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Environmental Perspectives (53)
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AlchemistsHeidi Blomkvist 1991 11 minThis short animation is a visual fantasy, a gripping tale that is "larger-than-life" in its themes: life, death and rebirth; creation and destruction; permanence and impermanence, spontaneity and control. Bold swoops of liquid colour surge with variations on Mozart's Requiem to a startling denouement. Alchemists will provoke reflection on creativity, relationships and the environment. Without words. -
AwayPeter Mettler 2007 3 minThe filmmaker of this short documentary used his cellphone camera to shoot these scenes in Costa Rica. He reflects on the dichotomy of nature versus technology. Part of the MobiDOCS: Confessions in a Digital Age series.
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As Night DescendsNadine Gomez 2020 10 minIn conversations with passionate sociologist and political thinker Jean Pichette, the filmmaker views the forced downtime stemming from the current crisis as an opportunity to rethink our modes of existence and our relationship to others, nature, science, the economy, art, politics—in short, everything that makes us human.
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Blue SunsChloé Leriche 2010 5 minA walk in the woods become a metaphoric journey in Chloé Leriche's short film. As a solitary figure moves through the forest, the texture of stone, the movement of water, all the infinite pageantry of the natural world is captured in its richness and detail. With the help of an orchestrated soundscape and composed cinematography, Blue Suns catches the miracle and mystery of this world as it unfolds.
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The Battle of Rabaska - Chronicle of an Environmental ConflictMagnus Isacsson & Martin Duckworth 2008 1 h 18 minThis documentary is the story of citizen activists opposing a methane tanker terminal practically on their doorstep. Lucid and compelling, the film shows citizen action pitted against powerful lobbies and reminds us to be vigilant faced with Quebec's environmental and energy-related issues over the coming years.
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Bacon, The FilmHugo Latulippe 2002 51 minSeveral years ago, large-scale hog producers and their political allies in Quebec decided to branch out into international markets. But bacon, like everything else, has its price. Bacon, the Film asks whether we have properly measured the social and environmental impacts of this proliferation of huge hog operations. The soil is already showing signs of sterility. Rivers are contaminated. Water, the very symbol of life, has itself become a hazard in some communities. The situation could be spinning out of control. Abandoned by the state, citizens groups are making their voices heard and taking back democracy. An unexpected grain of sand in a machine well oiled by neo-liberal dogma, they are fighting to keep society on a human scale.
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WorldviewsMalcolm Sutherland 2020 3 minGeneticist and environmentalist David Suzuki celebrates the pleasure of knowing we humans are squishy organic material in an inter-related web of life—and we’d better not forget that! An invitation to go out and play and learn from the real world.
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Climate on the EdgeAlain Belhumeur & Jean Lemire 2003 52 minA documentary that gives scientific context to the controversy and debate on climate change. Accessible interviews with climatologists, glaciologists, astrophysicists and oceanographers, juxtaposed with stunning footage, bring understanding to the impact of the melting of the Arctic permafrost and release of greenhouses gases that affect our whole planet.
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Emission AdmissionSarah Lazarovic 2007 3 minIn this animated short film an eco-friendly couple in the early stages of courtship "come clean" on some of their idiosyncrasies and discover that they are perfect for each other. Part of the mobiDOCS: Confessions in a Digital Age series.
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EpilogueWilliam Pettigrew 1971 15 minThis film employs a multi-image technique to contrast scenes of natural grandeur--mountains, forests, and wildflowers filmed in Canada's national parks--with images of the polluted rivers and countryside that result from the heedless exploitation of the environment. Without words.
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Earth KeepersSylvie Van Brabant 2009 1 h 22 minThis feature documentary by Sylvie Van Brabant introduces us to Mikael Rioux, a young Québécois activist who founded Échofête, Quebec’s first environmental festival. Spurred by his passionate concern for the world his son will inherit, Rioux goes on a global quest to meet 7 visionaries with concrete solutions to ecological problems. Together, they offer a survival guide for our planet and a journey back to hope.
