Nance Ackerman

Movies

Little Thunder
Director
This animated short, inspired by the Mi'kmaq legend "The Stone Canoe" explores Indigenous humour. We follow Little Thunder as he reluctantly leaves his family and sets out on a cross-country canoe trip to become a man.
Four Feet Up
Editor
Four Feet Up is an intimate portrayal of child poverty in Canada by award-winning photographer and documentary filmmaker Nance Ackerman. Twenty years after the promise of the House of Commons 'to eliminate poverty among Canadian children,' 8-year-old Isaiah contemplates what 'less fortunate' means as he finds his voice through his own magical drawings and photographs. Four Feet Up invites us into the lives of this determined family, revealing an intimate and touching experience of child poverty in one of the world's richest nations.
Four Feet Up
Writer
Four Feet Up is an intimate portrayal of child poverty in Canada by award-winning photographer and documentary filmmaker Nance Ackerman. Twenty years after the promise of the House of Commons 'to eliminate poverty among Canadian children,' 8-year-old Isaiah contemplates what 'less fortunate' means as he finds his voice through his own magical drawings and photographs. Four Feet Up invites us into the lives of this determined family, revealing an intimate and touching experience of child poverty in one of the world's richest nations.
Four Feet Up
Director
Four Feet Up is an intimate portrayal of child poverty in Canada by award-winning photographer and documentary filmmaker Nance Ackerman. Twenty years after the promise of the House of Commons 'to eliminate poverty among Canadian children,' 8-year-old Isaiah contemplates what 'less fortunate' means as he finds his voice through his own magical drawings and photographs. Four Feet Up invites us into the lives of this determined family, revealing an intimate and touching experience of child poverty in one of the world's richest nations.
Cottonland
Director
In this feature-length documentary, photographer Nance Ackerman describes the havoc prescription painkiller OxyContin wreaked in the already weakened Cape Breton town of Glace Bay. The film guides us through a culture of economic and social depression where we encounter men and women at different stages of dependency. Demystifying the world of the addict while showing us the complex social nexus that led to such despair, Cottonland emphasizes the importance of a collective approach to tackling addiction.
Conviction
Director
Conviction envisions alternatives to prison through the eyes of women behind bars and those fighting on the front lines of the decarceration movement. Not another ‘broken prison’ film, this collaboration is a ‘broken society’ film—an ambitious and inspired re-build of our community, from the inside out. The film compels viewers to examine why we imprison the most vulnerable among us, and at what cost.