Arts

A selection of films on the arts, including biographies of artists.

Ozias Leduc... Painter of the Soul's Seasons
Michel Brault 1996 58 min
Ozias Leduc (1864-1955) was one of Quebec's most important visual artists. Largely self-taught, Leduc's wide-ranging painting, writing and photography have both a symbolic and spiritual dimension. This biography illuminates Leduc's life by drawing on the writings of two of his friends, writer Robert de Roquebrune (1889-1978) and painter Paul-Émile Borduas (1905-1960). Their recollections paint the portrait of an enigmatic and reserved man who summed up his vocation with the words, "The artist's sole mission is to give expression to the Beautiful. The Beautiful as free as space and time."
Audacious
Janice Zolf 2016 5 min
Michael Bublé reveals the source of his creative courage in this captivating short film. By the age of five, Bublé knew that music was his destiny. While other performers sang pop tunes, Bublé was swinging the standards on the club scene, becoming an indie artist long before it was cool. Supported by a devoted family who always believed in his dreams, Bublé remains a rebel. With 50 million albums sold, this inimitable Canadian artist is beloved by audiences around the globe, and continues to defy all expectations.
Tour en l'air
Grant Munro 1973 49 min
For all who enjoy ballet, this English-language film presents an insight into the dance that only dancers ordinarily see. It is an engaging film portrait of the famous Canadian husband-and-wife team, Anna Marie and David Holmes (also seen in the McLaren film, Ballet Adagio). We see their busy lives as international dance stars, their private interests and, above all, their dedication to the absolute refinement of ballet movement.
That Higher Level
John Bolton 2018 1 h 14 min
That Higher Levelfollows the 100 musicians who make up the National Youth Orchestra of Canada over the course of two months of training and touring across the country. Embedded with the orchestra throughout, filmmaker John Bolton weaves together footage that captures the essence of the training institute and, eventually, the journey and performances on tour.
Oscar
Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre 2016 12 min
Mixing animated sequences and archival footage, Oscar is a touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson at the twilight of an exceptional career, as he wistfully meditates on the price of fame and the impacts of the artist’s life on family life.

From the young prodigy’s beginnings in Little Burgundy to his triumphs on the international scene, this animated documentary by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre explores the profound solitude of an artist constantly on tour. Set to the tunes of Peterson’s sometimes catchy, sometimes melancholy-tinged compositions, the film tells a heartfelt story about a life in jazz.
Eleven Moving Moments with Evelyn Lambart
Donald McWilliams 2017 1 h 3 min
This feature-length documentary shines a much-deserved spotlight on Evelyn Lambart, who stood side-by-side with Norman McLaren for 21 years. Dubbed The First Lady of Canadian Animation, Lambart was an accomplished animator in her own right. This compilation, playfully contextualized by filmmaker Donald McWilliams, aims to prove just that.
Unarmed Verses
Charles Officer 2016 1 h 25 min
This feature documentary presents a thoughtful and vivid portrait of a community facing imposed relocation. At the centre of the story is a remarkably astute and luminous 12-year-old black girl whose poignant observations about life, the soul, and the power of art give voice to those rarely heard in society. Unarmed Verses is a cinematic rendering of our universal need for self-expression and belonging.
Uniquely Viola
Rodolphe Caron 2016 1 h 15 min
Eighty-five-year-old Viola Léger has been embodying La Sagouine, the famous character from Antonine Maillet’s eponymous 1971 play, for over 40 years. Filmmaker Rodolphe Caron follows the veteran Acadian actress as she prepares for a new series of performances, inviting her to talk about her long and successful career.
F.R. Scott: Rhyme and Reason
Donald Winkler 1982 57 min
This feature documentary looks at the multi-faceted career of F.R. Scott (1899-1985), a Canadian poet, thinker and constitutional expert whose work and vision of social justice spanned and influenced an entire era. The film looks at Scott's role in the founding of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Party in the 1930s, his years as a teacher of constitutional law, as a modernist poet, and as a champion of civil liberties. Highlights include Scott's courtroom challenges of the Duplessis regime in the 1950s, his controversial support of the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis in Québec, and readings from his poetry.
