
01 Jan 1964

The Hutterites
A look at the Hutterites, an Anabaptist religious community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites in rural Alberta.
Surviving Eugenics is a documentary about the history and ongoing significance of eugenics. Anchored by survivor narratives from the province of Alberta in Canada, which had eugenic sterilization actively in place until 1972, Surviving Eugenics provides a unique insiders' view of life in institutions for the 'feeble-minded', and raises broader questions about disability, human variation, and contemporary social policies.
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01 Jan 1964
A look at the Hutterites, an Anabaptist religious community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites in rural Alberta.
01 Jan 1965
Today it is the city of Montreal, but 3 centuries ago the tiny band of missionary founders called it Ville-Marie, the holy city of Mary. This film goes back to its beginning and those who felt called to plant an oasis of Christianity in the North American wilderness. In an imaginative, at times almost surrealistic, way the film recalls the highborn company from France, and shows what survives of Ville-Marie in the Montreal of today.
18 Aug 2022
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.
03 Apr 2014
The history of one idea with monstrous consequences, presented in the style of old newsreels and interspersed with quotes from Patrik Ouředník’s Europeana. Archival footage is combined with animation as a kindly narrator takes us on a journey from the idea of cultivating a “better human race” all the way to the gas chambers.
15 Sep 1988
This film explores how Canada wavers between rejection and acceptance of closer ties with the United States, tracing the historical precedents of current issues between the two nations. Canada continues to question her identity despite the influence of a powerful neighbour.
25 Dec 1962
Christmastime at the Roman Catholic-run Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.
23 Jun 2022
Amidst a mostly Catholic community, a small tiny Anglican church offers more to the community of Placentia than people may think, and holds many connections and history to the rest of the world.
06 Jan 2015
Renowned as the richest gold strike in North American mining history, the Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899) set off a stampede of over 100,000 people on a colossal journey from Alaska to the gold fields of Canada's Yukon Territory. Filled with the frontier spirit, prospectors came and gave rise to what was one of the largest cities in Canada at that time - Dawson City. The boomtown, which became known as "the Paris of the North", earned the reputation as a place where lives could be revolutionized. Brought to life with excerpts from the celebrated book The Klondike Stampede - published in 1900 by Harper's Weekly correspondent Tappan Adney - and featuring interviews with award-winning author Charlotte Gray, and historians Terrence Cole and Michael Gates, The Klondike Gold Rush is an incredible story of determination, luck, fortune, and loss. In the end, it isn't all about the gold, but rather the journey to the Klondike itself.
14 Nov 2022
Phil Comeau shines a spotlight on the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier, a powerful secret society that operated from 1926 to 1965, infiltrating every sector of Canadian society and forging the fate of French-language communities. Through never-before-heard testimony from former members of the Order, along with historically accurate dramatic reconstructions, this film paints a gripping portrait of the social and political struggles of Canadian francophone-minority communities.
15 Mar 1985
This short documentary focuses on a man-made island that became the first federal sanctuary for wildlife in Canada. Situated an hour east of Edmonton, it houses one of the world's densest collections of wildlife, maintained by Parks Canada. Elk Island offers a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes activity of the island.
01 Jan 1983
In 1921 the Kwakiut'l people of Alert Bay, British Columbia, held their last secret potlatch. In 1980 at Alert Bay, the U'mista Cultural Centre (U'mista means "something of great value that has come back") opened its doors to receive and house the cultural treasures which were seized decades earlier and only then returned to the people. The center also took up activities such as recording stories told by elders so that some part of the past would always be alive and teaching children about their heritage in order to make them feel connected to their ancestors. This film documents the cultural significance of these events for today's Kwakiut'l people. It is an eloquent testimony to the persistence and complexity of Kwakiut'l society and to the struggle for redefining cultural identity for them.
01 Jan 1991
Filmed on location in Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle Valley to Hudson Bay, the documentary traces the filmmaker's quest for her Native foremothers in spite of the reluctance to speak about Native roots on the part of her relatives. The film articulates Métis women's experience with racism in both current and historical context, and examines the forces that pushed them into the shadows.
17 Sep 2021
The meaty saga of Burger Baron, a rogue fast-food chain with mysterious origins and a cult following, run by a loose network of fiercely independent Arab Canadian immigrants.
01 Jan 1972
This film presents the historical development of lighthouses in Canada, and shows the conversion from keeper-maintained lights to automated equipment.
18 Sep 2015
What does it actually mean to be Canadian? This humorous documentary, featuring interviews with a who's-who of famous Canadians, hopes to find the answer.
01 Jan 1951
This 1950s' film looks at the measures to preserve water flow from the Rocky Mountains. With the steady falling of the water table, the exploitation of timber stands and the recession of glaciers, water conservation was an urgent concern of the Alberta and federal governments.
01 Jan 1958
This short dramatic film illustrates a cooperative program of fire protection that was carried out across Alberta in the late 1950s. It presents the problems inherent in a voluntary fire brigade, as well as the everyday heroes who step up and get the job done. The film is an entertaining look at how a crew that was once considered to be the joke of the town can evolve into the best fire brigade in the West.
01 Jan 1973
On the Kainai (Blood) First Nations Reserve, near Cardston, Alberta, a hopeful new development in Indigenous enterprise. Once rulers of the western plains, the Bloods live on a 1 300-square-kilometer reserve. Many have lacked gainful employment and now pin their hopes on a pre-fab factory they have built. Will the production line and work and wages fit into their cultural pattern of life? The film shows how it is working and what the owners themselves say about their venture.
05 Jun 2017
This exclusive documentary recounts the crazy project of Nazi Germany which secretly gave birth to Aryan children as far as France. In these maternities for the rich called the ‘Lebensborn’, the Nazis raised ‘perfect’ children born of progenitors from the SS and women with well defined racial grounds. This plan gave birth to thousands of children who were called ‘Hitler's Children’. They were supposed to lead the world one day. It wasn’t until 30 years later that the existence of one of these centers in France was discovered. For the very first time, the children born in the ‘Lesenborn’ in Lamorlaye find out about their existence and disclose one the most frightening plans of History, as well as the dark secret of their origins.
19 Jan 2021
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