Moving Images Distribution: Racism

Alice in Big Noses' Land

Nicole Giguère, Vidéo Femmes

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.

Set in modern-day Montréal, C'est Moi explores the collision of the past as it meets the present. Performance by Montréal native Jenny Brizard evokes the return of a ghostly figure, Marie-Josèph Angélique, a runaway slave in 18th century New France (Québec). She was accused of setting a fire in Vieux Montréal and subsequently tortured and hanged. As it prepared to celebrate its 375th anniversary, the City of Montréal removed a plaque that stated a declaration against racial discrimination, thus posing the question, "How much of our past is erased in the restoration of history?"

Chika's Bird

Adam Mars, Sharon Yu

Chika, a shy Japanese-Canadian girl, has trouble fitting in at home and at school, but she learns to fend for herself when her beloved grandfather is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Fierce Girls

Loretta Sarah Todd

Cross-platform storytelling follows the adventures of two teenage girls--one Cree, the other Maori--who share life experiences across the globe and address life's challenges in a creative and empowering way.

The Fifth Region

Aeyliya Husain, Gabriel Nuraki Koperqualuk

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.

Finding Our Way

Giovanni Attili, Leonie Sandercock

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.

Images of the First Hundred Years

Rick Shiomi, Powell Street Revue

Based upon the photos from the Japanese-Canadian Centennial Project, this film is a deeply felt personal statement about the cultural heritage of Canada's Japanese community and the problems that it has encountered in Canadian society. It effectively brings a difficult issue into focus for students as well as for the general public.

Journey for Lotus

Eunhee Cha

Journey for Lotus is a documentary about a Korean-Canadian taking a journey to find goodness in a traumatic historic period of Japanese colonization of Korea. This documentary unveils the truth about the Japanese colonialism of Korea (1910-1945).

Lest We Forget

Jason DaSilva, In Face Films, Roopa De Choudhury

With a critical eye, Lest We Forget looks at the issues of race, human rights and homeland security post-911 in the United States and Canada.

The Life and Work of Alex Janvier

Dr. Raoul McKay, Stephen Roberts

Alex Janvier has long been recognized as one of Canada's greatest artistic treasures whose work helped change the face of Canadian art. He is an internationally renowned artist whose paintings are in great demand and have been exhibited in galleries and private collections around the world. For Janvier, a Dene Suline from the Cold Lake First Nations Reserve in Alberta, painting has always been a way to tell a story and his art reflects the incredible changes that have taken place to Indigenous people in Canada during his lifetime.

Little Black Caddy

Greg Liburd, Peter Alexander, Fast Productions, Cheryl-Lee Fast, Jennifer Jang

This subversive, hilarious short drama delivers an important message on the subtleties of racism today.

Made in China: The Story of Adopted Chinese Children in Canada

Karin Lee, Shan Tam

Made in China tells the story of several remarkable children from China between the ages of five and thirteen who make three regions of Canada-British Columbia, Québec, and Newfoundland-their new home.

Moon Water

Rita Jasper

Métis videographer Rita Jasper provides a street-level perspective to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women in Vancouver, British Columbia, a province where the number of victims is disproportionately high.

North Boys: The Story of Jimmy and Charlie

Lucy van Oldenbarneveld, Laura Cabott

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.

OWNING the SLAVE

Renée Poisson

This documentary follows ex-pat American Andy Stringfellow, who left behind the rich African-American culture of the rural south where he was raised, to move to Canada. Thirty years later, the only black man in a white town, he offers a frank, complex view into the experience of being an outsider.