Identity
Alice in Big Noses' Land
This documentary follows filmmaker Nicole Giguere and her adopted Chinese daughter Alice, as they and many of their friends face the challenges of living in North America within a hybrid family.
All ah We
Second-generation Caribbean Canadian Karen Chapman undergoes a cultural transformation into a carnival masquerader at Toronto’s Caribana Parade. On this colourful journey, she discovers her Afro and Indo-Caribbean heritage while asking, “Can you call a place home if you have never been there?”
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.
CARRY THE FIRE: The Life and Time of Raoul McKay
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.
Cedar and Bamboo
Four people of mixed Chinese and First Nations heritage talk about their heritage and identity.
A Dream of Naming
A woman reflects on the plurality of her self-image in this compelling interpretation of the poem, "A Dream of Naming," written and performed by Vancouver artist Judy Radul.
Edna's Bloodline
Edna Elias, the former Commissioner of Nunavut Canada, received an email from Fredrik Norberg, a distant relative in Sweden. He wanted to learn more about Petter Norberg, Edna's great grandfather who had left Sweden in the late 1800's and then settled in Canada's far North.
Escapades of the One Particular Mr. Noodle
A humorous and personal take on the assimilation question, this film concerns a second-generation Chinese-Canadian who recalls her childhood in a white middle class suburb in the 1960s.
Face First
In Face First, filmmaker Mike Grundmann and three other remarkable individuals who grew up with facial birth defects open old, surgically-sealed wounds to tell stark anecdotes about the physical pain of corrective surgery and the psychological sting of ridicule and rejection.
The Fifth Region
Canada's Arctic is divided into four territories. Inuit children were affected greatly by the 60s Scoop and a large number of Inuit people now live in the South, which they call "the fifth region." Two young urban Inuit people share their personal journeys to reconcile mixed identities and reconnect with tradiional Inuit culture far from home.
FLESH
In this idiosyncratic documentary, Tami Wilson looks at women and meat in a society obsessed with flesh. Are there parallels between how women and animals are packaged in popular culture?
FLESH and BLOOD: a journey between east and west
What's the Ukrainian word for sex? Filmmaker Marusya Bociurkiw explores this question in the humorous and provocative Flesh and Blood, the first-ever Canadian film about East European queer sexualities.
Fortune Cookies
Filmmaker Xia Tong explores the loneliness and turmoil that often mark the transition to a new country.
A Fortune in Frozen Dim Sum
Filmmaker Ling Chiu tells the sweet, complex and near-tragic tale of one Chinese immigrant family and their brush with disaster and fortune.
Gender Blender: Dialogues of Hope
In this youth-driven documentary, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students at a high school in the town of Hope, British Columbia explore issues they face at their high school. The film project created a dialogue among students and the community as a step toward eliminating bullying.
the gesture
In this short drama, a young lesbian woman and an unforgiving grandmother are brought face to face when the grandmother suddenly shows up, hoping to make amends.
The Girls of St. Mary's
This documentary, narrated by Maliseet elder Maggie Paul, is a collaboration between Christine McLean and the St. Mary's First Nation in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It provides a rare glimpse into the lives of three Maliseet teenagers on St. Mary's First Nation, one of the few urban reserves in Canada.
Head Cold
Psychosis: an illness that is apparently incurable, a diagnosis that literally turns the lives of those involved upside-down. For the first time ever, the afflicted author and director Gamma Bak dares to make an autobiographical film dealing with the various stages of her illness.
Home Care
This short drama follows an elderly woman who feels the need to strike out on her own. Little does she expect that she will be the one who is struck by her controlling husband.
How A People Live
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.
Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids
Kids today are the most overprotected, overindulged, and overscheduled in history. Is all this attention giving the next generation a competitlve edge, or creating new problems that will last a lifetime?
Johnny Tootall
Upon his return home from the Bosnian war, Johnny Tootall begins a spiritual quest for discovery of his own true self.
Just Smile and Nod
In this short drama, the communication gap between 10-year-old Matt and his elderly Chinese grandfather is anything but typical.
Labelled
The power and damage wrought by labelling children is front and centre in this short animation with puppets.
Lip Service: a mystery
Animator and experimental filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming blends narrative and unique visual treatment in this mystery fiction film. A lipless woman, out of work, becomes a private detective and is forced to grapple with her own vulnerability in the world.
