Family Life (68)

"... and They Lived Happily Ever After"
Kathleen Shannon , Irene Angelico , … 1975 13 min
Made in 1975, as part of the Challenge for Change program, this film takes a long, hard look at marriage and motherhood as expressed in the views of a group of young girls and married women. Their opinions cover a wide range. At regular intervals glossy advertisements extolling romance, weddings, babies, flash across the screen, in strong contrast to the words that are being spoken. The film ends on a sobering thought: the solution to dashed expectations could be as simple as growing up before marriage.
100 Miles
Louis Bodart 2022 1 min
Are we there yet? When the kids act up in the back seat, a family road trip gets knocked hilariously off course.

Produced as part of the 13th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship.
An Artist
Michèle Cournoyer 1994 5 min
In this short animation, a girl is so carried away by her love of music that she forgets about her household chores. Her father tells her to finish the dishes. Instead of washing them, she turns them into musical instruments, and he finally recognizes her talent. Based on Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to develop their talents and abilities to their fullest potential.
Affairs of the Art

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Joanna Quinn 2021 16 min
How many obsessions can one family have? In Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy.
Amma
Akash Jones 2024 1 min
“Wash your hands. Turn off the lights. And don’t forget your prayers to Ganesh.” Having fun with comicbook motifs and plasticine, Akash Jones honours the no-nonsense second-generation immigrant mother who raised him, instilling habits that guide him to this day. Stop-motion animation that says, “Love ya Mom.”
Before They Are Six
Gudrun Parker 1943 17 min
This short documentary offers an early example of the challenges faced by working mothers. As women entered the workforce in greater numbers during WWII, their young children were cared for by others. At day nurseries, trained staff supervised children’s meals, health and play. Toddlers are taught how to wash and dress themselves and to put their toys away tidily. The film is an intriguing portrait of the nascent mid-20th century world of work for women and their families.
Borderline
Fergus McDonell 1957 28 min
This short film is a portrait of Nora Fenton, a 15-year-old girl who is sent to a home for problem teens because of her persistent defiance of parental authority and self-injurious behavior. Typifying the problems of emotional adjustment experienced by many adolescents, this story of conflict and rebellion shows how understanding, affection and firm parental guidance are the factors most needed in helping teens weather their most turbulent years.
Becoming 13
Victoria King 2006 47 min
This smart documentary explores the intimidating terrain of girlhood by following three 12-year-olds over the period of one year. As these girls move from childhood to maturity, it's clear that peer pressure is an important influence, but as the films shows, the greatest influence in a young girl's life is family.

Filmmaker Victoria King's creative approach, including the use of "diary-cam" footage, not only follows the girls but allows them to question the world in their own voices. Ultimately, the film reveals the complexities of being 12, both satisfying our curiosity and inviting us to ask, What happens next?
Benoît
Beverly Shaffer 1978 20 min
Academy Award®-winning director Beverly Shaffer presents Benoit, a highly accomplished 11-year-old boy from Joliette. A member of the Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Joliette, he still finds time for his busy social life with peers and elders alike. Part of the Children of Canada series, the film is in French with English subtitles.
Yehuda
Beverly Shaffer 1994 26 min
This short documentary introduces us to 10-year-old Yehuda, a radiant example of the Hasidic belief in the joy of prayer. Living with his parents and 10 brothers and sisters in West Jerusalem, Yehuda brings old customs and traditions to life as he prepares to celebrate the Sukkot festival.
The Cora Player

