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Human Rights (47)
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1, 2, 3, CocoPierre M. Trudeau 1991 3 minAn animated film for five- to eight-year-olds on children's right to receive an education. A teacher gives extra, individualized help to a student who is having difficulty with arithmetic and helps her find fun in numbers. -
An ArtistMichèle Cournoyer 1994 5 minIn this short animation, a girl is so carried away by her love of music that she forgets about her household chores. Her father tells her to finish the dishes. Instead of washing them, she turns them into musical instruments, and he finally recognizes her talent. Based on Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to develop their talents and abilities to their fullest potential.
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Avenue ZeroHélène Choquette 2009 52 minHuman trafficking is a reality: Asian girls are enslaved in suburban massage parlors; domestic workers toil like slaves in suburban homes; girls in a Montreal subway station are lured into prostitution; Vancouver gangs recruit Honduran boys to sell drugs. Featuring candid interviews with victims, witnesses and perpetrators, Avenue Zero weaves a spellbinding portrait of a dark and sinister trade flourishing in the shadows of the law.
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The ApologyTiffany Hsiung 2016 1 h 44 minThe Apology follows the personal journeys of three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Some 70 years after their imprisonment in so-called “comfort stations”, the three “grandmothers—Grandma Gil in South Korea, Grandma Cao in China, and Grandma Adela in the Philippines—face their twilight years in fading health. After decades of living in silence and shame about their past, they know that time is running out to give a first-hand account of the truth and ensure that this horrific chapter of history is not forgotten. Whether they are seeking a formal apology from the Japanese government or summoning the courage to finally share their secret with loved ones, their resolve moves them forward as they seize this last chance to set future generations on a course for reconciliation, healing, and justice.
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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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The Cora PlayerCilia Sawadogo 1996 7 minTwo young Africans from different social backgrounds want to defy tradition and be free to love each other. This Burkina Faso/Canada co-production is based on Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which particularly upholds the right to love freely, blind to convention and social class. An animated film without words for twelve to seventeen yers olds.
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Confessions of an Innocent ManDavid Paperny 2007 52 minThis raw exposé examines William Sampson’s harrowing experience while imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for a crime he didn’t commit. Sampson was working as a businessman when he was suddenly arrested and charged with a terrorist bombing and murder. He was tortured and held for 31 months. He is still fighting to hold the Saudi government accountable. He also asks, Where was the Canadian government?
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Door to DoorZabelle Côté 1992 4 minAn animated film for five-to eight-year-olds that presents the familiar situation of big kids bullying little ones in the schoolyard. This time, however, the little kids refuse to accept it and their constructive efforts in their own defence prove that might does not necessarily mean right. Film without words.
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DuelPavel Koutsky 1997 6 minAn animation film about a clarinet and a trumpet that meet, clash, compete, compromise and harmonize. Sound film without words.
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Democracy at Work - It's Your ChoiceJane Churchill 1990 23 minThis film is an excellent introduction to the workings of government in Canada. It outlines many of our crucial freedoms (like the right to vote and freedom of speech) and stresses the vital role that citizens play. Democracy at Work - It's Your Choice explains how the political system works--from how MPs represent us, to how Elections Canada organizes voting--and traces the history of democracy in Canada and the extension of the vote to all citizens. (Grades 6-12 civics and social studies.)
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Democracy on Trial: The Morgentaler AffairPaul Cowan 1984 58 minPaul Cowan's film captures the spirit of the legal battle over abortion waged by Dr. Henry Morgentaler in Quebec and in federal courts between 1970 and 1976. Using a combination of newsreel footage, interviews and re-enactments, this docudrama unravels the complexities of the case that began as a challenge to Canada's abortion laws and turned into a precedent-setting civil rights case.
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Ex-ChildJacques Drouin 1994 4 minThis short animation tells the story of a young boy and his father, both of whom are enlisted to fight in the war. The boy's pride soon turns to fear as the bullets whistle overhead. His father takes his place and is immediately shot and killed. Horrified, the boy understands that war is not a game. Based on article 38 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates the right of children under the age of 15 not to be recruited into the armed forces.