Klee Wyck
Grant Crabtree 1946 15 min
This short documentary from the Canadian Artists series presents the art of Emily Carr, the Canadian painter who found exciting subject matter on British Columbia's Pacific Coast, with its giant trees and its Indigenous villages, totems and carvings. When Carr visited the Ucluelet Indian Reserve on Vancouver Island in 1898, the Nuu-chah-nulth people gave her the name Klee Wyck, meaning “Laughing One.” Her canvases are shown here amidst the landscapes and places where they were painted. At the end of the film Tse-shaht painter George Clutesi is pictured as Carr left her paintbrushes and other materials to him.
Max in the Morning
David Bairstow 1965 27 min
This short documentary joins radio satirist Max Ferguson at the microphone as he creates his weekday-morning program for the CBC. Shot inside his broadcasting booth, the film watches and records as Max ad-libs his way through zany interpretations of news events, with only the morning paper and his wit to guide him.
In Pieces

Paule Baillargeon 2011 1 h 21 min
Paule Baillargeon is 37 years old, 11 years old, 65 years old. . . In this film composed of fragments, she tells her story: the story of a woman, a filmmaker, a mother, a feminist, an artist. Of an actress, too, who delivers a powerful narrative that is both soothing and unsettling. These potent images, her images—filmed, painted, photographed, drawn, animated—merge into the portrait of a life that has been wild, rebellious and gentle. The tableaux are not so much autobiography as an authentic tale, as unpredictable and unique as any life.
United States of Africa
Yanick Létourneau 2011 1 h 15 min
African hip hop pioneer Didier Awadi is on a quest to craft an album that pays tribute to the great black revolutionary leaders and their struggle to realize a dream: a united, independent Africa. In this epic musical and political journey, Awadi visits some 40 countries to collaborate with hip hop activist artists, including Smockey (Burkina Faso), M-1 of Dead Prez (United States) and ZuluBoy (South Africa).

Featuring a score by Ghislain Poirier, as well as Awadi’s own songs, United States of Africa draws the viewer into one artist’s profound meditation on the power of music and the impact of political engagement—both individual and collective. A hopeful and compelling portrait of a continent whose politically aware youth is refusing to accept the role of victim, the film is a call for Africans to rise up, take a stand and take control of their continent and their destiny.
Bone Wind Fire
Jill Sharpe 2011 30 min
This Emmy-nominated feature film is an intimate and evocative journey into the hearts, minds and eyes of Georgia O’Keeffe, Emily Carr and Frida Kahlo - 3 of the 20th century’s most remarkable artists. The film uses the women’s own words, taken from their letters and diaries, to reveal 3 individual creative processes in all their subtle and fascinating variety.
The Portrait
Hubert Davis 2012 41 min
It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for artist Phil Richards, who’s been commissioned to create Canada’s official portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her Diamond Jubilee. Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Hubert Davis follows Richards over months of painstaking preparations, as he works to capture Her Majesty’s likeness and spirit on canvas.
Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment
Peter Wintonick 1999 1 h 42 min
Crisis, Lonely Boy, Chronicle of a Summer. You may not know these films, but you see their influences every day--in everything from TV news to music videos to Webcams. The cinéma vérité (or direct cinema) movement of the '50s and '60s was driven by a group of rebel filmmakers tired of stilted documentaries. They wanted to show life as it really is: raw, gritty, dramatic. Rich in excerpts from vérité classics, Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment is the first film to capture all the excitement of a revolution that changed movie-making forever. Director Peter Wintonick's Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media is one of the bestselling documentaries of all time; co-producer Éric Michel won the Cannes Palme d'or for 50 ans, by director Gilles Carle, and co-producer Adam Symansky won an Oscar for Flamenco at 5:15.
Nollywood Babylon
Ben Addelman & Samir Mallal 2008 1 h 13 min
A feature documentary on Nigeria’s successful movie industry. The creative duo of Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal – the same team who made Discordia – profile the Lagos-based dream machine. Operating on low budgets and tight schedules, “Nollywood” specializes in a unique form of African B-movie that draws upon both traditional voodoo stories and contemporary urban themes.
Donald Brittain: Filmmaker
Kent Martin 1992 1 h 34 min
A close look at one of the best documentary filmmakers in the world, this retrospective of Brittain films also offers a glimpse of the man and the restless energy that informed his work. Dedicated and hard-working, Donald Brittain left nothing to chance, driving himself and his colleagues at the NFB and the CBC until perfection was achieved, or until airtime, whichever came first.
Mordecai Richler: The Writer and His Roots
1983 57 min
This feature documentary explores Mordecai Richler's cultural and geographic roots as well as his personal reasons for writing. The film includes excerpts from several of his books and movies as well as readings by the author.
