Robert Verrall

This feature documentary by Alanis Obomsawin is a thoughtful tribute to Norman Cornett, a McGill University professor celebrated by scores of students appreciative of his unconventional yet powerful teaching methods who was controversially dismissed from his teaching duties in 2007.

This short documentary by Alanis Obomsawin takes us to Poundmaker's Lodge, a treatment centre in St. Albert, Alberta, that welcomes Native people troubled by addiction to drugs and alcohol. Named after a 19th-century Native leader, the centre offers a space where Natives can come together for mutual support, partake in healing rituals like the sweat lodge, and rediscover their traditions. The film shows the despair of a people dispossessed of land, culture, language and dignity, and their strength and courage in overcoming substance abuse.

A group of actors in the East Village of New York City have been rehearsing for a play when the lead actress in the play turns up dead.

A baseball crazed 12 year old gets, and loses, a prized cap. A father struggles for dignity in his son's eyes. Based on Morley Callaghan's short story "A Cap for Steve."

This feature-length drama explores the changing role of men in today's society by delving into the stories of 4 men and their relationships with women.

Incident at Restigouche is a 1984 documentary film by Alanis Obomsawin, chronicling a series of two raids on the Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation (Restigouche) by the Sûreté du Québec in 1981, as part of the efforts of the Quebec government to impose new restrictions on Native salmon fishermen. Incident at Restigouche delves into the history behind the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raids on the Restigouche Reserve on June 11 and 20, 1981. The Quebec government had decided to restrict fishing, resulting in anger among the Micmac Indians as salmon was traditionally an important source of food and income. Using a combination of documents, news clips, photographs and interviews, this powerful film provides an in-depth investigation into the history-making raids that put justice on trial.

On a beautiful summer’s day in Nunavik, a family enjoys the pleasures of berry picking and fishing as the sound of two Elders throat-singing fills the environment.

This short film from the Canada Vignettes series depicts the Montreal of 1905-1910 with hand-painted vintage postcards.

This short animated film is about Wop May, one of Canada's leading bush pilots in the 1920s.

An animated film showing a woolly mammoth and its offspring. These animals lived on the Canadian tundra over ten thousand years ago.

Wild rice is an important source of food and revenue for many Anishinaabe people, who sometimes travel hundreds of kilometres to harvest the grain in the region around Kenora, Ontario.

This animated short tells a humourous Hebrew folk tale about a man's venture to introduce onions to a far away kingdom and a disreputable man's attempt to exploit that.

Two hundred years ago Captain Cook stopped briefly at Nootka Sound. This animated vignette depicts how he began the sea otter trade which led to the development of the Pacific north west.

Bill Miner was a train robber in British Columbia at the turn of the century. This animated film depicts a disastrous episode in his career.

An animated film depicting the evolution of the City of Toronto from 1749 to 1978.

This short film from the Canada Vignettes series profiles a unique French-Canadian family, the Fourniers, 12 of whom work as stunt men and women for films.

The maple leaf on the Canadian flag turns into two profiles that illustrate the many relationships between people.

Animated images showing the variety of people who live in Canada.

The history of the development of modern logging techniques on the British Columbia coast.

A young designer, Selma Bryant-Fournier, starts her career in a large clothing manufacturing firm in Montreal. She hopes to design clothes for mass production that are beautiful, functional and affordable by everyone.

Face of the Earth explores the origin of our planet's outer layer, the why-and-how of its mobility. Through the use of well-designed diagrams, the earth's cyclical activity is clearly explained. Some unusual footage on volcanoes gives added punch to an already absorbing subject.

A cartoon film about the whole heterogeneous mixture of Canada and Canadians, and the way the invisible adhesive called federalism makes it all cling together. That the dissenting voices are many is made amply evident, in English and French. But this animated message also shows that Canadians can laugh at themselves and work out their problems objectively.

This short cartoon tells the story of a bear who didn’t believe in Christmas. His main problem with this most magical of holidays? Too many Santas. How would he ever recognize the real one? Alone, out of a job, he goes to drown his sorrows, but back in his lonely room, for all his doubts, the Christmas spirit makes a surprise call.