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An Ecology of HopeFernand Dansereau 2001 1 h 24 minA documentary portrait of ecologist Pierre Dansereau, the film takes us from Baffin Island to New York City, from the Gaspé Peninsula to Brazil. At each stop on this world tour, we hear his story and witness landscapes of breathtaking beauty.
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FeatherElisabeth Belliveau 2006 1 minIn this short animation a little creature watches the transformation of a feather and follows a whale to where icebergs melt, leaving birds with nowhere to land. The materials used include old gloves, costume jewellery and Plasticine. Technique: puppet and object animation with drawn animation.
Produced as part of the third edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Footprints in the DeltaPeter Campbell 1999 43 minThe Peace-Athabasca River Delta is a stunning habitat. Rivers converge in a rich, marshy wetland before draining into the Slave River. But the Delta is in trouble. Since the building of the WAC Bennett Dam in 1967, annual floodwaters--once the ecosystem's lifeblood--have become a thing of the past. The Delta is drying up, and lakes and wetlands are being replaced by brush. Species like the muskrat are disappearing. Footprints in the Delta explores the changes that have buffeted the region for several decades. Scientists, activists and Indigenous Peoples describe how lives have been fundamentally altered by the changes. And satellite images show the dramatic pace of degradation. Footprints in the Delta is essential viewing for anyone who cares about wetlands. It is a revealing account of the rapid change and environmental havoc humans can bring to a delicate ecosystem.
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Four Wings and a PrayerNick de Pencier 2007 1 h 20 minFour Wings and a Prayer is a documentary about one of the world's most beautiful and mysterious creatures: the Monarch butterfly. Nowhere in nature is there a more powerful mix of scientific marvel, awesome beauty, and epic struggle for survival. What scientists are at a loss to fully explain is how the Monarch makes a seemingly impossible three thousand kilometre journey from Canada over mountains, through storms, and across large bodies of water to its small and remote over wintering grounds in the mountains of Mexico. Based on the book by Sue Halpern.
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The Fight for True FarmingEve Lamont 2005 1 h 29 minIn this documentary, crop and animal farmers in Quebec, the Canadian West, the US Northeast and France offer solutions to the social and environmental scourges of factory farming. Driven by the forces of globalization, rampant agribusiness is harming the environmemt and threatening the survival of farms. The proliferation of GMO crops is a further threat to biodiversity as well as to farmers' autonomy. In Europe as well as North America, a current of resistance bringing together farmers and consumers insists that it is possible - indeed imperative - to grow food differently.
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Hunters and BombersHugh Brody & Nigel Markham 1991 53 minThe hunters are the Innu people and the bombers are the air forces of several NATO countries, which conduct low-level flights over the Innu's hunting terrain. The impact of the jets is hotly debated by peace groups, Indigenous people, environmentalists and the military. But what is often overlooked are the many complex changes underway in Innu society, as social and technological changes confront a traditional hunting culture.
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Hubert Reeves: Star TellerIolande Cadrin-Rossignol 2002 52 minHubert Reeves is an astrophysicist whose honours from the scientific community include the Albert Einstein award. But Reeves is known to the public as a wonderful popularizer of scientific ideas, possessed of an exceptional talent at combining science and humanism.
As a child growing up near Lac St-Louis in Quebec, Reeves was fascinated by nature and its relationship to the rest of the universe. This fascination led him to Cornell University, where he studied with some of the great scientific minds of the 20th century. A raconteur, Reeves tells stories about his remarkable professors, men like Hans Bethe, Philip Morrrison and Bob Wilson, whose research led to the atom bomb. Reeves also offers revealing anecdotes about Einstein, Niels Bohr, Oppenheimer and Teller.
With his usual enthusiasm, Reeves highlights milestones in astrophysics, showing us a view of the moon as seen by Galileo in 1609, and remarkable photos of galaxies colliding billions of light-years away. Along with stunning visuals, we listen as Reeves explains history and theory in a highly accessible way.