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Cilia Sawadogo 1996 7 min
Two young Africans from different social backgrounds want to defy tradition and be free to love each other. This Burkina Faso/Canada co-production is based on Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which particularly upholds the right to love freely, blind to convention and social class. An animated film without words for twelve to seventeen yers olds.
The Circus
Nicolas Brault 2010 7 min
In the vestibule of a hospital room, a young boy waits to see his dying mother. The clamor and spiralling movements of bodies around him intensify, forming a grotesque circus—a cacophonous circle that pushes the child back, depriving him of one final touch of his mother's hand. Using rotoscoped drawings suggestive of charcoal sketches, as well as 3D and object animation techniques, The Circus compels viewing with its unsettling realism. Colour is employed metaphorically to subtly express the promise and the memory of maternal affection. Nicolas Brault's highly personal film, suffused with poetic modesty, casts a poignantly sincere gaze on the heartbreak of a child facing the fearful, mysterious experience of his mother's death.
Child, Part 3: Debbie and Robert: 12-24 Months
Robert Humble 1974 28 min
Trial and error and challenge, and the beginnings of communication. Robert is a little older than Debbie; both are of the same family. Both like to experiment, to copy and explore, but sometimes their aims run counter to one another. Their behaviour in this film is typical of the second year of life and illustrates the process of learning that goes on through every waking hour, and the kind of guidance a parent can give.
Child, Part 4: Kathy and Ian: Three-Year-Olds
Robert Humble 1977 28 min
By the age of three children become aware of themselves as unique. This happens through their continuing interaction with parents, siblings and friends. This film explores these relationships and the resulting development within the child.
The Crown Prince
Aaron Kim Johnston 1988 37 min
In Crown Prince, Frank Robinson abuses his wife verbally and batters her physically, with frightening consequences not only for her, but also for their sons, Billy and Freddy. A thought-provoking drama, this film explores the complex problems teenagers face in dealing with domestic violence, and shows how one family begins the healing process.
Children of Soldiers
Claire Corriveau 2010 51 min
In this documentary shot at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa during a troop deployment to Afghanistan, children and teens talk about the particular circumstances of having soldiers as parents.

Directed by Claire Corriveau, Children of Soldiers lifts the veil on a reality shared by thousands of young Canadians, and on the difficulty of finding a balance between loyalty to the troops and staying true to themselves.
Charles and François
Co Hoedeman 1988 15 min
A touching story of the friendship between a grandfather and his grandson, this is a film about aging and death. Award-winning animator Co Hoedeman combines 3-D and cut-out animation techniques to create a very dramatic and moving film. The story follows Charles and François through the different stages of their lives. With time, they become closer, common experiences having diminished the difference in age. By the end of the film, time appears to stand still; both are over one hundred years old and they are almost indistinguishable.
Charles

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Dominic-Étienne Simard 2017 10 min
Charles knows he’s not like other kids. Every day at school, he’s reminded that his life isn’t like that of his classmates. Every day at home, he sees that he doesn’t receive the same care as other children in his neighbourhood. To dodge the unfairness and taunts, Charles imagines a peaceful haven peopled by good-hearted little frogs.
Donna's Story
Doug Cuthand 2001 50 min
This intimate documentary paints a portrait of one Cree woman who left life on the streets to re-emerge as a powerful voice counseling Indigenous adults and youth about abuse and addiction. Raised in foster homes and caught up in drugs and prostitution by the age of 13, Donna Gamble shares her exhilarating and tumultuous journey and what motivated her to turn her life around. Together with her mother and daughters, Donna is working to shatter the cycle of addiction that has plagued their family for generations.
Dark Intent
Mireille Dansereau 2000 51 min
A poetic meditation by a man and a woman whose teenage son has threatened to end his lifee. What drives someone to that terrible extreme? In an effort to understand and demystify the phenomenon of suicide, the two parents search for answers within themselves. Their personal reflection is intercut with dramatic sequences, archival footage, animation, interviews and first-person accounts that look at suicide from an emotional, rational, cultural, social or medical perspective. Mireille Dansereau has made a sobering film that nevertheless expresses an abiding faith in life. In French with English subtitles.
For Angela
Nancy Trites Botkin & Daniel Prouty 1993 21 min
This short film portrays the experiences of Rhonda Gordon and her daughter, Angela, when a simple bus ride changes their lives in an unforeseeable way. When they are harassed by three boys, Rhonda finds the courage to take a unique and powerful stance against ignorance and prejudice. What ensues is a dramatic story of racism and empowerment.
Four Feet Up