Margaret Laurence, First Lady of Manawaka
Robert Duncan 1978 52 min
This feature documentary is a portrait of one of Canada's most celebrated authors, Margaret Laurence. Born in a small Prairie town in Manitoba, Laurence remained haunted by the images of this small Presbyterian home town. This film traces her life from the early days and introduces us to her characters, whom we meet through readings from her work by Canadian actress Jayne Eastwood. The film blends fact with fiction to give its audience a strong impression of who this very private person really was.
Family: A Loving Look at CBC Radio
Donald Brittain & Robert Duncan 1991 49 min
Family offers a candid look at CBC Radio in action and the unique cast of characters who make up Canada's coast-to-coast radio family. The film brings home the enormous complexity of producing across six time zones, with the mandate to deliver quality programs, often live, throughout the country. Accomplished filmmaker Donald Brittain was able to capture critical moments of live radio in progress and documents the history and development of CBC Radio.
Lost Action: Trace
Marlene Millar , Crystal Pite , … 2011 3 min
This short film addresses the revolving cycles of human conflict through contemporary dance. Celebrated choreographer Crystal Pite and dance filmmakers Marlene Millar & Philip Szporer commemorate the fading legacies of WWI, while also creating a moving homage to Pite’s mentors and contemporaries, whose lives and short careers are pitted against the fleeting nature of the dance art form. Featuring Theodore Ushev’s haunting and distinct artwork, the film explores the themes of conflict, loss, and rescue we all experience as we cycle through states of love and war.

Warning: Although this film was shot in 3D, the streaming and downloadable versions are available in 2D only.
The Performer
Donald Ginsberg 1959 58 min
This 1959 feature documentary is a foray into Canada’s art milieu. What is it like to be a Canadian artist? Answering this central question are Teresa Stratas, winner of Metropolitan Opera auditions; acclaimed lyric tenor Léopold Simoneau and his talented wife, soprano Pierrette Alarie; the National Ballet Company of Canada’s artistic director, Celia Franca and leading male dancer, David Adams; as well as jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, whom we visit at 3 o'clock in the morning at Boston's Storyville Club. The film also includes interviews with radio and television actor John Drainie, Christopher Plummer and Jean Gascon, director of Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.
West Wind
Graham McInnes 1944 21 min
This short documentary features a visual tour of legendary Canadian painter Tom Thomson's favourite natural landscapes. The film traces Thomson's career, which began in Toronto, where he worked as a commercial artist. Later, Thomson's weekend sketching trips in the country turned into longer journeys farther north, and he finally settled in northern Ontario's Algonquin Park. Thomson spent less than four years as an artist and was barely 40 when a canoe accident ended his life. Fellow artists Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson and Arthur Lismer pay tribute to this genius, who, in Jackson's words, "contributed more to Canadian painting than any other artist."
Spirits of Havana
Bay Weyman & Luis Osvaldo Garcia 2000 1 h 30 min
This feature documentary offers a glimpse of contemporary Cuba’s rich musical culture through the experiences of renowned Canadian soprano sax player and flautist Jane Bunnett. Jane and her husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, are surrounded by the charm of Old Havana as they connect with some of the city's finest musicians—like singers Bobby Carcasses and Amado Dedeu —for a recording session. Bunnett and Cramer then venture to small towns like Cienfuegos and Camaguey, where they hook up with local musicians and visit music schools. Global music fans will be captivated by the performances of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, a celebrated Afro-Cuban rumba group, and Desandann, a 10-member a cappella choir that sings in Haitian Creole.
In Love and Anger: Milton Acorn - Poet
Kent Martin 1984 52 min
This feature documentary profiles poet Milton Acorn, who left his home in Prince Edward Island in the late 1940s to earn his living as an itinerant carpenter, and wound up in Toronto as one of Canada's most highly regarded poets and one of its most outrageous literary figures. Dubbed "The People's Poet" by fellow poets, he won the Governor General's Literary Award in 1975. Burned out by personal crises, Acorn moved back to Charlottetown in 1981. This film, directed by a P.E.I. filmmaker, brings out Acorn's wit, love of nature, unorthodox political views, and sometimes infuriating personal contradictions.
Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Caroline Leaf 1981 27 min
This short documentary profiles Quebec-born singing sisters Kate and Anna McGarrigle. The sisters enjoy international acclaim—although outside of the mainstream—for their inimitable style, their talent as songwriters, and especially their unassuming, informal personalities. With camera and sketchbook in hand, artist and filmmaker Caroline Leaf captures the sisters’ endearing qualities. The result is an easygoing, sometimes whimsical portrait of the famous sisters on and off stage. Highlights include excerpts from the sisters’ Carnegie Hall performance and a look at their songwriting and recording processes.
The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein
Joyce Borenstein 1991 29 min
With great singleness of purpose, Sam Borenstein painted for over 40 years. Despite his obvious talent it was only near the end of his life that his work began to be known. Twenty years after the artist's death, animation filmmaker Joyce Borenstein brings her father's work to a wider audience. Using various animation techniques in this documentary, she skillfully and harmoniously integrates archival material, filmed sequences, the painting themselves, and reminiscences of friends and family, to bring Sam Borenstein's work to life.
Glenn Gould - Off the Record
Roman Kroitor & Wolf Koenig 1959 29 min
In this short documentary, Canadian concert pianist Glenn Gould enjoys a respite at his lakeside cottage. This is an aspect of Gould previously known only to the collie pacing beside him through the woods, the fishermen resting their oars to hear his piano, and fellow musicians like Franz Kraemer, with whom Gould talks of composition.
Glenn Gould - On the Record
Roman Kroitor & Wolf Koenig 1959 29 min
This short documentary follows Glenn Gould to New York City. There, we see the renowned Canadian concert pianist kidding the cab driver, bantering with sound engineers at Columbia Records, and then, alone with the piano, fastidiously recording Bach's Italian Concerto.
Paul Kane Goes West
Gerald Budner 1972 14 min
This short documentary showcases the work Paul Kane painted in the Canadian northwest in the mid-1800s. Travelling overland west to the Pacific in the mid-1800s, Kane immortalized the area’s great Indigenous Peoples, Chiefs, ceremonies, war parties, buffalo hunts, rapids and waterfalls. In this film, his canvases are projected with lighting that brings to life every glowing detail.
The Black Squirrel
Fadel Saleh 1999 57 min
This feature film is a different portrait of Ottawa, as transfigured by the loving but provocative gaze of well-known Francophone writer Daniel Poliquin. In his novels, the national capital metamorphoses, like the dreaded rat that supposedly changed into the city's ubiquitous black squirrel in a bid to win our affection. Alternating reality and fiction, the film reveals another Ottawa through the dreams and desires of his novels' characters - all portrayed by Poliquin himself.
Stravinsky
Roman Kroitor & Wolf Koenig 1966 49 min
This documentary is an informal portrait of the great modern composer Igor Stravinsky. Proudly American, though still very much an Old World figure with a long and alert memory for people and events in music, literature and art, Stravinsky is depicted here conducting the CBC Symphony Orchestra in a recording of his Symphony of Psalms.
The Cirque: An American Odyssey
Nathalie Petrowski 1989 50 min
This short documentary chronicles the Cirque du Soleil’s 1988 United States tour. As the fledgling Quebec circus sets up its big top in New York City, where it garners rave reviews, circus artists discuss what it means to be a part of this success and the price they pay for taking part in the American Dream.
Poet: Irving Layton Observed
Donald Winkler 1986 52 min
This feature documentary is a portrait of the life and work of Canadian poet Irving Layton. Here, the artist who long masked himself in controversy, unexpectedly agrees to be unmasked in front of the camera. The 1981 Nobel nominee not only reads and explicates his own writings, but also speaks incisively about Canadian literature itself, defining it metaphorically as a "double hook" that combines "beauty and terror."
Horse Drawn Magic
Dorothy Todd Henaut 1979 27 min
This documentary short introduces us to the Caravan Stage Company, the world's only horse-drawn open-air theater. Every summer it tours British Columbia and Alberta, bringing live entertainment to communities where television is often the main diversion. In a montage of short sketches, the film shows the troupe on the road and in performance. Hard work and laughter are basic ingredients of this unconventional lifestyle.
Notman's World
Albert Kish 1989 29 min
This documentary short is a portrait of Canadian photographer William Notman. Photography was still in its infancy when he opened his first studio in Montreal in the late 1850s. He rapidly turned his art, and a budding technology, into a highly successful business. Within 5 years he was appointed Photographer to the Queen. Not content with doing mere portraiture, he saw photography as a means of documenting history. With the use of props in his studio, composite photographs, and calling on his background as a trained artist, Notman immortalized the people and places of Canada.
