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Subjects (65)
History - Canada - 1946-Present (17)

Constitution (4)

  • Comfort and Indifference
    Comfort and Indifference
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    Denys Arcand 1991 1 h 48 min
    English sub-titled version of a film showing facts and opinions that lead to the Québec referendum on independence in 1980, with the participation of a historical character: Machiavelli.
  • The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle
    The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle
    Donald Brittain 1986 1 h 27 min
    The final instalment of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque spans the decade between 1976 and 1986. The film reveals the turbulent, behind-the-scenes drama during the Quebec referendum and the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. In doing so, it also traces both Trudeau's and Lévesque's fall from power.
  • The Road to Patriation
    The Road to Patriation
    Robert Duncan 1982 1 h 33 min
    This feature documentary retraces the century of haggling by successive federal and provincial governments to agree on a formula to bring home the Canadian Constitution from England. This film concentrates on the politicking and lobbying that finally led to its patriation in 1982. Five prime ministers had failed before Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau took up the challenge in the early 1970s. Principal players in this documentary are federal Minister of Justice Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister Trudeau, 10 provincial premiers and a host of journalists, politicians, lawyers, and diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic.
  • Referendum - Take 2/Prise deux
    Referendum - Take 2/Prise deux
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    Stéphane Drolet 1996 1 h 16 min
    October, 1995. The most important political event in recent Canadian history, the Quebec vote on sovereignty, is about to unfold. During the tense days leading up to the referendum for independence, 23 filmmakers from the NFB's English and French documentary studios take their cameras into the streets and homes of Quebeckers. Culled from 250 hours of footage, Referendum is an emotional portrait of a profoundly divided society. In a collage of powerful moments, the video recaptures the emotions of that time and measures them against today's political agenda. Implicit is the question: What next?

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