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Intercultural Relations (22)
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24 Days in BrooksDana Inkster 2007 42 minOver the course of a decade Brooks, Alberta, transformed from a socially conservative, primarily white town to one of the most diverse places in Canada as immigrants and refugees flocked to find jobs at the Lakeside Packers slaughterhouse. This film is a portrait of those people working together and adapting to change through the first-ever strike at Lakeside. -
Baroque'n RollPierre M. Trudeau 1994 4 minA young immigrant is rejected because of his different ways and unusual clothing but is eventually accepted by the other kids when he impresses them with his bravery and resourcefulness. Based on article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates the right of children belonging to minority groups to enjoy their own culture, religion and language. Film without words.
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Between: Living in the HyphenAnne Marie Nakagawa 2005 43 minAnne Marie Nakagawa's documentary examines what it means to have a background of mixed ancestries that cannot be easily categorized. By focusing on 7 Canadians who have one parent from a European background and one of a visible minority, she attempts to get at the root of what it means to be multi-ethnic in a world that wants each person to fit into a single category.
Finding a satisfactory frame of reference in our 'multicultural utopia' turns out to be more complex than one might think. Between: Living in the Hyphen offers a provocative glimpse of what the future holds: a departure from hyphenated names towards a celebration of fluidity and being mixed. -
CrossroadsDon Haldane 1957 28 minThis sensitive drama tells the story of a couple, Roy and Judy, and the reactions they encounter when they announce their intention to marry, reactions complicated by the fact that Roy is black and Judy is white.
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The Downtown ProjectIsabelle Longtin 2011 52 minJust a stone’s throw from downtown Montreal is the largest social housing complex in Quebec. Built in 1959 where the red-light district used to be, Les Habitations Jeanne-Mance have retained something of the area’s seedy reputation for poverty, prostitution, drugs and violence. But who really knows the projects and the people who live there? Delving beneath the prejudices and stereotypes, director Isabelle Longtin ventured inside the buildings and met the residents. The result is The Downtown Project, a documentary that reveals a complex multi-ethnic reality made up of compelling personal stories and social movements.
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From Far AwayShira Avni & Serene El-haj Daoud 2000 6 minThis short animation tells the story of Saoussan, a young girl struggling to adjust to life in Canada after being uprooted from her wartorn homeland. She has come to seek a quieter and safer life, although memories of war and death linger, memories that are awakened when the children at her new school prepare for a scary Halloween. From Far Away speaks to the power within us all to adapt like Saoussan and to welcome a newcomer.
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. -
Universe Within - BakuKaterina Cizek 2015 4 minNew online tools have begun to offer a way to bridge the divide between a new generation of Armenians and Azerbaijanis activists brought up unable to remember the time when both lived side by side together in peace. One of them is Ahmed Mukhtar, a 28-year-old Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from Aghdam. Working as a photojournalist, Mukhtar photographs the plight of other IDPs in Azerbaijan, and also trains IDP children in using photography to document their lives. In a country where the mainstream media is government-controlled, the Internet is Mukhtar’s only way to publish images.
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Jump-up - Caribbean Carnival in CanadaClaire Helman 1995 10 minA multicultural story that centers on the growing friendship of a newly-arrived West Indian child and a Canadian girl as they both discover how the black community organizes a yearly festival featuring costumes, music and a little history. This filmstrip introduces a festive occasion celebrated by the black community in several cities, sensitizes children to the feelings of those who have recently arrived in Canada, and fosters appreciation of the culture of others.
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The LumberfrosStéphanie Lanthier 2010 1 h 11 minIn Abitibi, hundreds of kilometres from the city, thousands of workers go North, as did Jos Montferrand and François Paradis. Working as brush cutters, these 21st-century lumberjacks discover Quebec's boreal forest. Far from their families, they spend 5 or 6 months a year in logging camps that mirror a new Quebec, those of French-Canadian descent and neo-Quebecers from Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. All have come to earn a living in the forest. Filmmaker Stéphanie Lanthier invites us to spend an entire season inside this northern micro society. Using a direct cinema technique in the style of Pierre Perrault, she documents the lives of the brush cutters.
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The Last KeyJulien Capraro 2017 23 minA young immigrant arrives in Canada from France—and brings his Citroën 2CV with him. The iconic post-war car stands out on the streets of Vancouver, and before long he meets up with a group of like-minded car buffs. In Julien Capraro’s documentary short, Franck, Lionel, Harjeet and Johnny Mac, who are busy preparing for an upcoming antique-car show, explain how these vehicles not only evoke nostalgia for a past era but are also a powerful marker of identity and a link between two cultures. Produced as part of the Tremplin competition, in collaboration with ICI Radio-Canada Télé.
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Night MayorGuy Maddin 2009 13 minThis short Guy Maddin film tells the story of inventor Nihad Ademi, who harnesses the power of the aurora borealis in Winnipeg in 1939. Ademi uses this power to broadcast images of Canada to its own citizens from coast to coast, but in the process angers he the government.
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PiesSheldon Cohen 2004 12 minThis animated film about blind prejudice is based on a short story by Canadian author Wilma Riley. Mrs. Cherwak is Polish and owns a cow. Mrs. Meuser is a German with entrenched notions of cleanliness. She does not appreciate the cow's inevitable by-product. The film describes their conflict and its curious resolution over coffee and mincemeat pie. While the author chose to write about the Germans and the Poles she grew up with on the outskirts of Regina, the situation she describes could apply anywhere in the world.
