Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment

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.

Le Retour à la terre

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).

César et son canot d'écorce

"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

The Things I Cannot Change

"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

La P'tite Bourgogne

"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

Belle famille

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

Vendredi: Les chars

"Montréal under the snow and the cold winter. It is the period of the year when the garage owners strike it rich. The automobile at the service of man? This small opus would rather show the contrary. This is one in a series of eight films titled “Chronicle of Everyday Life,” a project that filmmaker Jacques Leduc took four years to realize, and whose goal was to revisit Direct Cinema at a moment when it was already heavily “contaminated” by mainstream TV." - Anthology Film Archives

The Ghosts of Somerville: Mrs. Micks

First in this film series of hauntings in this historic town. Found dead in her attic, eaten by her cats, Mrs. Micks makes her presence known to people living in her house, with witnesses' accounts and opinions by a psychic expert.

Christmas in Hollywood

Dozens of stars--including Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Bob Hope, and more--demonstrate how the yuletide season is celebrated in the perpetually warm and sunny world of Hollywood, California.

Operation Valkyrie: The Stauffenberg Plot to Kill Hitler

July, 1944. As WWII raged on, a group of conspirators, led by Claus von Stauffenberg, plotted to assassinate Hitler and end his reign of terror. Using rare color footage, painstakingly recreated dramatizations, detailed CG reconstructions and exclusive interviews with leading historians, this thrilling documentary presents the definitive record of what happened before, during and after these pivotal events.

Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys

Plastic Galaxy explores the ground breaking and breathtaking world of 'Star Wars' toys. Through interviews with former Kenner employees, experts, authors, and collectors, the documentary looks at the toys' history, influence, and the passions they elicit today.

We Come as Friends

As war-ravaged South Sudan claims independence from North Sudan and its brutal President, Omar al-Bashir, a tiny, homemade prop plane wings in from France. It is piloted by eagle-eyed documentarian Hubert Sauper, who is mining for stories in a land trapped in the past but careening toward an apocalyptic future.

Frankenstein and the Vampyre: A Dark and Stormy Night

A drama-documentary telling the story of the celebrated gathering in Geneva, 1816 which led to the creation of both Frankenstein and the first modern vampire story.

Sexy Killers

An Indonesian documentary about the destructive impact of coal mining.

40 Years of Star Trek

The Space Channel celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original STAR TREK. Produced by Mark Askwith, hosted by Jonathan Llyr and featuring interviews with George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, William Shatner, Peter David, Michael Okuda, Denise Okuda, F. Murray Abraham, Lawrence Montaigne, Leonard Nimoy, Garrett Wang, France Nuyen, Michael Reeve, George Clayton Johnson, Denise Crosby, Marc Scott Zicree, Garfield Reeves-Stevens, D.C. Fontana, Scott Bakula, Jolene Blalock, DeForest Kelley, LeVar Burton, Dr. Mae Jemison, Rob Salem, Walter Koenig, J.G. Hertzler, Dean Devlin, Harlan Ellison, Richard Arnold, Jeffrey Combs, Rick Berman, Bjo Trimble, Jim Lee, Alice Cooper, and Robert Picardo.

The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was America's 26th president and a larger-than-life legend whose incredible story must be seen to be believed. Narrated by George C. Scott, this documentary weaves extremely rare archival footage with meticulous recreations alongside the music of John Philip Sousa in a dynamic panorama of the great events of Teddy Roosevelt in the early years of the 20th century.

Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly

Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly is a 56-minute narrated film that unfolds along the shores of Cape Ann and in the heart of Mexico’s forested volcanic mountains. Every stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is experienced in vibrant close-up, from mating to egg to caterpillar to adult, and set against the backdrop of sea and forest, sun and wind.

Le Temps des vautours

Marketing the Messiah

Whether you are a Christian, atheist, or member of another faith, it's impossible to ignore the impact that Christianity has had on Western civilization. But most people don't actually know how Christianity began. In this lighthearted but factual film, we tell the "true" story of early Christianity. An honest attempt to piece together a very complex and fascinating story that everyone will enjoy.

An Experiment in Fear: The Making of Monkey Shines

Documentary about the making of George A. Romero's Monkey Shines.