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Every ChildEugene Fedorenko 1979 6 minThis animated short follows an unwanted baby who is passed from house to house until he is taken in and cared for by two homeless men. The film is the Canadian contribution to an hour-long feature film celebrating UNESCO's Year of the Child (1979). It illustrates one of the ten principles of the Declaration of Children's Rights: every child is entitled to a name and a nationality. The film took home an Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film.
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A Family for MariaLina Gagnon 1992 5 minAn animated film for five- to eight-year-olds about international adoption and the difficulty of adapting to a new environment. The film also gives a glimpse into the problems of abandoned children in developing countries. In A Family for Maria/Une famille pour Maria, love triumphs over the insecurity of a little Latin American girl who finds a new family in North America.
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Finding DawnChristine Welsh 2006 1 h 13 minAcclaimed Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh brings us a compelling documentary that puts a human face on a national tragedy – the epidemic of missing or murdered Indigenous women in Canada. The film takes a journey into the heart of Indigenous women's experience, from Vancouver's skid row, down the Highway of Tears in northern BC, and on to Saskatoon, where the murders and disappearances of these women remain unsolved.
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GiordanoChristopher Hinton 1985 1 minAn animated film promoting the value of freedom of expression as stipulated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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Honour to Senator Murray SinclairAlanis Obomsawin 2021 29 minAs the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Senator Murray Sinclair was a key figure in raising global awareness of the atrocities of Canada’s residential school system. With determination, wisdom and kindness, Senator Sinclair remains steadfast in his belief that the path to actual reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people requires understanding and accepting often difficult truths about Canada’s past and present. Alanis Obomsawin shares the powerful speech the Senator gave when he accepted the WFM-Canada World Peace Award, interspersing the heartbreaking testimonies of former students imprisoned at residential schools. The honouring of Senator Sinclair reminds us to honour the lives and legacies of the tens of thousands of Indigenous children taken from their homes and cultures, and leaves us with a profound feeling of hope for a better future.
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Incident at RestigoucheAlanis Obomsawin 1984 45 minOn June 11 and 20, 1981, the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raided Restigouche Reserve, Quebec. At issue were the salmon-fishing rights of the Mi’kmaq. Because salmon has traditionally been a source of food and income for the Mi’kmaq, the Quebec government’s decision to restrict fishing aroused consternation and anger. Released in 1984, this groundbreaking and impassioned account of the police raids brought Alanis Obomsawin to international attention. The film features a remarkable on-camera exchange between Obomsawin herself and provincial Minister of Fisheries Lucien Lessard, the man who’d ordered the raid. Decades later, Jeff Barnaby, director of Rhymes for Young Ghouls, cited the film as an inspiration. “That documentary encapsulated the idea of films being a form of social protest for me... It started right there with that film.”
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Jonas and LisaZabelle Côté & Daniel Schorr 1994 9 minA woman does laundry to support her husband and three children. The children are obliged to work at a very young age and are terrorized and robbed by their stepfather. Unable to take it any more, the little boy runs away from home. Based on article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to an adequate standard of living. A film without words.
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Journey to JusticeRoger McTair 2000 47 minThis documentary pays tribute to a group of Canadians who took racism to court. They are Canada's unsung heroes in the fight for Black civil rights. Focusing on the 1930s to the 1950s, this film documents the struggle of 6 people who refused to accept inequality. Featured here, among others, are Viola Desmond, a woman who insisted on keeping her seat at the Roseland movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946 rather than moving to the section normally reserved for the city's Black population, and Fred Christie, who took his case to the Supreme Court after being denied service at a Montreal tavern in 1936. These brave pioneers helped secure justice for all Canadians. Their stories deserve to be told.
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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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LockedBhimsain 1997 5 minOn the way to school, a boy is confronted by an enormous man whose hand grabs hold of his school bag and tosses it into the air. The hand pushes him towards a huge padlock, then forces him to enter through the keyhole: the schoolboy is imprisoned in a hazardous lock factory. Like the other children inside, he finds himself forced to operate a high-speed punch press. Struggling to follow the movements of the machine, he cuts off a finger. He tries to run away, but is recaptured.