Ballet Adagio
Norman McLaren 1972 9 min
This short film by Norman McLaren is a slow-motion study of the pas de deux adagio, one of the most exacting dances of classical ballet. A ballet originally choreographed by the Russian ballet master Asaf Messerer is performed for this film by the internationally known Canadian pair David and Anna Marie Holmes, to the music of Albinoni's Adagio.
On the Road with La Mouette
Philippe d' Hauterive & François Aubry 2001 52 min
This feature documentary follows Le Théâtre de La Mouette, a travelling puppet theatre company comprised of a husband, his wife and their 3 teenage sons. The family has crossed Canada from east to west, and north to the Yukon, taking their amusing play (with a serious ecological message) to remote towns and villages. This film traces their 7th trip in 10 years, this time to the Maritimes and Newfoundland.
Remembering Arthur
Martin Lavut 2006 1 h 29 min
In this feature length documentary, filmmaker Arthur Lipsett's close friend Martin Lavut documents the influence of the eccentric Oscar-nominated film genius. The world of cinema tragically lost Lipsett in 1986 when the Montreal-born artist committed suicide 2 weeks before his 50th birthday. This feature documentary celebrates the life and legacy of one of Canada's greatest creative minds, who began his filmmaking career at the NFB.
Like Andrew Qappik
Jane Churchill 2005 11 min
This short documentary is a portrait of Andrew Qappik, a world-renowned Inuit printmaker from Pangnirtung, Nunavut. Originally inspired by images in the comic books he read as a child, Andrew now finds his subjects in the stories, traditions and day-to-day events of his world.

In I Can Make Art Like Andrew Qappik, he captivates his student audience by creating a soapstone relief print before their very eyes. Then it's the kids' turn. They explore Andrew's symbolic imagery - and their own - as they each create a self-portrait relief point.
Like Kai Chan
Jane Churchill 2005 11 min
In this short film, sculptor and textile artist Kai Chan shares his artistic philosophy of economy and repetition with young artists who build extraordinary, complex 3D structures using simple materials and basic techniques. Part of the I Can Make Art ...series.
Walking
Ryan Larkin 1968 5 min
Animator Ryan Larkin uses an artist's sensibility to illustrate the way people walk. He employs a variety of techniques--line drawing, colour wash, etc.--to catch and reproduce the motion of people afoot. The springing gait of youth, the mincing step of the high-heeled female, the doddering amble of the elderly--all are registered with humour and individuality, to the accompaniment of special sound. Without words.
RiP! A Remix Manifesto
Brett Gaylor 2008 1 h 26 min
Join filmmaker Brett Gaylor and mashup artist Girl Talk as they explore copyright and content creation in the digital age. In the process they dissect the media landscape of the 21st century and shatter the wall between users and producers. Creative Commons founder, Lawrence Lessig, Brazil's Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, and pop culture critic Cory Doctorow also come along for the ride.
Ryan
Chris Landreth 2004 13 min
This animated short from Chris Landreth is based on the life of Ryan Larkin, a Canadian animator who produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. Ryan is living every artist's worst nightmare - succumbing to addiction, panhandling on the streets to make ends meet. Through computer-generated characters, Landreth interviews his friend to shed light on his downward spiral. Some strong language. Viewer discretion is advised.
Bryan Adams: Bare Bones
David Battistella 2010 5 min
Bryan Adams is one of world’s most enduringly popular singer/songwriters. He is most at home in his Vancouver studio, surrounded by his collection of vintage microphones and guitars. Adams calls it “a very analog space in a very digital world.” In this short documentary, we witness an intimate rendition of his song “One World, One Flame” and hear him speak of his audience-centred approach to performance: “I want it to be fun, I want it to be real.”
Mindscape
Jacques Drouin 1976 7 min
A particularly creative example of the pinscreen animation technique, this film is about an artist who steps inside his painting and wanders about in a landscape peopled with symbols that trigger unexpected associations. Film without words.
Pas de deux
Norman McLaren 1968 13 min
This short film by Norman McLaren is a cinematic study of the choreography of ballet. A bare, black set with the back-lit figures of dancers Margaret Mercier and Vincent Warren create a dream-like, hypnotic effect. This award-winning film comes complete with the visual effects one expects from this master filmmaker.
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
Donald Brittain & John Kramer 1976 1 h 39 min
This feature-length documentary focuses on Malcolm Lowry, author of one of the major novels of the 20th century, Under the Volcano. But while Lowry fought a winning battle with words, he lost his battle with alcohol. Shot on location in four countries, the film combines photographs, readings by Richard Burton from the novel and interviews with the people who loved and hated Lowry, to create a vivid portrait of the man.