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Nance Ackerman 2009 46 min
In this personal documentary, award-winning photographer and filmmaker Nance Ackerman invites us into the lives of a determined family for a profound experience of child poverty in one of the richest countries in the world. 20 years after the House of Commons promised to eliminate poverty among Canadian children, 8-year-old Isaiah is trying hard to grow up healthy, smart and well adjusted despite the odds stacked against him. Isaiah knows he's been categorized as "less fortunate," and his short life has seen more than his share of social workers, food banks and police interventions. His parents struggle to overcome a legacy of stereotypes, abuse and dysfunction. More than anything, they want Isaiah and his siblings to have access to opportunities they never had. Ackerman spent 2 years with Isaiah and his family. As her portrait of the family unfolds with the help of Isaiah's creative input, curiosity and zest for life, so do Ackerman's own feelings about the responsibilities of Canadians to raise all children as our best investment in the nation's future.
From Sociable Six to Noisy Nine
Judith Crawley 1954 21 min
The film looks into the meaning of various forms of conduct in children from six to nine years and suggests ways in which parents may guide them through a challenging, often trying phase of development. In a family with three children we observe how the parents cope with often baffling situations.
Growing Up Canadian: Family

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Susan Terrill 2003 46 min
Canadians of all ages tell stories of growing up with mom, dad, siblings and even the family pet. From making underwear out of flour sacks to scrounging for coal, most Canadian families were poor for the first half of the 20th century. Set against the backdrop of a country moving from rural dominion to urban nation, this episode follows changes in family homes, cars and neighbourhoods.

Throughout the episode, stories of family rituals, rules and discipline highlight dramatic cultural changes in the century.

Family is one of a 6-part series entitled Growing Up Canadian. These documentaries explore the myths and realities of Canadian childhood through family life, schooling, work, play, health and the media. The series marks the contribution of childhood and youth experience in defining Canada as it grew into full nationhood in the 20th century.
Granny and Mia
Émilie Villeneuve 2018 2 min
Narrated by a six-year-old girl, the making of a rainbow cake takes on the magical power of bringing generations together.
Happiness Is
Clorinda Warny 1972 7 min
For a young mother happiness can be an hour's stroll in the park with her sleeping infant--but happiness is short-lived when the baby begins to cry and the passers-by pause with freely proffered advice. Made of animated paper cut-outs, this film without words is a spoof about the self-styled child experts who are so caught up with their own views of what's best for a child that they fail to see the infant's real problem.
Howard
Don Haldane 1957 29 min
This documentary short presents the dilemma of a teenager caught in the crossfire of adult opinions and youthful enthusiasm. Howard, just out of high school, is slated for college and a career as a chemist. But he first wants to embark on a summer-long, foot-loose tour of Canada with a school pal. This plan, however, meets with strong resistance from his socially conformist parents. The film's depiction of Howard's resultant confusion illustrates the inner conflicts that can arise in teenagers when every carefree impulse is rationalized out of existence.
Here and There
Diane Obomsawin 2006 9 min
In this animated short, filmmaker Diane Obomsawin shows how childhood can be a chaotic time, especially if you're bouncing back and forth between two continents.
With engaging candour and gentle humour, Obomsawin fleshes out an uncertain identity and takes control of her life. Using drawings on paper and digitized snippets of fabric, she creates a whimsical world of simple lines and pastel tones.
HARVEY

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Janice Nadeau 2023 9 min
A short film adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, HARVEY depicts a young boy who candidly recalls the spring day when his world turned upside down. Filled with original little touches and told through the eyes of a child with an overflowing imagination, this luminous work by Janice Nadeau, featuring elegant music by Martin Léon, poetically examines bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent.
HIDE
Daniel Gray 2020 10 min
Two brothers entertain themselves with a game of hide and seek. As one counts, the other hides in a small cabinet. Seconds pass... then minutes... years... and decades. HIDE is a heartrending and prescient story about family and disconnect, in a world that is increasingly fragmented and unrecognizable.
It's Just Better
Beverly Shaffer 1982 15 min
This short documentary takes us to a farmhouse on Cape Breton Island where Shawn Peter Dwyer, age 10, lives with his mother and nine brothers and sisters. While the children’s pockets are usually empty, their lives are well filled. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Jonas and Lisa

