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Canada Vignettes
From The Log Driver’s Waltz to Instant French, discover this series of classic shorts exploring every facet of Canadian culture and history.
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Onions and GarlicEva Szasz 1978 4 minThis animated short tells a humourous Hebrew folk tale about a man's venture to introduce onions to a far away kingdom and a disreputable man's attempt to exploit that. -
Flin FlonTina Horne 1978 3 minThis short documentary vignette reveals the curious origin of the name of Flin Flon, Manitoba.
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Log Driver's WaltzJohn Weldon 1979 3 minEasily one of the most often-requested films in the NFB collection, this lighthearted animated short is based on the song “The Log Driver’s Waltz” by Wade Hemsworth. Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing along to the tale of a young girl who loves to dance and chooses to marry a log driver over his more well-to-do competitors.
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The MoveLarry Bauman 1985 5 minIn this short documentary from the Canada Vignettes series, a Saskatchewan grain elevator is moved across the snow-covered prairie to a new home after nearly a half-century of use; from Greenstreet to Marshall, Saskatchewan (about 20 miles away). The film follows the lifting and transporting of the 9-storey, 200-ton structure, and examines the feelings of the people as they witness the final passing of their town's one and only grain elevator.
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Instant FrenchAndré Leduc 1979 1 minThis animated short is a take on the "As Seen on TV" commercials, or the K-Tel ads of yesteryear. In this parody version, the ad attempts to sell an electronic device that allows one to speak fluent, effortless French.
Please note that this film was produced in 1979 and reflects certain attitudes and thinking of its era. The last scene of the film includes negative stereotyping of Jews living in Quebec. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. While the film does not represent today’s views as perspectives of Canadians (and the NFB) have evolved and we have become more conscious regarding issues of discrimination and minority rights, the film is presented in its original version because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these stereotypes never existed. -
News CanadaYossi Abolafia 1978 3 minIn this short film from the Canada Vignettes series, historical events are depicted through simulated 1878 news broadcasts.
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FacesPaul Bochner 1978 1 minThis short animation attempts to show the landscape of Canadians through a series of transforming faces -- young, old and from many different backgrounds, illustrating the great variety of people living in the country.
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Wop MayBlake James 1979 5 minThis short animated film is about Wop May, one of Canada's leading bush pilots in the 1920s.
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Stunt FamilyLois Siegel 1978 3 minThis short film from the Canada Vignettes series profiles a unique French-Canadian family, the Fourniers, 12 of whom work as stunt men and women for films.
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Canada's SnowbirdsJoan Henson 1980 1 minThis installment in the Canada Vignettes series depicts the Canadian Forces Air Demonstration Aerobatics team at work.
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Fort Prince of Wales1978 1 minA Canada Vignette giving a humorous animated version of the history of Fort Prince of Wales from its construction to its capture by the French.
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Emergency NumbersJohn Weldon 1984 2 minThis short animation from Oscar® winner John Weldon is a hilarious "cat and dog fight" film that also reminds us to keep emergency numbers close to our telephones.
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The EggJean-François Pouliot & Robert Bélisle 1979 1 minIn this animated short from the Canada Vignette series, learn how societies in evolution are often in danger of self-destruction.
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Catapult CanadaBill Maylone 1985 1 minThis short stop-motion animation takes a humorous look at the theme of transportation. Forget trains and planes—the best way to get across the country is by catapult!
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Woolly MammothBill Maylone 1979 1 minThis very short animated film from the Canada Vignettes series depicts a large animal that lived on the Canadian tundra over 10,000 years ago: the woolly mammoth.
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The HorseMichael Mills 1978 1 minThis animated short illustrates how at one time horses provided man with unprecedented mobility and how the arrival of the iron horse brought this era to an end.
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DanceLise-Hélène Larin 1979 2 minIn this short film from the Canada Vignettes series, a map of Canada morphs into human forms that share the country's natural resources to the rhythm of a dance.
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Voyageurs1978 1 minThis very short animation from the Canada Vignettes series illustrates the hardships of voyageurs' lives in the early Canadian fur trade.
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Skier1978 2 minIn this short vignette, skier Kathy Kreiner prepares for and participates in her Olympic gold-medal race at Innsbruck.
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Riverdale Lion1979 1 minThis very short animation from the Canada Vignettes series is a visual interpretation of the poem “Riverdale Lion” by Canadian poet and essayist John Robert Colombo.
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CalliopeTony Ianzelo 1980 2 minA vignette on the travelling calliope (also known as steam organ), a musical instrument that produces sound by sending steam through large locomotive whistles.
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St. Laurent PilgrimageDan J. McCrimmon 1985 2 minThis very short film from the Canada Vignettes series documents the annual pilgrimage that members of Saskatchewan’s Métis Catholic community make to St. Laurent, a village in the Duck Lake area that became the Métis nation’s spiritual centre at the time of the 1885 Northwest Rebellion.
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The Maple LeafPaul Bochner 1978 1 minIn this animated short, the maple leaf on the Canadian flag turns into two profiles that illustrate the many relationships between people.
