The Last Chinese Laundry

The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam

January 2003 •English

Long Tack Sam was an internationally renowned Chinese acrobat and magician. He overcame isolation, poverty, cultural and linguistic barriers, extreme racism and world wars to become one of the most successful vaudeville acts of his time. His showmanship was unrivalled, yet he refused to appear in movies because of the way Chinese were portrayed at the time. A celebration of the spirit of Long Tack Sam's magic and art, this richly textured first person road movie is an exhilarating testament to his legacy and a prismatic tour through the 20th Century. It all begins in a small village in China... https://www.nfb.ca/film/the_magical_life_of_long_tack_sam/

Balakrishna

October 2019 •English

When an extraordinary new resident – Balakrishna, an Indian elephant – arrived in the town of East River, Nova Scotia, in 1967, no one was more in awe of the creature than young Winton Cook, who became inseparable from his mammoth new friend. Using painterly animation, photographs and home-movie treasures, Balakrishna transmits the wistfulness of childhood memories, while evoking themes of friendship and loss, and issues of immigration and elephant conservation.

Babylon

July 2012 •Arabic

After the insurrection erupted in Libya in the spring of 2012, more than a million people flocked to neighboring Tunisia in search of a safe haven from the escalating violence. When a massive refugee camp was hastily constructed near the Ras Jdir border checkpoint in Tunisia, a trio of filmmakers carried their cameras in and began filming with no agenda. This on-the-fly chronicle of the camp's installation, operation, and dismantling captures a postmodern Babel complete with a multinational population of displaced folk, a regime of humanitarian aid workers, and international media that broadcasts its “image” to the world. Visually stunning and refreshingly undogmatic, Babylon reveals a rarely seen aspect of the Arab Spring.

Faceless Heroes

July 2012 •English

Brussels, Béguinage church. Migrants organize a hunger strike to obtain papers. A man dies. Tunisia, Libya. A border camp of Choucha refugees tell the horror of crossing the Sahara to the north. Liège. In a refugee center, a man narrates his Mediterranean crossing in a chamber of air. Three moments of a battle for survival.

Sky and Ground

November 2017 •English

Three generations of the Nabi family flee their home in Aleppo and try to make it to safety in Germany where some members of the family have already settled. Along the way they suffer countless setbacks and heartache.

America; I Too

March 2017 •English

Three arrested and detained undocumented immigrants must navigate the system to fight impending deportation.

The World According to Xi Jinping

December 2018 •French

Draussen bleiben

October 2007 •German

Harvested Alive

November 2016 •English

As a doctor, Zhiyuan Wang spent 30 years studying how to save lives. He never imagined that he would spend another 10 years investigating how Chinese doctors take innocent lives. 95% of his evidence comes directly from China. His sources are Chinese doctors, judges, legislators, military officials, government officials, the media, and hospital websites. His research reveals an inconceivable truth – China’s hospitals, judiciary, and military worked together under the authority of the previous Chinese president Jiang Zemin to mercilessly slaughter a large number of Falun Gong practitioners through the harvesting of their organs. Today in a time of peace, it is difficult for people to believe that such a large-scale massacre has been silently taking place in China. But the truth shows that this frenzied killing machine, driven by huge profits, is still running rampant in society.

100 Per Cent White

July 2000 •English

A decade after taking a series of photographs of skinhead members of a far-right group for his book Public Enemies, Leo Regan returns to three members of the gang to see what has happened to them in the intervening years.

Aan ons den arbeid

November 2007 •English

Documentary that shows the changing attitude towards immigrant labor in The Netherlands. The documentary follows three immigrants that arrived in Holland 30 years ago to work in a bakery.

Visions of Europe

May 2004 •English

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Borderland

April 2024 •English

A powerful set of stories of “righteous persons” taking action along the U.S.-Mexico border, motivated by moral conviction and compassion. "Borderland" shows how courageous actions can lead to political mobilization and the defense of human rights in the face of hate and discrimination.

Great Harbour Deep

August 2018 •English

This documentary chronicles the relocation of an entire town in Newfoundland, Canada.

The Power Of Music - Darrell's Story

June 2022 •English

Ben Power interviews his father, Darrell Power of Great Big Sea, and asks what it was like on the road, being away from his family, and how being in one of the most memorable Newfoundland bands shaped his life.

Ricochet

May 2021 •English

When a young woman is shot by an undocumented immigrant on Pier 14 in San Francisco, the incident ignites a political and media furor that culminates in Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States. In the eye of this storm, two public defenders fight to reveal the truth.

Mosques - Behind the Veil

March 2016 •Danish

With the help of hidden camera, Danish TV 2 documents how a known Danish imam teaches Muslim women about Islam's violent rules of adultery.

Look Away

February 2019 •French

Europe, the rule of law and host countries? Look elsewhere denounces what is happening in many European cities by taking the example of Calais. From the expulsion from the "jungle" in October 2016 to the situation there a year later, Arthur shared moments of life with men and women of Sudanese, Afghan, Ethiopian, Eritrean and local descent of Calais. By highlighting the gap between the field and the official speeches, this film shows us the strategy put in place to dissuade the exiles from staying. With original filming methods and his civic gaze, the director has managed to film the state harassment, the media staging, but also the strength and humor of the exiles.

Sunflower Seeds

March 2013 •Greek

A group of children living on the streets of Athens. Among them is Sayid, a twelve-year-old boy, who works all day selling sunflower seeds in the city’s parks and squares. His existence borders on absolute poverty, as he goes looking for food at soup kitchens. His daily routine in the chaotic capital of Greece is a continuous struggle for survival. At the same time, however, he manages to find and enjoy the freedom the city streets can offer. Sayid, along with his friends who are all immigrants from Afghanistan, escape their desperation by clinging onto their hopes. With them, he plays innocent childhood games and dreams of a better future: He wants to leave for Northern Europe, to go to school, and to get a decent job when he grows up. Sayid is trapped in Greece, a country plagued by a financial crisis, increasing unemployment, rampant xenophobia, and racist violence. Sayid doesn’t mince his words: “I’ve been here for about two years, and it feels like twenty.”

Newfoundland Scene

January 1951 •English

A portrait of Newfoundland that records a way of life that has all but disappeared.