The Stratford Adventure
Morten Parker 1953 39 min
This short film depicts how a small Canadian city, bearing the name of Stratford and by a river Avon, created its own renowned Shakespearean theatre. The film tells how the idea grew, how a famous British director, international stars and Canadian talent were recruited, and how the Stratford Shakespearean Festival finally became a triumphant reality.
Krzysztof Wodiczko: Projections
Derek May 1991 53 min
This full-length documentary examines the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko, an artist who has taken his art out of museums to project it onto the sides of buildings. The film explores Wodiczko’s philosophy of art as social contract and shows examples of his provocative work, which has lit up walls from London's Trafalgar Square to Zion Square in Jerusalem.
Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows
Diane Beaudry 1976 10 min
Set against a background of her paintings and the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, landscapes they depict, this short documentary is a portrait of the life and work of one of Canada's foremost primitive painters, Maud Lewis. Emerging from her youth crippled with arthritis, Lewis escaped into her painting at the age of 30. She had never seen a work of art and had never attended an art class but her paintings captured the simple strength, beauty and happiness of the world she saw - a world without shadows.
Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak
John Feeney 1963 19 min
This documentary shows how an Inuit artist's drawings are transferred to stone, printed and sold. Kenojuak Ashevak became the first woman involved with the printmaking co-operative in Kinngait (formerly known as Cape Dorset). This film was nominated for the 1963 Documentary Short Subject Oscar®.
Varley
Allan Wargon 1953 16 min
This short documentary is a portrait of Frederick Varley, Canadian painter and member of the Group of Seven. In the film, Varley returns to his studio in Toronto after a sketching trip. The camera moves about the studio selecting examples of his canvases and watches him as he begins a new painting.
I Don't Have to Work that Big
Michael McKennirey 1973 27 min
This short documentary focuses on prairie sculptor Joe Fafard. If there's one thing Joe knows, it's cows. He knows the way they tuck in their forelegs to lie down to ruminate and the way a calf romps in the barnyard. He also knows his friends and neighbours in the farming community of Pense, Saskatchewan—and he sculpts them all in clay, as eloquent and quirky miniatures. Joe's work has been exhibited throughout Canada as well as in Paris and New York, and this film offers a glimpse into his process, his aesthetic, and the charming prairie community in which he lives.
Finding Farley
Leanne Allison 2009 1 h 2 min
In this feature documentary, husband-and-wife team Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison (Being Caribou), along with their 2-year-old son and dog, retrace the literary footsteps of Canadian writer Farley Mowat. They canoe east from Calgary towards the Prairies (the geography of Farley's Born Naked and Owls in the Family) and then traverse the same paths that Mowat took more than 60 years earlier in Never Cry Wolf and People of the Deer. Their epic 5,000 km journey—trekking, sailing, portaging and paddling—ends in the Maritimes, at Mowat's Nova Scotia summer home.
Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen
Donald Brittain & Don Owen 1965 44 min
This informal black-and-white portrait of Leonard Cohen shows him at age 30 on a visit to his hometown of Montreal, where the poet, novelist and songwriter comes "to renew his neurotic affiliations." He reads his poetry to an enthusiastic crowd, strolls the streets of the city, relaxes in this three-dollar-a-night hotel room and even takes a bath.
Flamenco at 5:15
Cynthia Scott 1983 29 min
This short film is an impressionistic record of a flamenco dance class given to senior students of the National Ballet School of Canada by two great teachers from Spain, Susana and Antonio Robledo. The film shows the beautiful young North American dancers—inspired by the flamenco rhythms and mesmerized by Susana's extraordinary energy—joyously merging with an ancient gypsy culture.
Ten Million Books: An Introduction to Farley Mowat
Andy Thomson 1981 25 min
Farley Mowat has sold more books than any other Canadian writer – 10 million copies in 22 languages in 50 countries. In this short film, Mowat recalls some of his experiences that have found their way into his work.
Margaret Atwood: Once in August
Michael Rubbo 1984 57 min
In Margaret Atwood: Once in August, filmmaker Michael Rubbo attempts to discover what shapes the celebrated writer's fiction and what motivates her characters. As one of Canada's most distinguished poets and novelists, Atwood is also one of this country's most elusive literary figures.

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