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Quebec Society Since 1980 (16)
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Available in English Options
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Action: The October Crisis of 1970Robin Spry 1973 1 h 27 minThis feature-length documentary looks at those desperate days of October 1970 when Montreal awaited the outcome of FLQ terrorist acts. Using news reports and clips from the time, the film reflects upon the October Crisis and reveals the relief, dismay and defiance people felt when the Canadian army stepped in. -
Acadia Acadia ?!?Michel Brault & Pierre Perrault 1971 1 h 57 minIn the late 1960s, with the triumph of bilingualism and biculturalism, New Brunswick's Université de Moncton became the setting for the awakening of Acadian nationalism after centuries of defeatism and resignation. Although 40% of the province's population spoke French, they had been unable to make their voices heard. The movement started with students-sit-ins, demonstrations against Parliament, run-ins with the police - and soon spread to a majority of Acadians. The film captures the behind-the-scenes action and the students' determination to bring about change. An invaluable document of the rebirth of a people. In French with English subtitles.
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Beyond December 6Catherine Fol 1991 28 minOne year after the tragedy that took the lives of fourteen female students, Montreal’s École Polytechnique has returned to something resembling normalcy. Nathalie Provost is a survivor of the shooting at the engineering school. Today, with friends, she opens up. About the tragedy, about feminism. About racism and sexism. About the fact that society has difficulty accepting difference. And, above all, about life, which must go on beyond December 6.
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Comfort and IndifferenceDenys Arcand 1991 1 h 48 minEnglish sub-titled version of a film showing facts and opinions that lead to the Québec referendum on independence in 1980, with the participation of a historical character: Machiavelli.
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Far from BasharPascal Sanchez 2020 1 h 13 minSeveral years ago, after taking part in the mass uprisings against Bashar al-Assad, Adnan al-Mahamid had to flee Syria with his wife, Basmah, and their four children. Now settled in Montreal, the family opens their door to filmmaker Pascal Sanchez. They’ve adjusted to life in a peaceful city, but Adnan and Basmah still fear for loved ones back in Syria whose status and whereabouts remain unknown. The war that’s thousands of kilometres away continues to haunt them, surging suddenly to the fore in a conversation, Skype call or Facebook feed. Far from Bashar chronicles an endearing family as they go about their lives, tormented by a distant and seemingly interminable conflict.
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Finding MacphersonSerge Giguère 2014 1 h 17 minThis feature doc tells the story of the improbable friendship between acclaimed Quebec singer Félix Leclerc and the intriguing Frank Randolph Macpherson. A chemical engineer from Jamaica, Macpherson immigrated to Quebec in 1917 and was the inspiration for the popular song that Leclerc named after him. But this is also a story about memory: it was animator Martine Chartrand’s memory of this song that compelled her to create the striking animated short MacPherson, made by filming paintings on glass using 35mm film. A sympathetic look at an artist at work, Finding Macpherson takes audiences on a personal journey, exploring the imperceptible yet powerful connections that bind us to each other.
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The Image Mill RevealedMariano Franco & Marie Belzil 2009 51 minThis documentary describes the final 3 months leading up to the opening of Moulin à images, an impressionistic performance-event celebrating Quebec City's 400th anniversary. Director Robert Lepage works with a member of the Ex Machina team, leading a group of talented and creative young people who were invited to build this monumental panorama.
This film by Mariano Franco and Marie Belzil demonstrates the scope of the Lepage project, highlighting the contribution of every artist. The Image Mill Revealed is an adventure in art for the viewing audience. -
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of ResistanceAlanis Obomsawin 1993 1 h 59 minIn July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness. Director Alanis Obomsawin—at times with a small crew, at times alone—spent 78 days behind Kanien’kéhaka lines filming the armed standoff between protestors, the Quebec police and the Canadian army. Released in 1993, this landmark documentary has been seen around the world, winning over a dozen international awards and making history at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it became the first documentary ever to win the Best Canadian Feature award. Jesse Wente, Director of Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office, has called it a “watershed film in the history of First Peoples cinema.”
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Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance (Mohawk Version)Alanis Obomsawin 1993 1 h 59 minIn July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness. Director Alanis Obomsawin—at times with a small crew, at times alone—spent 78 days behind Kanien’kéhaka lines filming the armed standoff between protestors, the Quebec police and the Canadian army. Released in 1993, this landmark documentary has been seen around the world, winning over a dozen international awards and making history at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it became the first documentary ever to win the Best Canadian Feature award. Jesse Wente, Director of Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office, has called it a “watershed film in the history of First Peoples cinema.”
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A License to Remember: Je me souviensThierry Le Brun 2002 51 minDirector Thierry Le Brun sets off across the province of Quebec in his documentary, to learn just what the license plate slogan "Je me souviens" means to Quebecers. Quebec license plates don't sport cutesy tourist slogans like "Canada's Ocean Playground" or "Land of Living Skies." Instead, they draw attention to the past with "Je me souviens" ("I remember"), a motto that cuts to the heart of Quebec history and society.
Le Brun rides a dog sled, goes ice fishing, visits an emu farm, joins the Carifiesta celebrations and even gets pulled over by the cops. Along the way he meets a cast of characters, both famous and unknown, with wildly differing views on the provincial motto. "Je me souviens" becomes a Rorschach ink blot into which Quebecers peer, each with their own interpretation, showing the concerns of the many communities that make up their land. -
Log DriveRaymond Garceau 1957 29 minThis short documentary brings to the screen a great seasonal event in the Québec spruce forest—the log drive. In lyrics set to a sprightly tune, ballad singer describes this annual spectacle. A vast aggregation of logs moves downstream on a river, spurred by dynamite and sharp-tipped cant hooks, tossed and twirled by the boots of leaping men.
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My Floating World: Miyuki TanobeIan Rankin , Stephan Steinhouse , … 1979 26 minThis documentary short is a portrait of Miyuki Tanobe, a Japanese painter who has chosen to make Québec her home. She works in the Nihonga style, applying centuries-old techniques to scenes drawn directly from the working-class neighborhoods of Montréal. The film records the progression of one of her paintings from preliminary sketch to completion.
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Montreal SymphonyBettina Ehrhardt 2010 1 h 38 minTo mark the 75th season of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, conductor Kent Nagano put together a memorable program comprised of a selection of extraordinary works. This film captures the season’s high points, as well as Nagano’s knack for finding music and poetry in everyday urban life.
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On the Ice FloeStéphane Lahoud 2012 27 minThis short documentary depicts a warm yet ephemeral community that comes together on the ice in Rimouski, Quebec—the site of an unusual encounter between ice fishermen and French artist Joseph Kieffer.
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The Promised LandBernard Devlin 1962 1 h 52 minThis feature-length fiction, originally produced as a television miniseries and based on the novel Nuages sur les brûlés by Hervé Biron, explores the colonization of northern Quebec during the Depression-era 1930s. These historical dramas relive the toil, hardship and unexpected rewards of the pioneer. Folk singer Félix Leclerc appears in each episode. Part I: Encounters with the inhospitable wilderness while clearing a townsite. Part II: Struggles for leadership; log cabins are built and the women arrive. Part III: The dangers of frontier life: forest fire, accident, anxiety about bankruptcy, lack of tools, hard labour. Part IV: Big steps forward: the curé brings in teachers and is in turn presented with a new, though rough-hewn, church.
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Une femme de têteMohammed Belhaj 2006 14 minThis film tells the moving story of one woman fighting for her rights and preserving her dignity. Made as part of the Work for All project in 2006, an NFB and HRSDC-Labour initiative to combat racism in the workplace. In French with English subtitles.