Back at the factory he starts to cough up blood after inhaling iron particles that will prove lethal: the child dies on the job. Coldly, the hand picks up his body and drops it in the box the padlocks are shipped in, symbol of his murdered innocence. How can we live with forced child labour? This India/Canada co-production is inspired by Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child, which particularly upholds the child's right to be protected from economic exploitation. An animated film without words for 12- to 17-year olds. -
Mascaras/Masques/MasksElisa Rivas 1996 8 minThe story starts with the birth of a baby, who starts crying as soon as he sees his father 'in disguise.' The infant is already expressing his desire for authenticity. By the age of three, he instinctively rejects conventions. He is taken to a psychiatrist, who finds him perfectly normal. When he starts school, he is offered another mask. Once again, he rejects it, and once again, he is led off to the psychiatrist. As a teenager he discovers his father's disguises and fills them with helium. As an adult, his creative attitude towards his work arouses the envy of his colleagues. At one of his last visits to the psychiatrist, he sees a young woman who seems to be experiencing the same problems he is. It's love at first sight. From their union is born a child who starts to cry as soon as he sees his father wearing a motorcycle helmet. The father quickly removes his 'mask...' This Cuba/Canada co-production is based on Article 14 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which particularly upholds the child's right to refuse the hypocrisy of a society that tries to make us hide our real selves behind masks. An animated film without words for twelve to seventeen year olds.
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NarkobluesBretislav Pojar & Ivan Vit 1997 8 minOn summer vacation a young teenager finds himself hanging out alone on the streets of his neighbourhood, all his friends having gone to the country with their parents. Near his home he meets a disturbing character, a drug pusher looking for clients, who introduces him to an artificial paradise. The teenager discovers a seductive and terrifying world that frequently draws him back to his neighbour.
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No More Tears Sister: Anatomy of Hope and BetrayalHelene Klodawsky 2004 1 h 18 minA story of love, revolution, and betrayal, No More Tears Sister explores the price of truth in times of war. Set during the violent ethnic conflict that has enveloped Sri Lanka over decades, the documentary recreates the courageous and vibrant life of renowned human rights activist, Dr. Rajani Thiranagama. Mother, anatomy professor, and symbol of hope, Rajani was assassinated at the age of thirty-five. Stunningly photographed, using rare archival footage, intimate correspondence and poetic recreations, the story of Rajani and her family delves into rarely explored themes - revolutionary women and their dangerous pursuit of justice.
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No More Tears Sister - Anatomy of Hope and Betrayal (Short Version)Helene Klodawsky 2004 52 minA story of love, revolution, and betrayal, No More Tears Sister explores the price of truth in times of war. Set during the violent ethnic conflict that has enveloped Sri Lanka over decades, the documentary recreates the courageous and vibrant life of renowned human rights activist, Dr. Rajani Thiranagama. Mother, anatomy professor, and symbol of hope, Rajani was assassinated at the age of thirty-five. Stunningly photographed, using rare archival footage, intimate correspondence and poetic recreations, the story of Rajani and her family delves into rarely explored themes - revolutionary women and their dangerous pursuit of justice.
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OverdoseClaude Cloutier 1994 5 minIn this short animation, we meet a young boy leads such a regimented life that he has no more time just to be a kid. Between school, tennis lessons, swimming lessons, art classes, homework and piano practice, he can barely get any rest. Inspired by Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this short animated film by Claude Cloutier pleads for children’s right to rest and leisure.
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The OrangeDiane Chartrand 1992 4 minIn this animated film for five- to eight-year-olds, a group of schoolchildren are amazed to discover that one of their classmates does not have enough to eat. With the help of their teacher, the children come to understand that his hardship affects them all and that the fight against poverty requires solidarity and sharing. Film without words.