A committed ecologist, Reeves warns about the deterioration of our planet. In the face of explosive economic globalization, Reeves believes that the globalization of ecological movements offers hope. -
Hope BuildersFernand Dansereau 2010 1 h 29 minThis feature documentary zooms in on a Grade 6 class in Quebec where a teacher is implementing an experimental teaching method aimed at preparing children to take up environmental challenges. Over the course of a year, Dominique Leduc’s students will learn to identify, analyze and resolve a problem that exists in their world. They also learn about the uncertainty faced by those who want change.
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Island GreenMillefiore Clarkes 2013 25 minThis short documentary takes a look at the changing face of PEI's agricultural industry. Once famous for its spuds and red mud, this tiny island province now has higher than average cancer and respiratory illness rates. Is there a link to industrialized farming? Rather than dwelling on PEI’s worrisome monocropping practices, Island Green dares to ask: What if PEI went entirely organic?
The stirring words of PEI-born poet Tanya Davis are coupled with beautiful imagery and poignant stories from the island’s small but growing community of organic farmers, reminding us that we can rob the land only so much before it robs us of the nourishment we need for life. Island Green is ultimately a story of hope and healthy promise. -
IsletNicolas Brault 2003 7 minCombining figurative abstraction with magic realism, this animated short depicts a world in which whales fall out of the sky and fish turn into balloons. It is a black and white evocation of the real world, transformed by the director's special sense of whimsy. With bold lines reminiscent of the stark simplicity of Inuit art, this cautionary tale is a reminder of the interconnectedness of all things. We are all affected by the fate of the Arctic, which each year is disappearing a little farther into the ocean.
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Inkwo for When the Starving ReturnAmanda Strong 2024 18 minTwo lifetimes from now the world hangs in the balance. Dove, a young, enigmatic, gender-shifting warrior, discovers the gifts and burdens of their Inkwo (medicine) to defend against an army of hungry, ferocious monsters. Dove’s courage, resilience and alliance with the Earth culminates in a battle against these flesh-consuming creatures, who become stronger with each body and soul they devour. Inkwo for When the Starving Return is a call to action to fight and protect against the forces of greed around us.
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Loon DreamingIriz Pääbo 2002 7 minThis animated short makes us see the world through the eyes of a loon. We dive down deep into the waters in pursuit of fish, launch skyward from the water and fly high over the busy highways and sprawling subdivisions that scar the natural world--before gently splashing down on a secluded lake.
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Lords of the ArcticCaroline Underwood & Jean Lemire 2003 52 minThis documentary by award-winning filmmaker Caroline Underwood focuses on Northern wildlife and its close and tragic relation to climate change, which affects all of the Arctic's fragile ecosystems. The example of the polar bear, studied by biologists for the past 20 years, is revealing. Scientists are also concerned about the precarious situation of bowhead whales and belugas, not to mention seals, walruses and many species of birds. Are the lords of the Arctic in danger of ending their reign over their kingdom of ice and snow?
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The Magnitude of All ThingsJennifer Abbott 2020 1 h 26 minJennifer Abbott’s new documentary The Magnitude of All Things merges stories from the frontlines of climate change with recollections of the loss of her sister, drawing intimate parallels between personal and planetary grief.
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Manufactured LandscapesJennifer Baichwal 2006 1 h 26 minFor almost three decades, internationally renowned Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky has been creating large scale photographs of landscapes transformed by industry: quarries, scrap heaps, factories, recycling yards, dams. Manufactured Landscapes follows Burtynsky to China as he travels the country capturing the evidence and effects of China's massive industrial revolution. Rarely witnessed sites such as the Three Gorges Dam (50% larger than any other dam in the world), the interior of a factory which produces 20 million irons a year, and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai's urban renewal are subjects for his lens and our motion picture camera. Shot in sumptuous super 16mm film, Manufactured Landscapes extends the narratives of Burtynsky's photographs, meditating on human impact on the planet without trying to reach simplistic judgements or reductive resolutions. In the process, the film shifts our consciousness about the world and the way we live in it.
