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Work (16)
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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. -
Doctors Without ResidencyTetchena Bellange 2010 9 minThis short documentary highlights how the mechanism of discrimination prevents foreign-trained doctors from practicing in Canada – even after they've received their Canadian qualifications. Every year, scores of these doctors are turned down for the residencies they need in order to practice – and many of those residencies stay vacant. Through interviews with medical professionals and human rights advocates it becomes clear that systemic racism is to blame. Strikingly, several doctors interviewed for this film would not speak on camera, fearing repercussions from the medical establishment. What is the real problem: the incompetence of foreign-trained doctors or the injustice of the system?
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Earth to MouthYung Chang 2002 41 minFilmed at the Wing Fong Farm in Ontario, this documentary follows the tilling, planting and harvesting of Asian vegetables destined for Chinese markets and restaurants. On 80 acres of land, Lau King-Fai, her son and a half-dozen migrant Mexican workers care for the plants. For Yeung Kwan, her son, the farm represents personal and financial independence. For his mother, it is an oasis of peace. For the Mexican workers, it provides jobs that help support their children back home.
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The Hands That HealGordon Sparling 1958 21 minThis film presents a broad picture of nursing activities in various parts of the country, and shows the work of the many nurses from other parts of the world who have brought their skills to Canada and have made a place for themselves.
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Hanging OnChedly Belkhodja 2006 14 minThis short documentary shows the struggle that young immigrants have in a small community unaccustomed to cultural diversity, and their frustration at not having their skills recognized by the job market and their peers. Hanging On is part of the Work For All project 2006, an NFB and HRSDC-Labour initiative to combat racism in the workplace.
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JadedCal Garingan 2010 14 minThis sharp and funny mockumentary uses role reversal to illustrate the realities of overt and systemic racism in the workplace.
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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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No Time to StopHelene Klodawsky 1990 29 minKwai Fong Lai is from Hong Kong, Alberta Onyejekwe from Ghana, and Angela Williams from Jamaica. They are immigrants to Canada, visible minorities, and women, a combination designed to make their lives difficult. While Canadian society has yet to accustom itself to its immigrant reality, these strong and resilient women manage to adapt and survive. At home and at work, they speak candidly about the conditions that shape their lives.
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Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway SwitchmanRoman Kroitor 1953 9 minIn this film, Paul Tomkowicz, Polish-born Canadian, talks about his job and his life in Canada. He compares his new life in the city of Winnipeg to the life he knew in Poland, marvelling at the freedom Canadians enjoy. In winter the rail-switches on streetcar tracks in Winnipeg froze and jammed with freezing mud and snow. Keeping them clean, whatever the weather, was the job of the switchman.
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Passport to CanadaRoger Blais 1949 11 minIn the 1940s thousands of immigrants are coming from Europe to Canada offering strength and skills in exchange for hope and a new life. 'The long night is ended, the morning draws nigh,' sums up the feelings of those who are sped through immigration formalities on their way to a fresh existence. Though the language may be different, these new Canadians soon find things in Canada that remind them of Holland, Poland or Belgium. Some immigrants carry on with their old trades--sewing, farming, diamond cutting. Others, on huge projects such as Des Joachims, use their muscles to help build their adopted homeland, while their love of culture and their skilled professions will make valuable contributions to Canada in the future.
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SòlValérie Bah & Tatiana Zinga Botao 2020 8 minMany Black, racialized and immigrant women work with elderly patients as healthcare providers. Their jobs, already arduous and underpaid as it is, have become even more exhausting during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some public commentators have described them as overrepresented in this sector because of their culture, and hailed them as “guardian angels,” what do they themselves have to say? This cross-sectional portrait of some of these women takes the form of a meditative essay.
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Steel BluesJorge Fajardo 1976 34 minPablo, Chilean emigrant, ex-professor, seeks work in a Montréal steel mill. Cut off from family, country and profession, he is baffled by a language he doesn't speak and a job he doesn't know. The film reproduces with accuracy and sensitivity his efforts to adjust to a new and bewildering world.
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Taxi LibreKaveh Nabatian 2011 12 minIn this short fiction film, a Mexican university professor is stuck driving a taxi in Montreal. His tequila-swilling guardian angel doesn’t make life any easier.
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Voice JobMila Aung-Thwin 2006 9 minThis short documentary profiles a different tool for getting work. In an immigration-rich society, the agency Voice Job offers an alternative to the traditional job search. This film was made as part of the Work For All project 2006, an NFB and HRSDC-Labour initiative to combat racism in the workplace.
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Walk a Mile: The Immigrant Experience in Canada - Episode 3 - DiscriminationDan Moscrip 1999 27 minCanada espouses the concept of a cultural mosaic, where ethnic and cultural diversity is respected. In episode 3, immigrant Canadians share their experience of this mosaic, presenting realities that do not always coincide with official policy. Many newcomers, especially visible minorities, encounter discrimination in imployment, housing and social acceptance. This film also addresses the experiences of refugees seeking asylum in Canada. Walk a Mile: The Immigrant Experience in Canada is a 4-part series that reveals the challenges faced by immigrants who leave all they know to make a new home in Canada. The aim of this series, as the title suggests, is for viewers to walk that symbolic mile in the others' shoes and to more readily show understanding and tolerance of the immigrant experience in Canada.
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Walk a Mile: The Immigrant Experience in Canada - Episode 4 - EmploymentDan Moscrip 1999 27 minThis final segment looks at the challenges newcomers face finding employment. The problem of having credentials recognized in a new country is explored. Immigrants with job training and skills cannot always work in their field of expertise since Canadian professional associations may not recognize their qualifications. An added difficulty surrounding employment arises from traditional gender roles where the man is expected to be the bread winner. Newcomers may have to adjust to new roles that disrupt family life. The problem posed by lack of job experience in Canada is also addressed. Walk a Mile: The Immigrant Experience in Canada is a 4-part series that reveals the challenges faced by immigrants who leave all they know to make a new home in Canada. The aim of this series, as the title suggests, is for viewers to walk that symbolic mile in the others' shoes and to more readily show understanding and tolerance of the immigrant experience in Canada.
