructs a portrait of a mother whose drive to love her daughter triumphed over her demons of addiction.
In this second documentary from Series 1 of La Voix des Mechif, the essential need for land ownership to establish any form of jurisdiction is explored, along with how The Manitoba Act of 1870 allocating land to the Métis people failed them through the Scrip program exploited by both Church and State.
A Tropical Paradise provides an overview of the 80/20 split of global wealth and introduces the concept of developing countries and the origin of the term “third world.”
Unspoken Territory depicts the "lost" or unspoken moments in Canadian history, told through the stories of First Nations, immigrant and Quebecois women. The film takes us back to the days of Chinese railway workers; the desolate setting of a Ukrainian internment camp in 1915; the shock of a Japanese woman learning of her father's internment only after his death.
People from the Kwakwa'kawakw's 'NAMGIS First Nation take a canoe trip through their traditional territory on Vancouver Island. They reflect on their connection to the land-- the core of their lifeblood and culture, and on their intent to negotiate a modern-day Treaty with the government of British Columbia and the government of Canada.
In this collaboration between Marilyn Simon Ingram (IRS survivor and advocate), Barb Martin and Outreach Productions, Indian Residential School survivors in Atlantic Canada reflect on their experiences with the Shubenacadie Residential School in central Nova Scotia.
Where to Next? gives a thoughtful perspective on foreign aid, pointing out that outcomes are often greater for business development in donor nations than poverty reduction in recipient countries.