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MetamorphosisNova Ami & Velcrow Ripper 2018 1 h 24 minA poem for the planet, Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper's film Metamorphosis takes the pulse of our earth and bears witness to a moment of profound change: the loss of one world, and the birth of another. Metamorphosis captures the true scale of the global environmental crisis. Forest fires consume communities, species vanish, and entire ecosystems collapse. Economic growth, tied to increased speed of resource extraction, has created a machine with the capacity to destroy all life. But this crisis is also an opportunity for transformation. Through a tidal flow of stunning images, Metamorphosis carves a path from the present to the future, and offers a bold new vision for humanity and the world.
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Never Lose SightSarah McNair-Landry 2009 21 minThis short documentary presents the environmental challenges in Nunavut. Beneath the immaculate layer of snow, there are mountains of trash. Iqaluit's 2 dumps are filled beyond capacity and the municipality has no plan to solve the problem. Throughout the film, we discover the problems faced by this isolated region and learn just how serious they are. But above all, we hear a call to action from the residents, who don't want to see the North they love disappear. In French with English subtitles.
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People of the IceCarlos Ferrand & Jean Lemire 2003 52 minThis feature documentary explores the threats of global warming to the Arctic environment that has nurtured the Inuit for 4,000 years. The Inuit have lived in harmony on this frozen landscape for generations. Today, global warming threatens their habitat. As the ice disappears, so does the Inuit culture it is intimately connected to. Ever-changing temperatures have even made predicting the Arctic climate difficult. Will this extraordinarily resilient people be able to adjust to such dramatic change?
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Pipelines, Power and DemocracyOlivier D. Asselin 2015 1 h 28 minPipelines, Power and Democracy is a striking documentary that follows the mobilization of ordinary people to thwart the ambitions of oil companies and halt, even if only temporarily, the advance of pipelines across Quebec. In the process, the film offers a sharp reminder that power can be accessible to all.
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Pocket Desert - Confessions of a Snake KillerTeresa Marshall & Craig Berggold 1999 24 minThis personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.
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René Dumont: Global EcologistRichard D. Lavoie 2001 25 minIn this short documentary, revisit the 20th century through the eyes of 97-year-old René Dumont, agricultural scientist and activist for peace, justice and the environment. Angered by enduring injustice, Dumont beseeches us to look to the future: "Open your eyes! The 21st century has had a rotten start!" This film brings us his outrage and activism, his love of humanity and hope for the future. In French with English subtitles.
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A Single TearAmy Lockhart 2004 1 minThis short animation film is an “epic” adventure and a magical environmental fairy tale. Amy Lockhart uses cutouts, drawings and collage (captured and manipulated as digital multi-plane animation) to conjure up her whimsical world.
Produced as part of the second edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Shining Mountains - The Ancient OnesGuy Clarkson 2005 47 minThis documentary from the Shining Mountains series follows mountain guide, pilot and cinematographer Guy Clarkson on an ecological journey through the Rockies. Clarkson explores the area’s rock, ice, flora and fauna, which have, for eons, adjusted without complaint to every fluctuation in the natural order of things. Since the arrival of Europeans, however, the damage to ecosystems and tribes alike has approached a point of no return. From the glaciers of the Columbia Ice Fields, to the wolf packs of Yellowstone National Park, to the sacred hunting grounds of the Blackfoot nations, Clarkson finds perspective in the wisdom of the experts and elders who know this region best.