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Zabelle Côté & Daniel Schorr 1994 9 min
A woman does laundry to support her husband and three children. The children are obliged to work at a very young age and are terrorized and robbed by their stepfather. Unable to take it any more, the little boy runs away from home. Based on article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to an adequate standard of living. A film without words.
Jaime Lo, Small and Shy
Lillian Chan 2006 7 min
In this animated short, Jaime Lo's father is sent to Hong Kong for a year-long work assignment. A shy Chinese-Canadian girl, Jaime Lo must use her creativity to cope with his absence. This story offers us a lighthearted glimpse into a common dilemma that many immigrant families face, where one parent must work overseas in order to provide for the rest of the family back home.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.
Joe and Roxy
Don Haldane 1957 28 min
This short is the second installment in a series of three dramatic films on adolescence, this one dealing with teenage romance. Joe and Roxy, at 15 and 16 respectively, face more than the average teenage problems. Roxy, a child of divorced parents, tries to keep her illusions about love and life alive despite her upbringing, while Joe unsuccessfully seeks guidance and direction from his less-than-capable father.
Kevin Alec
Beverly Shaffer 1977 16 min
In the mountainous country near Lillooet, British Columbia, eleven-year-old Kevin Alec of the Fountain Indian Reserve learns to make fishnets with his grandfather, and skin and tan hides with his aunt. He goes fishing with his grandmother and horseback riding with his brother. Life is full of wonderful things to do and to learn. Will Kevin eventually abandon his traditional way of life or will it be a source of continuing enrichment? This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
A Kind of Family

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Andrew Koster 1992 53 min
This feature documentary tells the complex and touching story of Winnipeg city councilor Glen Murray and his 17-year-old adopted son Mike, whose struggles with addiction and behavioural problems cyclically repeat. Glen, now an Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament, was one of the first openly gay elected politicians in Canada. He adopted Mike during an era when homophobic stereotypes often prevented gay men and women from adopting children. Glen and Mike's relationship is always tenuous and always turbulent as they struggle to define themselves together and alone.
Kwekànamad - The Wind Is Changing
Carlos Ferrand 1999 54 min
Annie Smith-St-Georges is an Algonquin mother and wife who led a largely uneventful life. Then tragedy struck in 1990, when her teenage son Yanik ended his life. Annie wanted to forget and yet to remember, to understand and yet to deny. Then one day she had a vision of a glass teepee ten storeys high, in Ottawa, to house a National Aboriginal Arts and Performance Centre. The building would be designed by the renowned architect Douglas Cardinal, in memory of her son and for all young Natives struggling to find meaning in life. We meet Annie and her husband eight years later, during the final year of their crusade for the glass teepee. A traditional habitat made from non-traditional material would successfully meld past and present. Annie wishes to give back to her people their ancestral pride and dignity. It's a time of hope. Annie now knows that, and she says it for anyone to hear: "Kwekànamad," the wind is changing. Some subtitles.
Life on Victor Street
Kirby Hammond 2012 29 min
This short documentary depicts an Aboriginal Winnipeg teen’s struggle to stay in school and away from local gangs. Filmed over 2 years, the film is a moving portrait of one family trying to break the cycle of addiction, violence and poverty in an environment filled with anger and despair.
Ludovic - Visiting Grandpa
Co Hoedeman 2001 11 min
It's summer and Ludovic is invited to his grandfather's farm. The little teddy bear finds Grandpa very saddened by the death of Grandma, and Ludovic is fascinated by a room filled with mementos. Grandma's portrait comes to life, and Ludovic is able to kiss and hug her. This poignant tale evokes the closeness and understanding between a grandfather and his little grandson who gradually learn to accept the death of a loved one.
Mi'kmaq Family (Migmaoei Otjiosog)

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Catherine Anne Martin 1995 32 min
This documentary takes you on a reflective journey into the extended family of Nova Scotia’s Mi'kmaq community. Revisiting her own roots, Mi'kmaq filmmaker and mother Catherine Anne Martin explores how the community is recovering its First Nations values, particularly through the teachings of elders and a collective approach to children-rearing. Mi'kmaq Family is an inspiring resource for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences who are looking for ways to strengthen and explore their own families and traditions.