An incident from the early days of Québec's quiet revolution, tailor-made for the cartoonist. It is the story of a Montréal commuter train, a unilingual ticket collector and a bilingual passenger. The passenger appears on screen himself to describe his bid to have tickets requested in French as well as in English. What ensued, and how even the railway president became involved, is illustrated with wit and humor.

Witty cartoon in a popular idiom about the serious issues that face the world: overpopulation, starvation, and people’s selfishness when confronted with these. Is there any possible solution? A good discussion starter, as relevant now as it was when made.

An engaging illustration, by animation artist Rhoda Leyer, of the fable in which the warm sun proves to the cold wind that persuasion is better than force when it comes to making a man take off his coat.

An amusingly drawn cartoon about a highly proficient lady bricklayer, graduate of Specialists' School, whose work takes her high up in the world, and her erstwhile friend, whose equally dedicated professionalism brings him lower. She builds towers of bricks while he tunnels down below ground. What develops in the story involves other unlikely characters, plausible enough in this cartoon context.

A study of life at Christmas time in Moose Factory, an old settlement mainly composed of Cree families on the shore of James Bay, composed entirely of children's crayon drawings and narrated by children.

A chain-smoking woman has an encounter with a vampire.

A compilation of satirical anti-smoking clips.

A scientist develops an unusual pair of eyeglasses which allows the wearer's mind to see things objectively rather than the usual subjective manner.

An amusing diagnosis of big-city growing pains, Boomsville is an ironic view of town planning, or rather, the lack of it, and what has happened to our cities as a result. Done in cartoon animation, the film traces the growth of the typical city, from a tiny settlement in the vast North American wilderness to the car-clogged metropolis that so many cities are today. Film without words.

This short animation transports us from the farthest conceivable point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence, an atom of a living human cell. The art of animation and animation camera achieve this exhilarating journey with a freshness and clarity. Without words.

This short animation transports us from the farthest conceivable point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence, an atom of a living human cell. The art of animation and animation camera achieve this exhilarating journey with a freshness and clarity. Without words.

An early experiment in employing computers to animate film. The result is a dazzling vibration of geometric forms in vivid color, an effect achieved by varying the speed at which alternate colors change, so producing optical illusions. In between these screen pyrotechnics appears a simple line form gyrating in smooth rhythm. Sound effects are created by registering sound shapes directly on the soundtrack of the film.

There are three boxes in the same sphere. In one box, a human figure is having trouble fitting in. Sometimes he tries to conform, sometimes he tries to escape, and sometimes he just tries to do what he wants despite the box. In the next box, another figure is always trying to force the person in box one into whatever form that box is taking. And the last box is a television, which is cheering the other two on.

A documentary about the self-taught painter William Kurelek, told through his paintings. There are scenes of village life in the Ukraine and the early days of struggle on a prairie homestead and the growing comfort of family life. In Ontario, Kurelek paints the present life of Canada with the same pleasure he painted the old.

A BAFTA award winning documentary demonstrating what energy is, revealing the relationship between the various forms of energy and matter.

This quirky little short by Gilles Carle was filmed on the pierced rock that stands near Quebec’s Gaspé peninsula. It is perhaps the most photographed natural phenomenon on Canada’s East Coast. Shot in the 1960s, the film has a very psychedelic feel to it, with animation, special effects, and a trio of women to guide us through.

A collection of one-minute cartoons produced by the National Film Board of Canada animators for government sponsors. Showcasing a playful selection of animation techniques, the clips include reminders about t4levision programs, traffic safety rules, and admonition from the Department of Labour.

This film provides a brief history of the fur trade in Canada, showing its effects on exploration and settlement. Engravings and paintings from the periods represented convey the romance, the adventures and the hardships of traders, Indigenous People and coureurs des bois. Animated maps indicate the old fur trade routes.

An animated film showing the sowing, reaping, and milling of wheat, the baking of bread and service to the lord of the manor in medieval Britain.

This short documentary offers a panorama of ancient cities, palaces and temples whose splendor has awed mankind. The film moves from one tradition to another, illustrating how each reflects the sentiments and values of its time, from the massive temples of the pharaohs to the soaring skyscrapers of today.