HAND. LINE. COD.

In the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland's rugged Fogo Island, "people of the fish"—traditional fishers—catch cod live by hand, one at a time, by hook and line. After a 20-year moratorium on North Atlantic cod, the stocks are returning. These fishers are leading a revolution in sustainability, taking their premium product directly to the commercial market for the first time. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that's making a comeback.

Hospital City

As debate in Canada and the world rages over health care, Hospital City offers a moving, human portrait of the people whom the issues touch most closely.

Italomodern – Design

The Little Church That Could

Amidst a mostly Catholic community, a small tiny Anglican church offers more to the community of Placentia than people may think, and holds many connections and history to the rest of the world.

Mudder's Hands

A dash of youth, a pinch of age, and an unrecorded recipe: Mudder's Hands is a charming documentary conversation about arthritis, centered around the tradition of baking Newfoundland raisin bread.

My Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom

Comedian Mark O'Sullivan researches and writes a sitcom about the sexual abuse he survived as a child, and the court case that led to the conviction of the man who abused him.

Vývoj a mechanisace ohýbáren

Chair Times

"Chair Times" charts a course through an ocean of chairs. In the focus are 125 objects from the Collection of the Vitra Design Museum. Arranged according to their year of production, they illustrate development from 1807 to the very latest designs straight off the 3D printer, forming a timeline to modern seating design. The film features many people whose vocations involve design and who are experts in the field, such as designers Hella Jongerius, Antonio Citterio and Ronan Bouroullec, architects and collectors Arthur Rüegg and Ruggero Tropeano, architect David Chipperfield, Director Emeritus of MAK Vienna/Los Angeles Peter Noever, Mateo Kries, Director of the Vitra Design Museum, Vitra Design Museum curators Amelie Klein, Jochen Eisenbrand and collection curator Serge Mauduit. And your guide through the history of chairs is Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman Emeritus of Vitra.

Labrador North

This short documentary looks at the government relocation of the Labrador Inuit and the effects on their culture and social structures.

Brianna: A Mother's Story

Brianna: A Mother's Story - Esther Ghey tells the powerful and emotional true story of her daughter Brianna, a sixteen year old trans girl who was groomed by a murder obsessed classmate.

Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story

Documentary about Karen Matthews that reveals the true character of the woman who was behind the kidnapping of her own daughter, Shannon.

Taking Stock

It was a way of life. It was the backbone of a society. And then the cod fishery off the east coast of Newfoundland collapsed. Taking Stock traces the history leading up to the crisis and the calling for a moratorium of the northwest Atlantic cod fishery. It presents the key players in this complex and tragic story, focusing on those who are now trying to come to grips with an uncertain future. How did the calamity happen? What signals did we ignore? Did we chose the right model in setting up an industry? Ultimately, Taking Stock holds a message for the Canadian as well as the global community: In trying to attain economic success, we must recognize that there are limits to how far we can exploit nature's delicate ecosystems.

Eye of the Storm

A documentary about Nain, a Labrador Inuit community located near the world's largest nickel and copper deposits. As commercial mining interests prepare to exploit the resources, local residents consider the potential environmental and cultural impact. Meanwhile longstanding Aboriginal land claims are unsettled.

Newfoundland at Armageddon

On July 1st, 1916, the Newfoundland Regiment took part in a massive First World War offensive on the Somme, led by the British. At Beaumont Hamel the regiment was nearly wiped out, as only 110 of 780 soldiers survived the day. To commemorate its 100th anniversary, Brian McKenna’s documentary film tells the story of this epic tragedy. Using a technique that brings new meaning to reenactment, McKenna recruits descendants of soldiers who fought this battle, offering them a unique opportunity to relive the experience of their ancestors in trenches built specifically for the film.

A Quiet Girl

Adopted Montreal filmmaker Adrian Wills discovers, on camera and in real time, the startling truths of his complex beginnings in Newfoundland. Shocking details drive Wills to the core of his birth mother’s resilience, and ultimately his own. In this moving feature documentary that combines 16mm footage and contemporary images with deeply personal conversations, Wills’ voyage transforms from an urgent search for identity into a quest to give a quiet girl her voice.

A Passage from Burnt Islands

In his crusade for literacy, principal Ray Brown enlisted the help of the community and broke through the cycle of illiteracy in a small Newfoundland fishing village. He turned the struggling elementary school into a place where students were eager to learn and instilled in parents a sense of hope for their children's future.

Gander International: The Airport in the Middle of Nowhere

In 1938 an airfield was built at the northeastern-most end of America, the descent went slowly but incessantly through the Cold War. This is the story of how its inhabitants gradually moved away from the great world stage and had to reinvent themselves as well as their home town.

Trail of the Caribou

CBC News Newfoundland Labrador's documentary entitled “Trail of the Caribou” traces the journey of the brave men of the Newfoundland Regiment. Created to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel, the movie gives a detailed account of the role the Regiment played in the First World War, putting faces to the story. Since the War, Caribou statutes were constructed in Europe to memorialize the significant places the Newfoundland Regiment fought. Trail of the Caribou transports the viewers to these places to trace the footsteps of the Newfoundland soldiers.

A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story

This feature-length documentary paints a lively portrait of Father of Confederation and first premier of Newfoundland Joseph Roberts Smallwood, or "Joey," as he is known to most Canadians. Following one of Canada’s most colourful political figures during a two-and-a-half-month period that included a stormy Liberal leadership convention, the film reveals a man misunderstood even by his close associates.

The Man of a Thousand Songs

A feature length documentary about extraordinary Canadian singer songwriter, Ron Hynes... an insightful and entertaining exploration of the creative process, the genesis of song, the meaning of performance and the vulnerability of an artist compelled to bare his soul through his music. The film is comprised of Ron performing his music (distinct and live for the camera), interwoven with very intimate black box 'interviews' with Ron (shot tightly and directly addressed to the camera), in which he discusses the songs and the life that informed them: late nights, dark alleys, marriage, children, divorce, his near death and recovery from drug addiction... and punctuated with back stage moments, insight from the street, and Ron's nephew author Joel Thomas Hynes, taking the role of 'chorus of the people'.