We hear the Mi'kmaq language spoken and a lullaby is sung by a Mi'kmaq grandmother featured in the film.
Mascaras/Masques/Masks

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Elisa Rivas 1996 8 min
The story starts with the birth of a baby, who starts crying as soon as he sees his father 'in disguise.' The infant is already expressing his desire for authenticity. By the age of three, he instinctively rejects conventions. He is taken to a psychiatrist, who finds him perfectly normal. When he starts school, he is offered another mask. Once again, he rejects it, and once again, he is led off to the psychiatrist. As a teenager he discovers his father's disguises and fills them with helium. As an adult, his creative attitude towards his work arouses the envy of his colleagues. At one of his last visits to the psychiatrist, he sees a young woman who seems to be experiencing the same problems he is. It's love at first sight. From their union is born a child who starts to cry as soon as he sees his father wearing a motorcycle helmet. The father quickly removes his 'mask...' This Cuba/Canada co-production is based on Article 14 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which particularly upholds the child's right to refuse the hypocrisy of a society that tries to make us hide our real selves behind masks. An animated film without words for twelve to seventeen year olds.
Medicine Under the Influence
Lina B. Moreco 2004 1 h 17 min
This feature documentary tackles a taboo subject: the tragic effects of life-sustaining medical treatment on infants. Through the courageous testimony of a handful of doctors and therapists as well as the shocking stories told by devoted parents of disabled children, this film denounces the lack of support offered to science's little "miracles." Once saved, the children are more or less left to their fate by a medical system that does not give them the therapy needed to improve their quality of life and develop to their fullest potential.
Mon oncle Antoine (English Subtitled)
Claude Jutra 1971 1 h 44 min
Claude Jutra's sweeping portrait of village life in 1940s Quebec has been called one of the greatest Canadian films of all time. Recalling a time when the local general store was the crossroads of life, the film illustrates the way a young boy sees the world and those closest to him – first through the eyes of a teenager, and later, as events change him, through the eyes of an adult. In French with English subtitles.
Mon oncle Antoine (Dubbed Version)
Claude Jutra 1971 1 h 44 min
There was a time when the general store was the crossroads of life, a place where a boy could learn all he needed for the way ahead--especially when his uncle was the storekeeper, and also the undertaker, and the nephew often called upon to lend a hand. This film recalls such a store in a village in the asbestos mining area of Quebec in the early 1940s. The film presents a hundred-and-one vignettes of village life--all the bitter-sweet nostalgia with which a man might remember the events that thrust him into manhood. The action takes place on Christmas Eve--the one time of the year when the mine closed its doors, and the store bustled with humanity. For a few hours the villagers could forget their poverty and converge on the store for gossip and revelry. In the midst of it all was Uncle Antoine, customary ebullience and ribald humour whetted by occasional recourse to the gin bottle, and always somewhere in the background, his nephew Jacques taking it all in. But for Jacques this night was to bring sudden initiation into some of the harsher, cruder realities of life, even acquaintance with tragedy and death. Mon oncle Antoine is about a Quebec that makes no headlines but reflects the whole of life, the ebb and flow of hope and despair that might be in anyone's memory.
No Quick Fix

