Lise Wedlock

As the world learns to live again in the midst of the pandemic, for many Arabic-speaking LGBTQ+ people living in Montreal, this is just a period of time like any other. When you’ve fled homophobic violence in your home country and endured a painful migratory journey, or you still face social prejudices stemming from intercultural and intergenerational conflicts, surviving social isolation is nothing new.

A woman with a deep love of the land, Yolande Simard Perrault sees her life as having been shaped by a planetary upheaval in Charlevoix, Quebec, millions of years ago. As enduring as the Canadian Shield, she’s a woman of strength and spirit, a child of the crater left by the meteor’s impact. This documentary portrays a determined woman who’s the reflection of a land created on an immense scale. She was the creative and life partner of filmmaker Pierre Perrault, who gave up everything to be by her side. The film charts the influence of her unquenchable dreams and her contribution to the building of a people’s collective memory. In a stream of images and words, Simard Perrault recounts the splendours of the landscape and the people who shaped it. Generous and boundless, she embarks on a quest for identity that nurtures and perpetuates the oeuvre of the man who breathed new life into Quebec cinema.

Лису Манивалду скоро 33. Он прекрасно образован, нигде не работает и ни к чему не стремится. Он живёт вместе с матерью-пенсионеркой. Жизнь легка, но не сказать, что хороша. Внезапно сломанная стиральная машина изменит их нездоровое взаимозависимое существование. Волк Тоомас, сексуальный сантехник, починит и машинку, и остальных…

An animator dissects his own body, extracting memories, emotions and fears that will nurture his work. As he cuts into his skin, various symbolic objects recalling his past emerge. Reaching the heart, he succeeds in identifying the burden he’s been dying to cast off.

New York, 1905. Visionary inventor Nikola Tesla makes one last appeal to J.P. Morgan, his onetime benefactor.

From out of nowhere, the most beautiful girl in the world sits at the table across from me at the library. Is this a stroke of good luck or bad? Her smile paralyzes me… How will Sam win Nadine’s heart? Must he seek out his inner samurai to fight the monster of his anxiety? Real courage is conquering your fear.

Many cultures have viewed the lunar eclipse as a powerful reminder of the Day of Judgment. People chant prayers, sing songs and recite poetry, all in an effort to communicate with nature and the cosmic forces in the sky. They ask for forgiveness or understanding, as they yearn for what they fear is lost. “Deyzangeroo” is one such ritual, performed in the Iranian port city of Bushehr, on the shores of the Persian Gulf. The distinctive percussive music, rhythmic chants and tribal dances—an echo of the city’s colonial rule by the British and Portuguese, and the African slaves that followed—are performed with reverence, fear and magic. The ritual is believed to ward off evil spirits and take back the moon. And it works every time…

Jacqueline has lost her mind a bit, but whatever, for her trip to the seaside, she has decided to take the train by herself, like a big girl!

Set in the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland’s rugged Fogo Island, this short film follows a group of “people of the fish”—traditional fishers who catch cod live by hand, one at a time, by hook and line. Filmmaker Justin Simms takes viewers deep inside the world of these brave fishermen. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that’s making a comeback.

Вайша — специфическая девочка, наделенная удивительным даром. С самого рождения она умеет видеть прошлое и будущее. Вайша смотрит прямо перед собой и левым глазом различает события прошлых дней, а правым — то, что произойдет в ближайшее время или еще позже. Девочка уже привыкла к этому. Прошлое для героини знакомо и безопасно, а будущее кажется зловещим и угрожающим. Настоящее же для нее слепое пятно.

Filmmaker and comic strip artist Claude Cloutier has made a striking satire on big oil, a musical where cars sing and dance while the planet falls into despair.

