C. short films and documentaries on race, culture and other issues

1. Race and Culture

WHO GETS IN

Who gets in?  Third-World refugees or Hong-Kong entrepreneurs.

(about Black Women protest.)  Dionne Brand and Ginny Stikeman.  NFB: 1991.  Genre: Documentary.  Length: 49:23.

(about races in Toronto.)  Kent Martin.  NFB: 1990.  Genre: Documentary.  Length: 52:07.

NFB: 1989.  Genre: Documentary.  Length: 29:56.  "Ordinary folks" get profiled in the video.  These "Canadian portraits" are interwoven with historical material from the past which shows the nature and extent of this country's multicultural makeup.

(about Chinese-Canadians).  Michelle Wong.  NFB: 1993.  Genre: Documentary (Chinese Subtiles).  Length: 29:18.

Magnus Isacsson.  NFB: 1995.  Length: 53:05.

Discussion Starters.  NFB.  Length: 25:36.  (for discussion, for learning, for lelaxation)

Bamboo, Lions and Dragons.  Richard Patton.  NFB.  Length: 26:27.  (Vancouver's Chinese community has struggled long and hard to make Canada its home)

Under the Willow Tree: Pioneer Chinese Women in Canada
Dora Nipp     NFB: 1997     Length: 51 min 39 sec

A rich and little-known part of Canadian history unfolds through the stories of the first Chinese women to come to Canada and of subsequent generations of Chinese Canadian women. It is an amazing tale of courageous women who left behind their families, knowing they would never see them again and of girls who were shipped off to the New World to marry men they had never met. These are the women who fought against the many forms of racism they faced in Canada while, at the same time, challenging sexism within their own communities. By passing on language, culture, and values to their children, these women defined what it means to be Chinese Canadian. Beautiful old photographs from family albums, the recollections of seven women who grew up in Canada in the first half of the 20th century, and the memories of narrator and director, Dora Nipp, whose grandfather came to Canada in 1881 to build the railway, create a remarkable story of stunning impact. (Award: Oakland.)~ from National Film Board of Canada

(This film is asbout culture shock)  Denis Villeneuve.  NFB: 1995.  Length: 30:45.

 (an offbeat odyssey through Anglo Montreal).  Abbey Neidik.  NFB: 1993.  Length: 49:10.

Jacques Godbout.  NFB: 1992.  Part One.  Length: 119:00.  Part Two.  Length: 113:38.

(about the internment of Japanese-Canadians during World War II.)   Jeannette Lerman.  NFB.  Length: 26:49.

Jennifer Hodge.  NFB: 1994.  Length: 57:35.  The Jane-Finch "Corridor" is an area of six square blocks in Toronto's North York.  To the residents of Metro Toronto, the Corridor evokes images of vandalism, high-density subsidized housing, racial tension, despair and crime.  The film provides a powerful view of a community that, contrary to its popular image, is working towards a more positive future.

Cambon, Marie. Hong Kong or Hay River. Moving Images Distribution, 1995. 25 min.

Chan, Tony. The Panama. Moving Images Distribution, 1996. 28 min.

Chiu, Ling. Tethers. Moving Images Distribution, 1998. 6 min.

Lee, Karin. My Sweet Peony. Moving Images Distribution, 1994. 30 min.

Shaw, Jeneva. Silent History. Moving Images Distribution, 1993. 9 min.

Tabata, Susanne. Talk to Me. Tabata Productions, 1995. 5 min.
 
　

Montreal Retro
Mazouz       NFB: 1994

Referendum: Take two/ Prise 2
Stephane Drolet     NFB: 1996     Length: 76 min 35 sec

October, 1995. The most important political event in recent Canadian history, the Quebec vote on sovereignty, is about to unfold. During the tense days leading up to the referendum for independence, 23 filmmakers from the NFB's English and French documentary studios take their cameras into the streets and homes of Quebeckers. Culled from 250 hours of footage, Referendum is an emotional portrait of a profoundly divided society. In a collage of powerful moments, the video recaptures the emotions of that time and measures them against today's political agenda. Implicit is the question: What next? (Award: Montreal.)~ from National Film Board of Canada

This compilation includes portraits of three members of the Group of Seven. Canadian Landscape: As a leading member of the Group of Seven, A.Y. Jackson's paintings of rolling, unpopulated land, winter scenes and the remote Arctic, helped to shape the visual image of Canada. This 1941 film traces the illustrious career of this powerful landscape painter. The camera accompanies Jackson on trips to the northern wilderness of Canada and back to his studio in Toronto, where he describes the challenge of transforming (but never imitating) on canvas the essence of his sketches (18 min.). Lismer: A founding member of the Group of Seven, Arthur Lismer developed a powerful expressionistic style, characterized by raw color, coarse brushwork and simplified form. However, he devoted much of his time to art education. At the Montreal Children's Art Centre, which Lismer ran from 1941 to 1967, we see how children learn creative self-expression through art. A 1952 production (19 min. 10 sec.). Varley: Frederick Varley was a talented colorist, draftsman and intimate observer of life whose gifts were best displayed in his drawings and small watercolors. Romantic and independent, he was known as the "gypsy" of the Group of Seven. In this 1953 film, Varley returns to his studio in Toronto after a sketching trip. The camera moves about his studio, selecting examples of his canvasses and watching him begin a new one (15 min. 57 sec.).~ from National Film Board of Canada