Friday: About Cars

Back to the Land

January 1976 •French

Feature-length documentary as part of Pierre Perrault's Abitibian Cycle. The filmmaker questions the past and present of Abitibi and draws up, face to face, the promises of colonization in the 1930s and the great disappointment caused by the closing of the land in the 1970s. There are witnesses to the heroic era, including the cultivator Hauris Lalancette, as well as extracts from films by Father Maurice Proulx (1934-1940).

Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment

June 2000 •English

A documentary about direct-cinema from its very beginnings (Nanook of the North) to the fake-direct-cinema of the Blair Witch Project. All the important direct-cinema filmmakers are portrayed and/or interviewed: Leacock, Wiseman, Maysles, Pennebaker, Reisz and others.

The Things I Cannot Change

January 1967 •English

"This feature documentary is considered to be the forerunner of the NFB's Challenge for Change Program. The film offers in inside look at 3 weeks in the life of the Bailey family. Trouble with the police, begging for stale bread, and the birth of another child are just some of the issues they face. Through it all, the father tries to explain his family's predicament. Although filmed in Montreal, the film offers an anatomy of poverty as it occurs throughout North America." - NFB

Little Burgundy

January 1968 •French

"This film is one of the first French Unit productions of the “Société Nouvelle/Challenge for Change” program. When an old area of Montréal is to be demolished to make way for a new low-income housing development, is there anything the residents can do to protect their own interests? The film documents such a situation in the Little Burgundy district of Montréal and shows how the residents organized themselves into a committee that successfully influenced the city’s housing policy." - Anthology Film Archives

Cesar's Bark Canoe

January 1971 •French

"This documentary depicts a canoe being built in the traditional manner. Cesar Newashish, a 67-year-old Attikamek of the Manawan Reserve North of Montréal, uses only birchbark, cedar splints, spruce roots, and gum. With a sure hand he works methodically to fashion a craft unsurpassed in function or beauty of design. Building a canoe solely from the materials that the forest provides may become a lost art, even among the Native Peoples whose traditional craft it is. The film is free of spoken commentary but text appears on the screen in Cree, French, and English." - Anthology Film Archives

Belle famille

July 1978 •French

A working class family leaves St-Henri quarter in Montréal to build a new home in the countryside.

Michel Brault, l'instinct de vue

Invalid date •French

Worst to First

February 2022 •English

WORST TO FIRST is a feature-length documentary that portrays the against-all-odds inspirational story of the launch of the iconic and most successful radio station in history, New York City's Z100.

How Did We Get Here?

February 2022 •English

An intimate reflection on life in the digital age and Seán McLoughlin's journey through the highest highs - chanting crowds, sold out shows, and marriage proposals - and lowest lows - grappling with loneliness in the harsh Irish winter - and the life and wonder in between.

In the valley

February 2022 •French

Thierry lives in the Aosta Valley, in Italy. On board his piaggo ape, he travels the paths of the valley to take care of his cows. He also loves Anaïs, but for some time, she doesn’t answer him anymore… From traditional serenades to Italian pop, Thierry sings about love.

Národní umělec Zdeněk Štěpánek

December 1960 •Czech

2020

January 2020 •English

New Bronze edit with all your favourites.

The Spanish Flu: The Invisible Enemy

September 2021 •French

In April 1918, a disease of unknown origin swept across the five continents. In 18 months, millions of lives that had not been taken by the war were swept away by a virus that would cause the worst pandemic in history: the Spanish flu.

France images d'une révolution

January 1989 •French

On the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, this film is a tribute to the French nation, through historical reconstructions of the Revolution and the First Empire, as well as reports on the successes of France modern, the presence of France in the world, its history and its soil.

Swamp Dialogues

January 2015 •English

The Danube Delta in Romania - the 'Last European Sanctuary’ - is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While major efforts are made to protect biodiversity, the plight of local communities is largely overlooked. Social scientists claim that the traumatic nature of the swamp bears heavy on the villagers' lives. But is Nature really to blame? Swamp Dialogues is based on an extensive field-research in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. Through a careful ‘argument montage’ built entirely on cinematic language the film represents an anthropological analysis formulated in image and sound.

We Just Wanna Have a Good Time All the Time

March 2023 •Finnish

Turbonegro, an unapologetic punk band that plays with homoerotic and otherwise provocative symbolism, gave the world the middle finger in their early days and started their own fan club during one drug-fuelled night in '95 as a joke. What the f*ck? Unpredictable and absurd band quickly earned the respect of even the most notorious black metal bands in Norway. Everyone knows about Kiss Army, but what is the mythical fleet unleashed by Turbonegro, provocatively known as Turbojugend, that has grown into a worldwide phenomenon? At the heart of Turbonegro fandom is love and brotherhood, regardless of age, colour or gender. The Turbojugend really know how to have fun and the highlight of the year is the Weltturbojugendtage event held at the Reeperbahn, where Turbonegro members themselves often join in the celebrations.

Perugino. Rinascimento immortale

April 2023 •Italian

Aylanpa – World in a Vortex

December 1989 •Russian

Just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, perestroika gave Chinghiz Aitmatov the opportunity to reflect on the goals and ideals of socialism and how it itself had denied them. In this essayistic film, starting with his personal life story (his father was shot as an enemy of the state, he himself was a highly respected student and artist in the Soviet Union) and the history of the Kyrgyz people (bearers of a vibrant and distinctive culture destroyed by socialism), he eventually arrives at big questions about the goal of human progress and the fate of humanity in the 21st century. "What will life be like for people in the 21st century?" he asks, not least in view of looming ecological catastrophes, and answers: That is the sole responsibility of humanity. Long difficult to find, the film has now been uploaded to YouTube in a restored 4K version by Kyrgyzfilm.

Ex-Amen

September 2005 •Latvian

A struggling actress, a teacher, a former seaman, a policeman and a veterinarian all have a common line of work – conducting funerals. For one it’s a passion, for one a duty, but for another it’s a chance to earn a little extra...

Don't Give a Fox

March 2019 •Danish

DON’T GIVE A FOX is a documentary about a group of young and wild girls in Roskilde, who, despite coming from completely different backgrounds, find a fellowship in skating. A place where they can forget their everyday life and gain courage to change a skate culture that has been dominated exclusively by boys for the past decades. DON’T GIVE A FOX follows three different girls in their early 20s, who each are seeking to gain a foothold. It’s a coming-of-age story about identity, love and skating.