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Open SecretsJosé Torrealba 2003 52 minThis provocative documentary uncovers a lost chapter in Canadian military history: how the Armed Forces dealt with homosexual behaviour among soldiers, during and after World War II. More than 60 years later, a group of five veterans, barely adults when they enlisted, break the silence to talk about how homosexual behaviour "was even more unmentionable than cancer." Yet amidst the brutality of war, instances of sexual awakening among soldiers and officers were occuring. Initially, the Army overlooked it, but as the war advanced, they began to crack down: military tribunals, threats of imprisonment, discharge and public exposure. After the war, officers accused of homosexuality were discharged. Back home in Canada, reputations and careers were ruined. For the young men who had served their country with valour, this final chapter was often too much to bear. Based on the book Courting Homosexuals in the Military by Paul Jackson.
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PapaMichèle Pauzé 1992 4 minAn animated film for five- to eight-year-olds on children's right to live with their parents. It tells the story of a child who gently but persistently tries to attract the attention of her father who is wrapped up in his work.
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ProsecutorBarry Stevens 2010 1 h 34 minThis feature documentary follows the Chief Prosecutor through the first trials of the newly formed International Criminal Court. Luis Moreno-Ocampo investigates and prosecutes some of the world's worst criminals for some of the world's worst crimes. He's a hero to genocide survivors, but has bitter enemies on both the Right and the Left. Is the ICC a groundbreaking new weapon for global justice or just an idealistic dream?
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The Road TakenSelwyn Jacob 1996 52 minThis 1996 documentary takes a nostalgic ride through history to present the experiences of Black sleeping-car porters who worked on Canada's railways from the early 1900s through the 1960s. There was a strong sense of pride among these men and they were well-respected by their community. Yet, harsh working conditions prevented them from being promoted to other railway jobs until finally, in 1955, porter Lee Williams took his fight to the union.
Claiming discrimination under the Canada Fair Employment Act, the Black workers won their right to work in other areas. Interviews, archival footage and the music of noted jazz musician Joe Sealy (whose father was a porter) combine to portray a fascinating history that might otherwise have been forgotten. -
The Sterilization of Leilani MuirGlynis Whiting 1996 46 minA single IQ test and misguided 'science' irreparably changed the life of a 14-year-old Canadian girl. This documentary follows Leilani Muir's search for justice and explores how eugenics (improving hereditary qualities of a race through the control of reproduction) became acceptable in the early 1900s.
Please note: This film contains explicit language. Viewer discretion is advised. -
Six Miles DeepSara Roque 2009 43 minThis short documentary offers a portrait of a group of women who led their community, the largest reserve in Canada, Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, in an historic blockade to protect their land. On February 28, 2006, members of the Iroquois Confederacy blockaded a highway near Caledonia, Ontario to prevent a housing development on land that falls within their traditional territories. The ensuing confrontation made national headlines for months. Less well-known is the crucial role of the clan mothers of the community who set the rules for conduct. When the community's chiefs ask people to abandon the barricades, it is the clan mothers who overrule them, leading a cultural reawakening in their traditionally matriarchal community.
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StatelessMichèle Stephenson 2020 1 h 35 minIn 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013: the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows the grassroots campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris, as she challenges electoral corruption and fights to protect the right to citizenship for all people.
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The SilenceRenée Blanchar 2021 1 h 48 minWARNING: This film discusses the topic of childhood sexual assault. Viewer discretion is advised.
Why be silent about the most serious matters? Doesn’t silence perpetuate suffering? From the 1950s to the 1980s, Catholic priests sexually abused many young boys in the francophone towns of New Brunswick. These scandals only came to light when the victims were in their fifties, provoking shock and outrage in the media and the public. Why did the affected communities keep silent so long, preferring secrecy to justice and truth? Profiting from their positions of influence to impose a “pious silence” on their parishioners, authority figures built an abusive system that tells us as much about the type of oppression specific to the Acadian population as it does about the blanket denials issued by the Catholic Church. Called to confront the power of this collective silence, veteran filmmaker Renée Blanchar meets with survivors in an attempt to untangle the deeply rooted reasons for this secrecy. With The Silence, she takes us as close as she can to the humanity of these broken men, revealing the forces that, today as in the past, have the power to unite or divide Acadian communities. -
T.V. TangoMartine Chartrand 1992 3 minFour children who have picked up all sorts of annoying behavior from watching television decide instead to create their own games. This animated film for five- to eight-year-olds is intended to awaken children's critical sense regarding the media messages aimed at them. (Film without words).