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Andrée Cazabon 2000 51 min
A revealing portrait of two young addicts, their life on the street and their despairing parents who find themselves powerless to save their children from the habit that is consuming them. As filmmaker Andrée Cazabon follows Cathy and Laurent for many months, recording their desperate drug-fuelled existence, she remembers her own life on the street. "My parents and I relived that horror," she says of her creative journey. But it was for all parents that she made this film. Cathy's and Laurent's parents live in a permanent state of bewildered anxiety and guilt. How can they avoid being totally destroyed by grief? How do they manage to carry on with their lives, in spite of everything? And how do they deal with a system that views them with suspicion? By grimly showing two children in the grip of a brutal addiction, No Quick Fix hopes to alleviate and identify some of the enormous pain endured by parents coping with an addicted child. In French with English subtitles.
Nobody Waved Good-bye

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Don Owen 1964 1 h 20 min
This award-winning feature-length drama from the 1960s tells the story of a teenage boy who rebels against his parents' middle-class goals and conventions.
Of Hopscotch and Little Girls...

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Marquise Lepage 1999 52 min
Hopscotch is universal. Girls around the world trace squares on the ground, then hop through them, trying hard to reach the end. Girls share other interests too; they all like to talk about school, what they want to be when they grow up, who they will marry, how many children they will have, their hopes for a better life for themselves and their family.

But all too often, through poverty, perversion, spite, ignorance or superstition, adults shatter these dreams by denying girls the right to an education, entering them into forced labour, subjecting them to mutilation, sexual abuse and other injustices.

Soni, Kamlesh, Mou, Yui, Dalal, Esmeralda, Fatou, Adiaratou, Safi and Maude range in age from 8 to 14. Some are frail, some strong; all are beautiful. Whether they live in India, Thailand, Yemen, Peru, Burkina Faso or Haiti, they all speak of having much of their childhood stolen from them. Because they are girls. With subtitles.
Oma's Quilt
Izabela Bzymek 2006 12 min
This animated short tells the story of Oma, who is moving from her house on Maple Street where she lived most of her life to a senior's residence where she doesn't know anyone. Her granddaughter Emily, a young girl full of wide-eyed enthusiasm, senses that her grandmother isn't sure she will like her new home. Wishing to help, she comes up with an idea to ease the burden of this momentous change.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.
Papa

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Michèle Pauzé 1992 4 min
An animated film for five- to eight-year-olds on children's right to live with their parents. It tells the story of a child who gently but persistently tries to attract the attention of her father who is wrapped up in his work.
A Place Between - The Story of an Adoption
Curtis Kaltenbaugh 2007 1 h 14 min
In this film, a cross-cultural adoptee struggles to find balance between his families' different ethnicities and traditions and discover how and where he fits into each world.
Following the tragic death of their younger brother in 1980, Curtis Kaltenbaugh, 7, and his brother Ashok, 4, were removed from their birth mother's care in Manitoba and adopted into a white, middle-class family in Pennsylvania. This film follows Curtis' struggle with his biological family's turbulent history and observes what happens when his biological and adoptive families finally meet.
Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child
Alanis Obomsawin 1986 29 min
Richard Cardinal died by his own hand at the age of 17, having spent most of his life in a string of foster homes and shelters across Alberta. In this short documentary, Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin weaves excerpts from Richard’s diary into a powerful tribute to his short life. Released in 1984—decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—the film exposed the systemic neglect and mistreatment of Indigenous children in Canada’s child welfare system. Winner of the Best Documentary Award at the 1986 American Indian Film Festival, the film screened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2008 as part of an Obomsawin retrospective, and continues to be shown around the world.
The Reluctant Deckhand
Jan Padgett 1995 33 min
Tess is ten years old--old enough to join her mother, Sue, for a summer's fishing in the northern waters off Vancouver Island on their boat the Henry Bay. However Tess is reluctant to go: she fears the stormy waters and would rather stay at home for the summer with her best friend, Candice. Tess does go, and with her goes Maa-mou the cat, a parting gift from Candice, as her lively companion. Together they rise to the challenges of life on a fishing boat, and thrill in the summer's unexpected pleasures.
Sainte Barbe
Cédric Louis & Claude Barras 2007 7 min
This animated short about men and hair tells the story of little bald Léon and of his grandfather, an old man with a bushy black beard. A thing of legend, the grandfather's beard seems endowed with magic powers. It even turns caterpillars into butterflies! But Léon's grandmother wants to cut off the unkempt beard and regain the distinguished-looking man she married, who wore just a tidy moustache. When the old man's asleep, grandmother prowls, scissors in hand, but Léon's keeping a watchful eye on her. As long as grandpa lives, the beard will stay.
Sunday
Patrick Doyon 2011 9 min
In keeping with their Sunday tradition, after mass a family flocks to grandma and grandpa’s house, where the chaotic discussion soon begins to resemble a raucous gathering of crows on power lines. The local factory has shut its doors and, naturally, the adults can’t stop fretting about their money woes. On this particular grey Sunday, a young boy drops a coin on some nearby train tracks out of sheer boredom. Picking the coin up after a train has run over it, he discovers to his astonishment that an amazing transformation has taken place... Sunday, Patrick Doyon’s first film, is a magical tale that imparts important lessons about life as seen through the eyes of a child.
Silence & Storm
Jeremiah Hayes 1995 52 min
Every summer, Camp Weredale, located in the Laurentian mountains north of Montreal, is home to "system kids," offering them a safe haven and a chance to heal lives scarred by abuse and neglect. Silence & Storm documents two months in the lives of ten kids at this unique summer camp. For some, it was an opportunity to re-learn their capacity to be kids and just play; for others, it was a chance to come to grips with the painful memories that haunt them. Despite backgrounds steeped in pain and disappointment, these young people were able to reveal themselves and express their hopes, fears, anger and loneliness. The result is a sensitive, revealing portrait of an unusual program for youth in care.
Struggle for Control: Child and Youth Behaviour Disorders

