Music
Adrenaline Bach
Adrenaline Bach is a visually stunning short film that features Tim Sellars, a triathlon athlete who trains among the forests, ridges and mists of Canada’s boreal mountains. A meditation on …
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story
A lost R&B star who eclipsed Etta James and Little Richard, trans soul singer Jackie Shane blazed an extraordinary trail with an unbreakable commitment to her truth. Forty years after …
Bydlo
An allegory of mankind heading for disaster, this animated short is a tragic vision inspired by the 4th movement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Drawing on the composer’s …
A Drummer's Dream
A rare and unique assembly of some of the greatest drummers in the world. Explosive talent, passion, humour and irresistible personality come together in a magical setting as these diverse …
Evan's Drum
An adventurous young boy and his determined mother share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Evan’s Drum is a joyful visit to a family’s loving home, …
Ever Deadly
This film discusses topics of trauma and abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.
Ever Deadly weaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and …
Heartbeat of a Nation
In the Northern Alberta community of Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation, a father teaches his child how to create a caribou drum. In Heartbeat of a Nation, a short …
Home Cooked Music
This short documentary profiles an imaginative inventor and craftsman who makes whimsical stringed instruments out of unlikely items. In his hands, shovels, rakes, baseball bats, and stop signs become beautiful …
Hungu
Under the African sun, a child walks in the desert with his kin. Death is prowling, but a mother's soul resurrected by music will return strength and life to the …
Jerry Brown’s Summer Records
Jerry Brown’s Summer Records was one of the first recording studios to give Canadian reggae artists a voice. Four decades later, never-before-seen footage lets us meet the man behind the …
Johnny Osbourne
Before gaining international recognition as the “Dancehall Godfather,” legendary singer Johnny Osbourne was at the forefront of a revolution that transformed Toronto into one of the most influential reggae communities …
Leroy Sibbles
In Trench Town—the birthplace of reggae—Leroy Sibbles rose to stardom as the lead singer of The Heptones and the undisputed king of the reggae bassline. Then, at the height of …
Lucien’s Happiness
To better understand the essence of happiness, filmmaker Nathalie Hébert speaks with Lucien Comeau, a musician and “philosopher of the everyday” who lives in Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick. This simple, informal …
MacPherson
This animated film by Martine Chartrand (Black Soul) recounts the friendship between a young Félix Leclerc and Frank Randolph Macpherson, a Jamaican chemical engineer and university graduate who …
My Prairie Home
In this feature documentary-musical by Chelsea McMullan, indie singer Rae Spoon takes us on a playful, meditative and at times melancholic journey. Set against majestic images of the infinite expanses …
Nana McLean
Against the changing face of Toronto’s Little Jamaica, where she established some of the city’s landmark reggae record stores, singer Nana McLean challenges outdated stereotypes and establishes her reputation as …
Quiet Zone
Combining elements of documentary, film essay and experimental film, filmmakers Karl Lemieux and David Bryant (Godspeed You Black Emperor!) take us deep into the world of those who suffer from …
RiP! A Remix Manifesto
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 …
Roy & Yvonne
Roy Panton and Yvonne Harrison made history as one of the first Jamaican ska duos. Decades after going their separate ways, the pair rekindle their magic—this time, 3,000 kilometres north, …
Saturday Night
A short documentary essay on solitude, filmed in Spanish and narrated by filmmaker Rosana Matecki, Saturday Night offers a poetic and bittersweet snapshot of aging in an urban setting, viewed …
The Singing Lumberjack
For nearly 40 years, Charlie Chamberlain was one of the most popular vocalists in Canada—and the most beloved member of the old-time band Don Messer and His Islanders. This five-minute …
The Socalled Movie
This feature-length documentary is a dynamic kaleidoscopic portrait of Socalled (aka Josh Dolgin), a multi-disciplinary musician and artist whose unique blend of klezmer, hip hop and funk is blasting through …
The Song and the Sorrow
The Song and the Sorrow follows Catherine as she journeys to understand her father and face her own struggles with mental illness. Through archival footage and intimate interviews with friends, …
That Higher Level
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 …
Then Sings My Soul
Prince Edward Island singer and part-time fisherman Chad Matthews is a hardworking father of four and a Stompin’ Tom Connors tribute artist. In a rural town where making a living …
Trécarré: Exploring the Saint Mary’s Bay Sound
Musical culture is part of the DNA in the Nova Scotia Acadian community of Baie Sainte-Marie. Brimming with talent, members of the local music scene are reinventing tradition and taking …
Unarmed Verses
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 …
United States of Africa
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: …
Upstairs With David Amram
Before her storied career as one of Canada’s foremost documentary filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin was an acclaimed singer and musician at the forefront of the Indigenous rights movement in North America. …
Vive la rose
Based on the last recording by one of Newfoundland's foremost traditional music performers, Emile Benoit's tender delivery of the 18th century French song is the heart of Vive la rose. …