This funny short animation was written and created by Tali (At Home with Mrs. Hen) and is inspired by the filmmaker's misadventures as a school bus driver in the Eastern Townships. Our protagonist dreams of becoming a bus driver in order to cruise down quiet country lanes and connect with nature, her young charges and their parents. But her idyllic view of her new job is sorely tested after she meets her surly boss, named Killer, and discovers that winding roads can prove treacherous in winter, especially with a faulty clutch. Through her cheeky humour and oblique look at the reality of people living in the Quebec countryside, Tali delivers a film that is unique, witty and touching. - Written by NFB

Carole Laganière dives deeply into personal territory in this beautifully crafted exploration of absence and loss and its painful effect on daily lives. Inspired by her mother’s steadily advancing Alzheimer’s and the inevitability of her estrangement, Laganière weaves their story with the stories of others wrestling with loss: Ines, an immigrant who returns to her birth country of Croatia to find the mother who abandoned her during the war; Deni, an American author who’s finally able to search for his Quebec roots; and Nathalie, who’s desperately looking for her missing sister. Through their experiences the film ponders how absence is often the catalyst for a quest—a quest for information, understanding and often acceptance. Through its many voices, Absences speaks to us of the immense fragility and resiliency of human emotions.

Harry Okpik dreamed of becoming a dog musher. But when government agents shot his and thousands of other Inuit huskies across the Canadian Arctic, 11-year-old Harry saw the sky turn red and thought his dream forever destroyed. Now, fifty years later, Harry Okpik reflects on the tragedy of the Dog Slaughter and the accident that led to the loss of his leg. Follow Harry through the arctic seasons as he cares for his huskies and prepares for Ivakkak - a 600 km dog sled race across the Canadian Arctic. It is a race with the greater purpose: to bring back the nearly eradicated Inuit husky and a lost way of life.

In this evocative film about the eternal human search for home, Berta and Solomon arrive in a land that promises respite from their many journeys. But have they found utopia... or just another stop on their long journey?

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, this heartfelt documentary follows Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte as he returns to the people and places that mark his life, providing a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of this resilient and legendary jockey. Few jockeys have won America's Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Only three have won in the last 65 years. Ron Turcotte is one of them. In 1973, this legendary rider from New Brunswick, Canada piloted Secretariat, the greatest racehorse of all time, to victory and acclaim in the sport's three most prestigious races. But a fall in 1978 left Turcotte a paraplegic and put an end to an illustrious 16-year career.

A feature-length documentary portrait of Québécoise painter Johanne Corno, who has lived and worked in New York City for more than 20 years. Ignored by the art intelligentsia in Québec, she settled abroad to escape that creative constraint, and built an enviable international career. Today, she casts a lucid eye on her work and describes the resources she draws on to survive in the jungle of the contemporary art world.

This is the story about a boy not like the others that dreams about finding his place in the world.

Однажды, несколько тысяч лет тому назад, две планеты притянулись друг к другу. Там правили мир и гармония. Но стоило верхнему миру обрести уверенность и власть, как между планетами началось противостояние. Казалось, ничто не может примирить параллельные миры. Она — дочь президента верхнего мира. Эта хрупкая девушка с сильным характером и не подозревала, что душа ее способна любить. Он — ее половина. Их встреча была предопределена свыше, их судьбы переплелись воедино. Сможет ли Он, вопреки законам физики своего мира, быть вместе со своей любимой?

Edmond is a misfit at the office. When his co-workers pull a prank giving him donkey ears, Edmond realizes his true nature: he, in fact, is a real donkey.

An allegory of mankind heading for disaster, this animated short is a tragic vision inspired by the 4th movement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Drawing on the composer’s brilliant ability to evoke work and labour in his music, animator Patrick Bouchard brings earth to life through animated clay sculptures, creating a tactile nightmare in which man is his own slave driver.

20 тысяч подростков курортного городка у озера Виктория готовятся к празднованию ежегодного праздника начала лета. Но ночное землетрясение высвобождает сотни тысяч доисторических пираний прямо накануне торжества. Очаровательная шериф, ее подчиненные-полицейские и доктор Горден Рэйбэнкс решают сделать все, чтобы веселый праздник молодежи в озере не превратился в кровавое пиршество. Но пираньи уже знают ответ, кто победит: молодость или многовековая жажда крови…

This animated short by Claude Cloutier is a pictorial account of an attack on Canadian soldiers during WWI. On the edge of the battlefield, recruits are dreading the order to attack. At the signal, a young soldier leaps into a hell of fire and blood where the earth engulfs both the living and the dead. Blending archival images and Cloutier’s hypnotizing brushstroke, the film is a dazzling illustration of the futility of war.

