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Health and Illness (33)
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Autism: The Road BackSharon Bartlett & Maria LeRose 2005 54 minAutism: The Road Back charts the personal journey of three families with children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It talks to parents, service providers, and experts in the field about assessment, diagnoses, and options available for treatment, and provides guidance for families trying to navigate their way through the challenges of ASD in the first six years of their child's life. -
Beyond Memory: A Documentary About DementiaSharon Bartlett & Maria LeRose 2006 1 h 15 minThe new documentary Beyond Memory is an intimate revelation of what it's like to live with dementia, or to love someone with this disease.
The five individuals and families profiled in the film offer an essential lesson about living each day. Elaine, diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at just 47, works to keep her brain active, and becomes the first known Canadian with Alzheimer's to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. A 1950s rhythm & blues star, 82-year-old Milton can't remember the words to songs but can still show off the dance moves that first attracted his wife, Ruby. George gave up his job and moved home when his mother's memory failed. He patiently reminds her of all the important details in her life, save one: Alberta's forgotten she has Alzheimer's. Gord, a former Revelstoke maintenance supervisor for CP Rail, works closely with his wife, Claudia, to make plans for his future. And, suffering from a rare and fast-moving form of dementia, 57-year-old Dede has pretty much had her memory wiped clean. Yet, when her husband, Gerry, enters the room, she smiles. Her connection to him has survived her memory. -
Being PreparedCarol Kunnuk 2021 9 minAs the global pandemic reaches into the Arctic Archipelago, Inuk filmmaker Carol Kunnuk documents how unfamiliar new protocols affect her family and community. Her vividly specific soundtrack juxtaposes snippets from local radio broadcasts, issuing health advisories in both Inuktitut and English, with the sweet sounds of children at play. A richly detailed and tender account of disruption and adjustment.
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Child, Part 1: Jamie, Ethan and Marlon: The First Two MonthsRobert Humble 1973 28 minHe has just made his debut into the world. How does he shape up? In this first film, a pediatrician explains what he looks for when he gives a newborn infant his first physical checkup--testing reflexes, muscle tone, eye movement, etc. Three babies are observed, first in hospital, then at home in the care of their parents.
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Caregivers - Episode One: Madeleine and RoseDan Curtis 1997 49 minMeet Madeleine Fergus. Like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, she is an ordinary person with extraordinary heart. For the last five years, Madeleine's life has been consumed by caring for her partially paralyzed mother, Rose. Madeleine took early retirement in order to care for Rose full-time. It's a job with long hours and little recognition. Yet despite the hardship and frustration, she finds caring for her mother naturally rewarding. When we first meet Rose in April, she is full of mischief. Although she is confined to a wheelchair, she likes to sing, go out, and get her hair done. By December, Rose is still able to help Madeleine decorate the Christmas tree. However, after battling a series of infections over the next six months, Rose deteriorates into total dependency. Madeleine, who makes do on two small pensions, must now seek more help from a system which can be difficult to access. Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a "how-to" series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses. To Madeleine, Rose is not only her mother but her best friend. When Rose dies, Madeleine's heart is broken but her spirit isn't. She knows she has no choice but to go on. As she says, "You've got to float with the tide."
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Caregivers - Episode Five: Paul and JeanDan Curtis 1997 50 minSometimes Paul Oliver has to laugh to keep from crying. He's placed his mother, Jean, in a nursing home that cares for Alzheimer's patients. With bewildered fellow residents constantly interrupting and Jean's own erratic behaviour, Paul finds it hard to have a quiet moment with his mother. Yet he knows that his company and attention are vital to her.
Like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, Paul is doing his best. Although he works full-time and lives an hour away, he still visits twice a week. Jean does not like the nursing home and she is often depressed. Her anger is vented on anyone near, including Paul. At other times Jean can be lucid and make Paul laugh with her sharp comments about fellow residents.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a 'how-to' series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
What Paul finds most difficult is his mother's increasing memory loss. He's aware that, in time, she won't remember him at all, and he's determined to make the most of his visits. As Paul says, 'I try to make her laugh. I try to make whatever length of time she has left enjoyable.' -
Charles and FrançoisCo Hoedeman 1988 15 minA 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.
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Caregivers - Episode Three: Kurt and ElizabethDan Curtis 1997 49 minThe strain of caring for his mother shows in the face of Kurt Weitz. He's alone, with no family available to help him provide the constant supervision she requires. Elizabeth, 88, suffers from a variety of illnesses, including Alzheimer's. Her dementia drains Kurt of all his energy. Even ordinary housework seems overwhelming.
However, like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, Kurt carries on. Just before Kurt's father died, he left his son simple instructions: "Take care of mum." For eight years, Kurt has been doing his best to respect his father's whishes--but as Elizabeth only gets worse, he clearly needs some relief.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a "how-to" series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
Elizabeth cared for Kurt most of his life, and this son's love for his mother is obvious. Yet when Elizabeth dies, he admits to a strong sense of freedom. Kurt's mixed feelings are in fact common to everyone who faces the emotional challenges of caregiving. As he says, "I hate to say it, but the relief off my shoulders is just tremendous." -
Caregivers - Episode Two: Doris and TomDan Curtis 1997 50 minIn 1942, Doris and Tom Homewood vowed to honour each other in sickness and in health. Today, 54 years later, Doris is determined to keep the man she loves by her side. Doris insists on caring for Tom at home even though a massive stroke has left him unable to walk or speak. Despite her 78 years, she displays remarkable strength in feeding, bathing and transporting her husband from bed to wheelchair and back.