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Race Is a Four-Letter WordSobaz Benjamin 2006 55 minIn this personal documentary, director Sobaz Benjamin introduces us to an interesting group of people: a black woman who wants to be considered iconically Canadian, a white man who is culturally and psychologically black, and a black woman who decides to leave “Canada’s racial cold war.” He also exposes himself, a black man who grew up trying to bleach his skin. In the end, Race Is a Four-Letter Word teaches us that the soul has no colour. Yet, we also learn that race is a marathon we are all forced to run.
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Reema, There and BackPaul Émile d'Entremont 2006 52 minFilmmaker Paul Émile d'Entremont's documentary presents Reema, a lively and sensitive young girl confronted with difficult questions about her identity. After spending the first 16 years of her life with her Canadian mother, Reema re-connects with her Iraqi father by spending 2 months with him in Jordan. On returning home to Nova Scotia, she realizes she will always have a double identity, and that it is both a burden and a treasure.
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A Sleeping Tree Dreams of Its RootsMichka Saäl 1992 1 h 21 minA bold and eclectic cinematic style defines the work of filmmaker Michka Saäl and her friend, writer Nadine Ltaif as they journey from childhoods in the Middle East to their chosen home of Montréal. Saäl is Jewish, Ltaif is Arab. Together they overcome the divisive prejudices of their upbringing and embark on an engaging search for clarity, familiarity and historical significance among the immigrant communities of Montréal. Saäl uses super-8 home movies, old photographs, dramatizations and casual conversations to cross personal and political boundaries, giving voice to the varied ancestries of us all. In French with English subtitles.
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Some Kind of ArrangementAli Kazimi 1997 45 minIn this documentary, the age-old tradition of arranged marriages takes a modern twist when 3 second-generation South Asian young people decide to marry. Engaging and refreshingly candid in their opinions, they make it clear that arranged marriages aren't what they used to be.
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Trudeau's Other ChildrenRohan Fernando 2005 1 h 7 minMusicians Vineet Vyas, Mei Han and Asif Illyas are part of one of the greatest social experiments the world has seen: multiculturalism. Nearly 40 years ago, under the eye of visionary prime minister Pierre Trudeau, Canada began turning itself into the world's first truly multicultural state--a place where people from all nations could be at home. But the genesis for Trudeau's idea came decades earlier, when he was a young man travelling through the chaos of the post-war Middle East and Asia.
Vineet Vyas is a renowned tabla player who splits his time between Canada and India. An accomplished traditional musician, zheng player Mei Han is also an audacious innovator and improviser. And Asif Illyas--born in Sri Lanka, raised in England, and living in Halifax--is frontman for boundary-breaking contemporary pop band Mir.
In Trudeau's Other Children, award-winning filmmaker Rohan Fernando places the stories of Mei, Vineet and Asif in juxtaposition with archival footage and excerpts from Trudeau's journals. The result offers unique insights into the origins and practice of Canada's multicultural policy--and a film as powerful, layered and subtle as the best of their music. -
Teach Me to DanceAnne Wheeler 1978 28 minIn this drama, Lesia convinces her English-Canadian friend Sarah to perform a Ukrainian dance with her as part of their school's Christmas pageant. Sarah's father, angry at the growing number of Ukrainian settlers, won't allow his daughter to participate. Despite the prejudices of their parents, the girls' friendship remains strong, and they meet in Sarah's barn to celebrate Christmas Day together. Part of the Adventures in History series.
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Where I BelongArinze Eze 2007 45 minThis documentary tells the story of a young man’s struggle to balance his African traditions and new Canadian home. Arinze Eze was born in Canada and raised in Nigeria. An engineer by trade, he returned to his birthplace after 20 years. There, he starts a new career in the arts and falls in love with Canadian woman. All is well until his parents come for a visit. How will they react to this new life?
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Welcome to CanadaJohn N. Smith 1989 1 h 26 minThis feature drama tells the story of the illegal landing of a boatload of Southeast Asians on Canada's east coast in 1986. Based on an actual incident, the film follows 8 Sri Lankan Tamils who find temporary sanctuary in an isolated outport in Newfoundland after being rescued from certain death at sea by a group of fishermen. A warm portrayal of an unusual encounter between 2 cultures worlds apart.
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Your Country, My CountryMarquise Lepage 1993 6 minEnglish version of a film about a friendship between two ten-year-old Montréal schoolkids. She is black and serious, he is white and rather nonchalant, and they look at life in different ways!
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Zero ToleranceMichka Saäl 2004 1 h 15 minBeing young is tough, especially if you're Black, Latino, Arab or Asian. In a city like Montreal, you can get targeted and treated as a criminal for no good reason. Zero Tolerance reveals how deep seated prejudice can be. On one side are the city's young people, and on the other, its police force. Two worlds, two visions. Yet one of these groups is a minority, while the other wields real power. One has no voice, while the other makes life-and-death decisions.
When a policy of zero tolerance to crime masks an intolerance to young people of colour, the delicate balance between order and personal freedom is upset. A blend of cinéma vérité and personal testimonies, this hard-hitting film will broaden your mind and change your way of thinking. In French with English subtitles.