In this documentary shot at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa during a troop deployment to Afghanistan, children and teens talk about the particular circumstances of having soldiers as parents. Directed by Claire Corriveau, Children of Soldiers lifts the veil on a reality shared by thousands of young Canadians, and on the difficulty of finding a balance between loyalty to the troops and staying true to themselves.

Действие фильма происходит в недалёком утопическом будущем, где высочайшее развитие нанотехнологий позволило технологическому гению Кену Кастлу соединить видеоигру с реалити-шоу и смоделировать ультрафункциональную, мультиплеерную игру «Убийцы», которая стала средой обитания местных преступников.

Он умер, но обещал вернуться! Не чудом, а благодаря современным медицинским технологиям Чев Челиос получает новое сердце и новый шанс отомстить своим врагам. Теперь для постоянной подзарядки ему требуется электрический разряд мощностью не меньше, чем у автомобильного аккумулятора.

Princess Betty sleeps in a narcoleptic stupor. The king appeals to his subjects to wake her, and several respond: Uncle Henry VIII, Aunt Victoria, an emotional alien, a cool witch and a handsome prince. This worthy Prince Charles lookalike has to leave his royal suburb to save the princess, but will Betty be wakened with just a kiss?

In a quest to rediscover the spiritual values of his own people, an African filmmaker from the Gourmantche tribe of Burkina Faso visits an Aboriginal band, the Atikamekw of northern Quebec. The resulting documentary is a dialogue between those who divine the future in the sand with those who use snow-encased sweat lodges to reconnect with the spiritual world.

The curtains of a theatre open onto a smaller puppet theatre presided over by Marianne. The ringmaster waves her baton at three shadowy acrobats that climb one by one out of her hat. Each performs his number, although not without some difficulty. The clumsiness of the first, the mischievousness of the second, and the fieriness of the third trigger a few clashes that ultimately lead to chaos. How can Marianne create harmony without losing control? Will her show flop? Who's really calling the shots, the little puppet or her acrobats?

Сотрудник небольшой компании мечтает об успешном развитии своей карьеры. Однажды судьба предоставляет ему такую возможность. Руководство фирмы предлагает парню отличный вариант. Но Марк должен переехать в другой город. В Чикаго, его ожидает прекрасная квартира, из окон которой открывается великолепный вид. Главный герой, не раздумывая, принимает заманчивое предложение, и вместе с любимой женщиной отправляется на новое место. Вскоре, с Пэйдж начинают происходить загадочные происшествия. Девушка постоянно ощущает на себе посторонний взгляд невидимого существа. Соседка сообщает ей жуткую тайну: на дом наложено проклятье. Через буквально пару часов после признания, она погибает при очень странных обстоятельствах...

A blend of drama and documentary, this film follows several people caught up in the turmoil of the modern world. The drama centres on a woman who has burned out and who holds up her own despair – and her attempts to rebuild her life – as a mirror to the rest of us. With a blend of gravity and humour, Sylvie Groulx's film shows the absurdity of a society dedicated to the cult of speed at all costs.

In a town where half the men die down the coalpit, Margaret MacNeil is quite happy being single in her small Cape Breton island town. Until she meets Neil Currie, a charming and sincere bagpipe-playing, Gaelic-speaking dishwasher. But no matter what you do, you can't avoid the spectre of the pit forever.

Produced in 1988, this feature documentary presents a living history of Quebec's last 40 years as seen through the eyes of one couple. Pauline Julien and Gérald Godin, two Quebec artists, share their perspectives on the events that have marked Quebec's evolution. Julien, a singer, and Godin, a poet, express their love and passion for the province (and each other) while providing a unique take on the Quebec nationalist movement.