Doris has learned to accept the isolation that Tom's silence brings. However, like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, she is still a vibrant person. Never away from Tom for more than an hour, she goes for walks, helps her daughter with the farm work, and feeds the horses.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a 'how-to' series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
After a bout with pneumonia, Tom dies in hospital and Doris is left to cope with her loss. As she says, 'I guess it just takes time... but I'll get a hold. And I'll get there.' -
Caregivers - Episode Four: Pat and MollyDan Curtis 1997 49 minWhen she was a student nurse, Pat Tucker received training in bedside care. Today, she puts those skills to good use in caring for her mother. Molly, 95, is confined to her bed for most of the day and requires round-the-clock attention. Like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, Pat offers loving and conscientious care. Despite her nursing experience, she nevertheless feels exhausted by the incredible demands of looking after Molly.
Pat acknowledges the support of her family--especially her husband; she knows that without their help, she would be hard-pressed to carry on. At Molly's 95th birthday party, we see just how important this charming "wee soul" is to all the people who love her. Even if she's too frail to blow out the candles, Molly is still the link that keeps this family together.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies across Canada, this is a "how-to" series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
When Molly eventually dies, Pat is devastated. But through her tears she is clear about one thing: she would do it all over again. "Memories," she says, "last longer than dreams." -
Dear AudreyJeremiah Hayes 2021 1 h 29 minAcclaimed activist-filmmaker Martin Duckworth has devoted his life to peace and justice. But now he’s put down his camera to fight for the most important cause he’s ever faced. While caring for his wife through the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease, Martin’s love deepens as he looks back on an epic life and career.
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The Feeling of RejectionRobert Anderson 1947 20 minThe case history of Margaret, a 23-year-old girl who has physical disorders with no physical causes. A psychiatrist shows her the root of her troubles--childhood overprotection and discouragement of her efforts to express herself, resulting in a crippling fear of failure and a complete inability to assert herself. When Margaret understands her problem, she develops new and healthier habits of behaviour.
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Feeling of HostilityRobert Anderson 1948 31 minDramatizes the factors producing resentment and hostility in personal relationships. In the story of Clare we see how the death of her father and the later remarriage of her mother discouraged her from seeking affectional relationships with others. Although successful at college and in her business career, she feels the lack of fellowship and understanding. The factors behind this emotional inadequacy are reviewed by a psychiatrist.
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The Head VanishesFranck Dion 2016 9 minIn this poetic short, animator Franck Dion (Edmond was a Donkey) invites us to share the journey of Jacqueline, an elderly woman living with degenerative dementia. Jacqueline isn’t quite in her right mind anymore, but she’s determined to take the train to the seaside, as she has done every summer. Only this year, she’s constantly being followed by some woman who claims to be her daughter, and the trip takes some unexpected and phantasmagorical turns.
Click here to discover more titles from Get Animated! 2020.
Co-produced by Papy3D Productions, the National Film Board of Canada and ARTE France. -
Jules' Impossible SummerMarie-Julie Dallaire 2020 13 minShot in Montreal over a four-month period, from May to September 2020, Jules’ Impossible Summer charts the evolving relationship between the filmmaker and her 19-year-old son through 15 redundant conversations about the importance—or the impossibility, depending on the point of view—of following the health restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
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Jordan River Anderson, The MessengerAlanis Obomsawin 2019 1 h 5 minAlanis Obomsawin's 52nd film tells the story of how the life of Jordan River Anderson initiated a battle for the right of First Nations and Inuit children to receive the same standard of social, health and educational services as the rest of the Canadian population.
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Labour of LoveDan Curtis 1998 44 minWalk through almost any neighbourhood, and behind one of those front doors you'll find a family caregiver. The numbers are staggering. Over 25 million North Americans are currently looking after elderly relatives with health problems.
Shot over an entire year, Labour of Love shows the human side of caregiving - the loving bonds, the frustrations and heartaches, the mundane tasks and the constant fatigue.
Labour of Love includes five intimate profiles of caregivers and their families. This special video takes us to the heart of what it means to be a caregiver, offering hope for everyone who is caring for a family member. -
love, ammaPrajwala Dixit 2022 14 minAfter being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, a young mother writes a letter to her daughter about their family’s collective journey to acceptance.
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Making Every Moment CountLeora Kuttner 2003 38 minDr Leora Kuttner, an award-winning filmmaker and an international expert in pediatric pain management, brings us this groundbreaking and comprehensive look at the emerging field of pediatric palliative care.
At the film's heart are five remarkable young people who speak with profound clarity and wisdom about being alive and their approach to death. Layering their stories with interviews, the film is a unique portrait of how families and professionals can come together during a highly emotional time to share in decision making, address fears of death and provide hope.