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Melanie Wood 2005 57 min
Struggle for Control: Child and Youth Behaviour Disorders is the fourth in a series of documentaries focusing on mental health issues facing BC's children and youth. Following the stories of four BC youth, this documentary sheds light on the causes, symptoms, community resources, and treatments of three of the most commonly-diagnosed behaviour disorders: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Conduct Disorder.

Through these moving personal stories, viewers see how behaviour disorders affect the life of a child at home, at school, and the whole family. Struggle for Control debunks the myth that children with behaviour disorders are bad kids whose behaviour is irreversible. Behaviour disorders are treatable, and the key is early detection and early intervention.
Strange Invaders
Cordell Barker 2001 8 min
This film is a must-see film for parents of young children and a cautionary tale for those planning a family. Part science-fiction, part autobiography, Strange Invaders is another irrepressible comedy from the director of the much-loved classic
Trade

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Kireet Khurana 1997 6 min
A young girl is taken away to a large city by train, but she knows nothing about the man her parents entrust her to. During the journey she recalls good times she spent with her family at a village fair, where she had a pretty flower tattooed on her hand. On their arrival, the child is dazzled by the lights of the city. She trustingly follows this stranger, who is leading her to a brothel. When she sees money passing from the hands of the madam to the pimp, she remembers that her father took a large sum of money from this same stranger. She realizes with horror that she has been sold.

