Nuxalk Radio

A day in the life of 91.1, Nuxalk Radio, a radio station built to help keep the Nuxalk language alive while broadcasting the laws of the lands and waters.

British Columbia: Canada's Olympic Wilderness

Graham Bell and Ed Leigh journey southwards through the frozen province of British Columbia, Canada, towards the home of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. En route, they travel through remote communities cut off from civilisation through the winter, learning how the locals survive off the land. Leigh and Bell experience this harsh life for themselves alongside miners, loggers and hunters, and find out what it is like to function and work in such harsh conditions. Their journey ends with a gruelling trek on foot through the spectacular Coast Range Mountains into Whistler, one of the Olympic venues.

The Hutterites

A look at the Hutterites, an Anabaptist religious community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites in rural Alberta.

Wild in the City

This short documentary films some of the wild animal species that have adapted to the city of Vancouver, from the familiar pigeons and starlings to the less familiar herons nesting in Stanley Park and a coyote in a farmer's field.

Ramba Zamba

Ramba Zamba: a theater with handicapped and non-handicapped people/actresses and actors, which has been living and working on inclusive integrative togetherness impressively every day for thirty years now. The film accompanies the mentally and physically impaired actresses and actors for six months through the theatrical production of the play GOLEM, from the beginning of rehearsals to the premiere. In doing so, the film is also partly influenced by the portrayed persons themselves, quasi inclusively co-determined, by them capturing their own view and perception, their view of reality itself on film.

The Lebanese Burger Mafia

The heir to a Burger Baron franchise, the filmmaker chases clues through rural Alberta, capturing the trials and tribulations of Arab immigrants while uncovering the saga of a rogue fast-food chain with mysterious origins and a cult following.

Silvicola

The human impact on forests is explored through breathtaking vistas and poignant vignettes set in Canada's Pacific Northwest. Those who rely on this precious resource highlight the tensions and dilemmas between commodification and conservation.

Hore dole, hore dole

Bill Reid Remembers

Renowned Haida artist Bill Reid shares his thoughts on artistry, activism and his deep affection for his homeland in this heartwarming tribute from Alanis Obomsawin to her friend's life, legacy and roots.

Surviving Eugenics

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.

This Is Going to Be Big

Peer behind the curtain as a cast of neurodivergent teens prepare to come of age and hit the stage in their school’s time-travelling, John Farnham–themed musical.

Coast Modern

A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.

Toad People

Toad People introduces audiences to the stories of people like Steve Clegg who make up a community-led movement to save this threatened species. In different parts of the province, people from all ages and walks of life come together to do whatever it takes to help toads survive. They stop road traffic, collect toads in buckets and carry them across the road, build toad tunnels. In the Kootenays, Debbie Pitaoulis is fighting to protect the toad habitat from logging. The film follows these individuals’ passion for the natural world, their fighting spirit, perseverance but also their struggles, demonstrating that people do not need to be environmental activists or scientists to take action, they just need to be citizens who care.

Water for the Prairies

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.

Western Brigade

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.

Gurdeep Singh Bains

Gurdeep is a thirteen-year-old Canadian Sikh whose family runs a dairy farm near Chilliwack, British Columbia. They have retained their language and religion. Attendance at the Sikh temple, playing soccer with his schoolmates, and working on the farm are all part of Gurdeep's well-integrated life, but sometimes he feels a little different from the other children because he wears a turban. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.

The Whale and the Raven

Director Mirjam Leuze’s The Whale and The Raven illuminates the many issues that have drawn whale researchers, the Gitga’at First Nation, and the Government of British Columbia into a complex conflict. As the people in the Great Bear Rainforest struggle to protect their territory against the pressure and promise of the gas industry, caught in between are the countless beings that call this place home.

Grindcore Vacation

Grindcore Vacation melds the expository documentary, diary film, and live performance footage to produce a portrait of the musicians who play grindcore, an extreme sub-genre of punk/metal characterized by high speed and full volume. Shot during a weekend trip from Victoria BC to Dallas TX for a single DIY concert, it interviews members of Deterioration, Cognizant, and Imperial Slaughter. Live concert footage combines with interviews and Super 8mm film to create an impression of the people who play grindcore, why they love the genre, and their experiences as practitioners of the niche style.

Haida Carver

On Canada's Pacific coast this film finds a young Haida artist, Robert Davidson, shaping miniature totems from argillite, a jet-like stone. The film follows the artist to the island where he finds the stone, and then shows how he carves it in the manner of his grandfather, who taught him the craft.

Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration

Short documentary, shot over fours years, showing the incredible daily migration of the western toad tadpoles, a designated indicator species on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.