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Shining Mountains - Once and Future WildGuy Clarkson 2005 47 minThis documentary from the Shining Mountains series focuses on solutions to the conservation issues facing the Rockies. There, business, government and local residents are getting political and joining forces to ensure that the grizzly, the wolf and the caribou remain at home on their range. The film highlights a coalition known as 'Y2Y' - the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative - whose aim to connect wildlife corridors through half a million square miles, with participation from industry stakeholders. From visits with old-time mountain man Andy Russell, to a Kaska-Dene youngster heading out on his first moose hunt, Clarkson takes heart in the wisdom of those who know best what it means to live in harmony with Nature.
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Saga CityLuc Chamberland 2011 16 minThis animated short tackles the twin issues of urban planning and climate change. Set in the imaginary city of Colvert, the film highlights the fact that the way a community is shaped and organized is an important factor in determining its energy consumption, and thus the quantity of greenhouse gases it releases into the atmosphere. Saga City is narrated by Colm Feore and directed by Luc Chamberland.
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Shining Mountains - On the EdgeGuy Clarkson 2005 47 minThis documentary from the Shining Mountains series asks a hard question: are we loving our mountains to death? In this installment, filmmaker Guy Clarkson examines human encroachment in our mountain regions. Between recreation, resource exploitation and residential development, how much pressure the mountains can withstand? Can we save it before it’s too late? The film takes us skiing down virgin slopes with a heli-ski pioneer, hill climb with snowmobilers and ride boundary trails with National Park wardens. We also meet a First Nations chief who sees her tribe's future in the development of a casino and golf course.
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Something in the AirSylvie Dauphinais 2001 24 minA 2001 documentary about the dangers of pesticides used by potato farmers in Prince Edward Island. Filmmaker Sylvie Dauphinais made this documentary to issue a wake-up call about an environmental crisis that put the ill, the elderly and the young at great risk. Includes some subtitles.
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Surviving ProgressMathieu Roy & Harold Crooks 2011 1 h 26 minThis feature documentary connects the financial collapse, growing inequity and the Wall Street oligarchy with future technology, sustainability, and the fate of civilization itself. Inspired by Ronald Wright's bestseller A Short History of Progress, Surviving Progress digs deep into human nature and patterns of history to challenge and redefine the very idea of progress.
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TerraAlan Pakarnyk 2005 4 minAnimator Alan Pakarnyk uses radiant colour and simple composition in a seemingly random kaleidoscope of motion to depict nature at work. Sweeping the viewer through a whirlwind cycle of the seasons, the film crashes violently from one image to the next. Terra’s images are matched by a surging score from Winnipeg composer Randolph Peters. Without words.
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Turning TidesMathieu D'Astous 2007 24 minIn this documentary short, summer trippers line up for the famous local fried clams and whole families dig for the white mollusc in the tangy air of the sandbars. But as the clams dwindle, so do these tableaux from Maritime culture. For commercial fishermen it's the end of a livelihood; for others, it's the death of a tradition. Can this really be the end of a resource that used to be as plentiful as the air we breathe? In French with English subtitles.
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Toxic TrespassBarri Cohen 2007 52 minThis feature documentary is an investigation into the effects of the chemicals we are all exposed to in our daily lives. The film begins with the filmmaker Barri Cohen’s own 10-year-old daughter, whose blood carries carcinogens like benzene and the long-banned DDT. Then, it heads out to Windsor and Sarnia: Canadian toxic hotspots, with startling clusters of deadly diseases. The film presents passionate activists working for positive change, along with doctors and scientists who see evidence of links between environmental pollution and health problems. Carried by Cohen's passion for truth and her disarming openness, this moving documentary is essential viewing for anyone concerned about the effects of pollutants on our - and our children's - very DNA.
Toxic Trespass is accompanied by a comprehensive guidebook for educators, activists and concerned citizens, produced by the Women's Healthy Environment Network. -
That's the PriceMichael Scott 1970 40 minWhat happens to two dying coal towns in British Columbia when an American corporation provides a contract for millions of tons of coking coal? The film follows the consequences for the towns of Natal and Michel, suggesting that industrial growth has its price, especially with regard to the environment.