Dr Kuttner's films have been recognized by the Association for the Care of Children's Health, the Health Sciences Communications Association, and the National Council on Family Relations. -
Mabel's SagaJoDee Samuelson 2004 14 minThis short animation celebrates menopause through the story of Mabel. She’s juggling work, teenagers and an elderly mom. Now she’s got hot flashes and chin hairs! Before you can say "estrogen," purple-haired Mabel finds herself the heroine of her own adventure. Colourful computer animation and a rich musical score offer a reassuring look at one of the most important passages in a woman's life.
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Mystery in the KitchenDon Haldane 1959 23 minWhy does a housewife concerned for her family's welfare feed them so inadequately that she endangers their very lives? The film is a humorous and satirical attempt to remind the average housewife that it is not enough to be aware of modern food facts; they must also be applied in daily food purchasing and preparation.
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Mon oncle Antoine (Dubbed Version)Claude Jutra 1971 1 h 44 minThere 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.
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Mon oncle Antoine (English Subtitled)Claude Jutra 1971 1 h 44 minClaude 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.
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Maybe ElephantsTorill Kove 2024 16 minIn the ’70s, three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves in bustling Nairobi. The family will never be the same.
Created by Oscar®-winning animator Torill Kove (The Danish Poet), Maybe Elephants is a playful and loving autobiographical homage to family, adolescence and the therapeutic power of memories, however unreliable. -
Perfecting the Art of LongingKitra Cahana 2021 12 minCut off from his loved ones due to the pandemic lockdown, a quadriplegic rabbi in a long-term-care facility is filmed remotely by his daughter. Offering powerful meditations on love and hope, Perfecting the Art of Longing shows us what it means to be alive in a state of profound isolation.
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StigmaStanley Jackson 1958 19 minThis film tells the story of a young woman who suffers a mental breakdown, recovers fully in a mental hospital and returns home. Instead of the understanding and support she most needs from her friends and associates, she is virtually ostracized. The film makes a plea for a change in the sort of public thinking that places a stigma upon people who have suffered from an illness of the mind rather than of the body.
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The StreetCaroline Leaf 1976 10 minThis award-winning animation is a poignant interpretation of a short story by Montreal author Mordecai Richler. It makes a strong statement about how many families respond to their old and infirm members. In washes of watercolour and ink, filmmaker Caroline Leaf illustrates reactions to a dying grandmother, capturing family feelings and distilling them into harsh reality.
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Strangers at the DoorJohn Howe 1977 28 minThis drama tells the harrowing story of an immigrant family in the New World. On arrival in Canada, their hopes for a better life were dashed when immigration officials refused to grant entry to their daughter. During a routine medical examination it was found that Kasia had contracted an infectious eye disease. She is separated from her family and sent back to Europe alone.
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"There Are Others Worse Off than Us ...."Yves Dion 1972 57 minThis is a look at the daily life of a young couple. Both wife and husband suffer from cerebral palsy. Although every movement is made with effort, and every day is a struggle, they choose, instead of dependence on others, to marry, to have a child and to derive strength and courage from each other. By showing their problems, their needs and their hopes, this film reaches out for greater public understanding and acceptance of the physically disabled in our midst.
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Two SistersCaroline Leaf 1991 10 minThis animated short, etched directly onto tinted 70 mm film, depicts the story of two sisters: Viola, who writes novels in a dark room, and Marie, her only companion. Disfigured, Viola counts on her sister to take care of her and shelter her from the outside world. But when an unexpected stranger turns up on their front door, the sisters' quiet lives are disrupted and their routine turns to chaos.
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UnmotheredMarie-France Guerrette Dempsey 2018 1 h 12 minOn August 31, 1995, tragedy struck the Guerrette family when Mona, a mother of two, died from breast cancer at age 42, leaving behind a husband and their daughters, Mylène and Marie-France. But she also left behind a stirring farewell message that would serve as a testament to her life.
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Why Won't Tommy Eat?Judith Crawley 1948 16 minThis film examines the problem of children who won't eat, and what can be done about it. Tommy should be hungry, but he just picks at his food. Going back to early babyhood, the film traces in detail, how eating habits are formed, how individual likes and dislikes must be taken into consideration, and that the worst habit of all is the permanent battle over food. After this analysis, Tommy still sits by his well-filled plate. In despair his mother takes him to the doctor, who explains that she is really the problem. She realizes that she has been tense, impatient with Tommy from the start. Now it will take painstaking care to build a new atmosphere of cooperation and friendliness, to learn understanding of Tommy's personal requirements at mealtimes, and all the time.
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You Won't Need Running Shoes, DarlingDorothy Todd Henaut 1996 53 minIn this feature-length documentary, acclaimed filmmaker Dorothy Todd Hénaut chronicles a critical two-year period in the lives of her parents, Mildred and Bob Todd. The Todds, retired octogenarians, live a simple but full life by the river in rural Ontario until a sudden change in their health forces a change in their lives. Their old routine of tending the garden and visiting with friends is replaced by hospital stays and home care. And even though the couple’s tenderness and mutual care soften the reality of diminishing strength, Hénaut’s film reveals a gritty, sensitive look at the human aging process.