A prisoner in the brothel, the young girl is dressed up in beautiful clothes before being shut in a filthy room. A wealthy customer appears. Through the blinds, she sees him hand a wad of bills to the madam. The man enters her room, drooling in his excitement. The child screams for help with all her might, but her cries mingle with the whistling of the train as it flies into the night... An animated film without words for 12- to 17-year olds.
To a Safer Place
Beverly Shaffer 1987 58 min
This inspiring film is the story of how one woman has come to terms with her life as a survivor of incest. Sexually abused by her father from infancy to early adolescence, Shirley Turcotte is now in her thirties and has succeeded in building a rich and full life. In To a Safer Place, Shirley takes a further step to reconcile her past and present. The film accompanies her as she returns to the people and places of her childhood. Her mother, brothers and sister, all of whom were also caught up in the cycle of family violence, openly share their thoughts. Their frank disclosures will encourage survivors of incest to break through the silence and betrayal to recover and develop a sense of self-worth and dignity.
The Terrible Twos and the Trusting Threes
Judith Crawley 1951 21 min
A study of child behaviour at two and three years, showing what to expect and how parents can deal constructively with the problems they present. The film shows a group of active children in playground, nursery school and home, first at age two, and then at three. Destructiveness, tantrums, rivalry with younger children, and unreasonable fears are discussed.
Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days
Regina Pessoa 2019 13 min
Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days is about the special relationship between Regina Pessoa and her uncle. The film is a testament to her love for this eccentric, who was an artistic inspiration and played a key role in her becoming a filmmaker. A moving tribute to a poet of the everyday.
The Wish
Martin Duckworth 1970 27 min
This documentary short introduces us to 8-year-old identical twins as they explore their family background. Filmed by the twins' father at their grandparents' lakeside cottage, The Wish is a lyrical study of childhood and family roots.
With Grandma
Françoise Hartmann 1999 9 min
When her parents leave her behind for the first time, Madeleine sees them off with tears in her eyes. Fortunately, her grand-mother is there to coax her out of her sadness. Grandma's house is full of surprises, including a chest full of costumes perfect for dress-up. Together they play and bake. Slowly, Madeleine discovers that Grandma seems to know exactly how to have fun. Adults will reminisce about cherished moments shared with grandparents and reflect on the nature of memory. Younger children will be delighted by young Madeleine's adventures. A film without words.
Winds of Spring
Keyu Chen 2017 6 min
Unfolding with the rhythm of the seasons, Winds of Spring tells the tender story of a young girl who, driven by the irrepressible need for self-fulfillment, decides to leave the family nest. Keyu Chen employs her signature style of fluid transitions and fine, spare lines inspired by Chinese ink painting in her delicately crafted first film.Keyu Chen makes use of fine lines and fluid transitions in her delicately crafted first film, which tells the tale of a young girl who, driven by the irrepressible need for self-fulfillment, dreams of leaving the family nest.
Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes

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Dennis Jackson 2011 1 h 12 min
In this feature animation film, Talon and Raven learn that their dad, Alphonse, has taken a job in the big city and their family will have to move away from Wapos Bay, their Cree community in Northern Saskatchewan. This news takes Talon on a journey of self-discovery as he sets off to accomplish his bucket list of things he wanted to do with his friends before they leave. Raven, on the other hand, decides to take matters into her own hands with the clear goal of keeping the family in Wapos Bay. With their whole world being turned upside down, Talon and Raven must join forces to keep the family together before it’s too late.
Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes (English & Cree version)

Dennis Jackson 2011 1 h 12 min
In this feature film, Talon and Raven learn that their dad, Alphonse, has taken a job in the big city and their family will have to move away from Wapos Bay. This news takes Talon on a journey of self-discovery as he sets off to accomplish his bucket list of things he wanted to do with his friends before they leave. Raven, on the other hand, decides to take matters into her own hands with the clear goal of keeping the family in Wapos Bay. With their whole world being turned upside down, Talon and Raven must join forces to keep the family together before it’s too late.
Wards of the Crown

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Andrée Cazabon 2005 42 min
This film examines the lives of 4 young people who grew up in the child welfare system. It is also a critical exposé of a system that couldn't meet their needs, as well as a stirring tribute to the strength, courage and resilience of these foster kids.
XS Stress: Teens Take Control
Patricia Kearns 2004 28 min
In this short film, three youths draw on their own experiences to provide an essential guide to staying afloat while navigating the choppy waters of adolescence. It's a time when youth undergo big changes and assume new responsibilities, juggling school, family and friends. Throw in work, dating, exams, racist remarks and extracurricular activities, and it's no wonder teens get knocked off balance. Spoken word performer Kyra Shaughnessy and a diverse chorus of young voices provide running commentary, making XS Stress an insightful report from the teens of today.

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