1. Puck of the Irish (Poc na nGael)
A new insight into the Irish origins of Ice-hockey in Canada.
2. The Greenhorns
Armed with a camcorder, farmer-filmmaker-activist Severine von Tscharner Fleming spent two years crisscrossing America, meeting and mobilizing a network of revolutionary young farmers resettling the land. 'The Greenhorns' is an ode to their grit and entrepreneurial spirit, an exploration of sustainable agriculture, and an enticement to reclaim our national soil. The ninety minute feature is the culmination of well over 200 hours of original footage from all regions of the United States, as well as original animation by young urban farmer and artist Brooke Budner, and rare agricultural archival footage from the Prelinger Archives. Ultimately, The Greenhorns shows us how farmers can move out of the margins recent history has consigned them to, and back to the heart of the American food landscape.
3. Alex Colville: The Splendour of Order
A view of the life and works of the late Alex Colville, the celebrated Canadian painter. Shows the influence on his life and works of his experience as an artist during World War II, and of his relationship with his wife, Rhoda. Friends and critics speak of the construction and sense of menace in his work, and Colville comments on his sense of order, goodness, and contingency.
4. Cod Wars (Cod Wars)
It’s now 40 years since the end of the Cod Wars between Britain and Iceland. During the 1950s and 60s, Britain consumed 430,000 tons of cod each year, but as the stocks started to diminish the livelihoods of fishing communities in both countries were at stake. Iceland took steps to protect their fishing industry - the mainstay of their economy - resulting in the three so-called Cod Wars. This was a David and Goliath struggle, where the small fleet of Icelandic gunboats were pitted against the British trawlers and the Royal Navy in the North Atlantic. This Icelandic film, made in 2001, tells the story from both sides and reflects on the impact of the Cod Wars in Grimsby and Hull.
5. Once You Know (Une fois que tu sais)
Today, like a ship entering the storm, the world faces climate change induced collapse. Once You Know, by director Emmanuel Cappellin, is a poetic and poignant exploration of how four of the world’s leading climate scientists and energy experts find truth, chaos, and hope in their work.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
6. After the Ballot (Chers électeurs)
After the Ballot is a full-length documentary portraying the gruelling everyday life of two Members of Quebec's National Assembly who, although at opposite ends of the political spectrum, share the fact that their sole power lies in their convictions. One is Daniel Turp, the PQ Member for Mercier. The other is Charlotte L'Écuyer, Liberal MNA for Pontiac. The film aptly illustrates that ordinary MNAs have very little authority since the real power is held by ministers who are subject to the ups and downs of a globalized economy. Meanwhile, their fellow citizens keep asking for the impossible…
7. Tangled Roots
An intimate look into Demers family's experience raising children while dealing with the societal stigmas around disabilities and the consequences of Alberta's forgotten experiment in eugenics.
8. That Never Happened: Canada's First National Internment Operations
The documentary tells the little known story of thousands of Ukrainian and Eastern Europeans that were interned in Canadian camps during the First World War.
9. Radio Bikini
It starts with a live radio broadcast from the Bikini Atoll a few days before it is annihilated by a nuclear test. Shows great footage from these times and tells the story of the US Navy Sailors who were exposed to radioactive fallout. One interviewed sailor suffered grotesquely swollen limbs and he is shown being interviewed with enormous left arm and hand.
It has an average vote of 7.3 on TMDB.
10. Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball
Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball tells the story of the Major League pitcher who won two world championships and after a USO tour through Vietnam, devoted himself to medicine.
11. Passfire
A film about fireworks, the people who make them and the cultures behind them across the globe.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
12. The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream
Since World War II North Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. But as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge...
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
13. The Seeker
A lyrical portrait of an excommunicated Amish woodworker struggling with spirituality, poverty, and life as an outcast from his strict, insular community.
14. Jacques Cartier, un Malouin au Canada (Jacques Cartier, un Malouin au Canada)
(Jacques Cartier, un Malouin au Canada)
15. John Muir in the New World
The life and the career of John Muir come to life through this inspiring and beautiful documentary set against the magnificent landscapes of the American West. The Scottish-born naturalist was one of the first nature preservationists in American history, inspiring others through his writing and his advocacy to keep the wilderness wild. Shot in high definition in the spectacular landscapes that shaped Muir - and were, in turn, shaped by his devotion.
16. Passages (Traversées)
Five women from the North to the South of Quebec embark on a multisport expedition following the Koroc river in Nunavik. Travelling together against adversity, this journey soon becomes one of self-discovery for each participant.
17. Fairy Creek: The Last Stand
In less than 150 years, 97.3% of British Columbia's old growth forests have been logged. These ancient trees and their ecosystems have been lost forever. Fairy Creek , one of BC's last untouched old growth watersheds, lies on Southern Vancouver Island on the unceded territories of the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and the Huu-ay-aht Nations. Despite Premier John Horgan's 2020 election promise to protect the remaining 2.7% of old growth forest, logging of Fairy Creek continues unabated. In August 2020, forest and land defenders began setting up blockades to prevent the destruction of this beautiful and fragile ecosystem. One year later, after mass civil action, over 500 arrests and intense public pressure, the conflict continues. This comprehensive and compelling documentary film sheds light on the issues around the logging and blockades, through conversations with Indigenous Elders, politicians, police, lawyers, front line activists, and many others.
18. Fly on the Wall: Canada’s Residential School Legacy
For more than 100 years, thousands of Indigenous children died while in Canada’s residential school system. Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones survived, but he, like many others, experienced years of beatings and sexual abuse. The scandal has finally brought the Indigenous rights struggle into focus, none more so than at Fairy Creek, an area of forest on First Nations land that protesters are desperately trying to prevent from falling into the hands of logging companies.
19. ARISE for the Ancient Forests | Save Fairy Creek
A film initially was released alongside an injunction granted from the BC court to Teal Jones, enabling them to forcibly remove forest protectors who have been sacrificing their worlds at home to stand and defend some of the last of the 2.7% remaining old-growth on Vancouver Island. In collaboration with filmmaker, Ian MacKenzie, the short-film depicts how much we truly depend on these Ancient Forests for our survival as well.
20. Burned: Are Trees the New Coal?
The little-known story of the accelerating destruction of our forests for fuel - the policy loopholes, huge subsidies, and blatant green washing of the burgeoning biomass electric power industry.
