Bureaucracy shapes our lives and guides us from the cradle to the grave. This documentary lays bare the idiosyncrasies of bureaucracy, whether in Canada, Austria, Hungary, the Vatican or the Virgin Islands. It also attempts to make the functioning of the public service more comprehensible. The absurdities of bureaucratic behaviour are exposed with humour and irreverence.
23 Sep 1975
WELFARE shows the nature and complexity of the welfare system in sequences illustrating the staggering diversity of problems that constitute welfare: housing, unemployment, divorce, medical and psychiatric problems, abandoned and abused children, and the elderly. These issues are presented in a context where welfare workers as well as clients struggle to cope with and interpret the laws and regulations that govern their work and life.
23 Sep 2015
A Good American tells the story of the best code-breaker the USA ever had and how he and a small team within NSA created a surveillance tool that could pick up any electronic signal on earth, filter it for targets and render results in real-time while keeping the privacy as demanded by the US constitution.
04 Jun 1973
JUVENILE COURT shows the complex variety of cases before the Memphis Juvenile Court: foster home placement, drug abuse, armed robbery, child abuse, and sexual offenses. The sequences illustrate such issues as community protection vs. the desire for rehabilitation, the range and the limits of the choices available to the court, the psychology of the offender, and the constitutional and procedural questions involved in administering a juvenile court.
01 Jan 1952
Film produced for a coalition of public service groups to combat racial and ethnic hatred. The narrative follows an emotionally insecure Chicago teenager whose bigoted thinking leads him to violence. Explores how prejudices are passed like "a contagious disease" from parent to child, teacher to pupils, and youth to youth, and suggests strategies for breaking the cycle.
23 Nov 1996
For 11 Presidents, Bob Hope was a golfing buddy, national jester and constant guest at the White House. This special includes personal recollections about Bob from the Clintons, the Bushs, the Fords, and David and Julie Nixon Eisenhower. Guests Tony Danza, Don Johnson, Naomi Judd, Ann-Margret and Tom Selleck also appear on what was to become Bob Hope's final television special.
01 Sep 2023
The documentary explore the intersection between humor, satire, and religion, analyzing how they mutually influence each other. Through interviews with comedians, artists, and scholars, we will discover irreverent jokes, clever parodies, and bold caricatures that challenge religious dogmas, exploring the power of comedy within the context of religions and opening new perspectives on cultural dynamics.
27 Apr 2012
Between 2007 and 2011, 725 Quebecers aged 16 to 24 were killed in car accidents. Excessive speed and alcohol were involved in half of these deaths. To try to understand what is going on in these young drivers' heads when they get behind the wheel, host and documentary filmmaker Paul Arcand met with some of them. On one hand, he gives a voice to these young people who love driving fast. On the other hand, he provides a forum for two accident victims who were injured both physically and psychologically. Finally, the director meets the mother of little Bianca Leduc, who was killed by a drunk driver while she was in the care of her babysitter, and the parents of Michael Borduas, 23, who is severely disabled from an accident.
15 Nov 2023
The only thing colder than a Canadian winter is Canadian bureaucracy (probably). Based on five real life stories, Romy Boutin St-Pierre and Joe Nadeau pay homage to the nation-wide stress headache of phone calls with the government in this surprising short.
31 Dec 1969
A young girl relates what happened during her first LSD trip, when – among other things – her food began talking to her.
23 Sep 2012
The dramatic inside story of the monumental collision of interests at Ground Zero in the decade after 9/11.
20 Apr 1961
Compilation film, tracing the political career of Dr. Hans Globke, allegedly a former Nazi, now Secretary of State in West Germany.
18 May 2007
A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.
15 May 1999
Tracking missing socks in the European Union.
01 May 2004
Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.
01 Dec 1940
A wildlife film with a difference: it has A Message for any humans in the house. "The squirrel in the tree, the fox below, the birds, insects, all know that a time of plenty will not last forever". Austerity-stricken wartime viewers can learn from their economical feeding habits. An entertaining hybrid of public information and natural history from the makers of wildlife series Secrets of Life. Released in the BFI boxset Ration Books and Rabbit Pies: Films from the Home Front.
01 Jan 1981
A short film to warn children of sexual predators.
01 Jan 1973
This short film looks at the importance of maintaining safe driving practices and heeding traffic rules. A traffic cop investigates a serious car crash and attempts to understand the cause.
01 Jan 1979
Public information film regarding female safety and how to safeguard against rape
31 Dec 1968
Experimental short film about car wreckage and automobile safety.
01 Jan 1967
The Inglewood Police Department's 1960s video, "LSD: Trip or Trap?" is a classic of the genre. Alex sez, "It's a story of two friends who enjoy flying model planes, except that one becomes an 'acidhead' so he can be 'groovy' with the other acidheads. The other does research into LSD and decides it's a 'bummer'."