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Trouble in the ForestGary Toole 1988 46 minIn this compelling film, David Suzuki investigates the frightening phenomenon of forest dieback caused by acid rain and proposes some solutions.
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Under the WeatherTali 1997 6 minThis animated short follows a group of happy vacationers sunbathing... under cloudy skies. Despite the weather, they look cheerful, eating ice cream and hot dogs, frolicking in the sand. When the sun finally breaks through the clouds, everyone deserts the beach. The film presents a fanciful yet awkward scenario in which the strange behaviour of one person may be the delight of another.
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What the HellValerie Barnhart 2024 8 minDante's Hell, once the epitome of human suffering and punishment, faces an existential crisis: it loses its relevance on 21C Earth. Charlotte, a sharp-witted Harpy, is determined to set the terms of her own fate by breaking free of her employment in Danté's obsolete Inferno. But not before her ex boyfriend Asterion tries to win her back. Can she reach the promise of a future in a New Hell on Earth before Hell crumbles into oblivion? A contemporary love story for the end times, a horror comedy based on the current state of world affairs.
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White NoiseSimon Beaulieu 2019 1 h 17 minA reflection on the fate of humanity in the Anthropocene epoch, White Noise is a roller-coaster of a film, a whirlwind of sounds and images. The fourth feature-length work by Simon Beaulieu, this film essay plunges viewers into a subjective sensory adventure—a direct physical encounter with the information overload of daily life. White Noise transforms the imminent collapse of our civilization into a visceral aesthetic experience.
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Worst Case ScenarioGlynis Whiting 2001 43 minThis documentary looks at the risks of a proposed sour gas well near Clearwater River, in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Farmers and landowners all share concerns. Residents opposed to the well fear a deadly hydrogen sulphide leak. Shell Canada says it must drill to meet energy needs. When mediation talks break down, both sides anxiously await a ruling from Alberta's Energy and Utilities Board.
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WaterlifeKevin McMahon 2009 1 h 49 minWaterlife is a documentary film about the Great Lakes that follows the flow of the lakes' water from the Nipigon River to the Atlantic Ocean. The film's goal is to take viewers on a tour of an incredibly beautiful ecosystem that is facing complex challenges.
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The Wings of Johnny MayMarc Fafard 2013 1 h 23 minThis feature documentary shines a spotlight on Johnny May, the first Inuit bush pilot in Nunavik—and a legend among his people. During the 34,000 hours of flight time he’s logged, May has lived through extraordinary adventures and has had a unique view of the transformation of the Arctic from his perch in the sky. He has watched as the Inuit went from nomadic life to a sedentary existence, and as climate change has melted the permafrost. But one thing remains constant: May’s deep love for his wife Louisa. Since his earliest days in the air, his plane has sported the same Inuktitut message for her: "Pengo Pally", which means “I miss you.” The Wings of Johnny May is an airborne documentary that highlights a unique culture through the eyes of an exceptional man.
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Washed AwayPatricio Henríquez & Jean Lemire 2003 52 minIn Patricio Henriquez' documentary, he brings us to two very different island communities, one in Alaska and one in the South Pacific, with something in common: their homes are under threat from climate change. As global warming causes ocean levels to rise, these islands may be entirely submerged.
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The Whale and the RavenMirjam Leuze 2019 1 h 41 minDirector Mirjam Leuze’s The Whale and the Raven illuminates the many issues that have drawn whale researchers, the Gitga’at First Nation, and the Government of British Columbia into a complex conflict. As the people in the Great Bear Rainforest struggle to protect their territory against the pressure and promise of the gas industry, caught in between are the countless beings that call this place home.
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What Rhymes with ToxicLynn Smith 2021 5 minChemical sludge is spilling into the lake. For the city councillor responsible, it’s just a big nuisance. For the wildlife, it’s a catastrophe. One turtle, in her desperate hour, summons up the courage to leave her home and speak truth to power. Turns out there’s more at stake than just the lake.