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TradeKireet Khurana 1997 6 minA young girl is taken away to a large city by train, but she knows nothing about the man her parents entrust her to. During the journey she recalls good times she spent with her family at a village fair, where she had a pretty flower tattooed on her hand. On their arrival, the child is dazzled by the lights of the city. She trustingly follows this stranger, who is leading her to a brothel. When she sees money passing from the hands of the madam to the pimp, she remembers that her father took a large sum of money from this same stranger. She realizes with horror that she has been sold.
A prisoner in the brothel, the young girl is dressed up in beautiful clothes before being shut in a filthy room. A wealthy customer appears. Through the blinds, she sees him hand a wad of bills to the madam. The man enters her room, drooling in his excitement. The child screams for help with all her might, but her cries mingle with the whistling of the train as it flies into the night... An animated film without words for 12- to 17-year olds. -
To See the WorldFrancine Desbiens 1992 9 minA kindly old man sends his grandson off to see the world. From the window of the train, the child discovers the problems plaguing this planet and imagines solutions to promote the happiness of children everywhere. A synthesis of Volume 1 of the Rights from the Heart/Droits au c÷ur collection, this animated film for five- to eight-year-olds puts the issue of children's rights in an international context.
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The TournamentFrancine Desbiens 1995 6 minA little deaf girl who plays against an arrogant boy in a chess tournament is unaffected by his scorn but responds warmly to the attentions of a young poet. Based on article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates disabled children's right to enjoy a full and decent life. A film without words.
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To a Safer PlaceBeverly Shaffer 1987 58 minThis inspiring film is the story of how one woman has come to terms with her life as a survivor of incest. Sexually abused by her father from infancy to early adolescence, Shirley Turcotte is now in her thirties and has succeeded in building a rich and full life. In To a Safer Place, Shirley takes a further step to reconcile her past and present. The film accompanies her as she returns to the people and places of her childhood. Her mother, brothers and sister, all of whom were also caught up in the cycle of family violence, openly share their thoughts. Their frank disclosures will encourage survivors of incest to break through the silence and betrayal to recover and develop a sense of self-worth and dignity.
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Two Worlds CollidingTasha Hubbard 2004 49 minThis documentary is an inquiry into what came to be known as Saskatoon's infamous "freezing deaths," and the schism between a fearful, mistrustful Indigenous community and a police force harbouring a harrowing secret. One frigid night in January 2000 Darrell Night, an Indigenous man was dumped by two police officers in -20° C temperatures in a barren field on the city outskirts. He survives the ordeal but is stunned to hear that the frozen body of another Indigenous man was discovered in the same area. Days later, another victim, also Native, is found. When Night comes forward with his story, he sets into motion a chain of events: a major RCMP investigation into several suspicious deaths, the conviction of the two constables who abandoned him and the reopening of an old case, leading to a judicial inquiry.
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To Kill a TigerNisha Pahuja 2022 2 h 5 minOn the night of a family wedding in a village in India, Ranjit’s 13-year-old daughter is abducted and sexually assaulted by three men. Ranjit takes on the fight of his life when he demands the men be brought to justice. With tremendous access to all facets of this story, To Kill a Tiger charts the emotional journey of an ordinary man thrown into extraordinary circumstances—a father whose love for his daughter forces a social reckoning that will reverberate for years to come.
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The Un-CanadiansLen Scher 1996 1 h 12 minIn the late 1940s through to the early '70s, one million Canadians were investigated by their own government, irretrievably altering their lives. The Un-Canadians uncovers some of their stories and documents the workings of a secret government agency, "The Security Panel," an organization that, along with the RCMP security service, shaped and monitored the development of a Canadian blacklist during the Cold War. We also see the influence that the United States, and Senator Joe McCarthy's tactics, had on the Government of Canada. Through in-depth interviews, archival footage and revealing documents, The Un-Canadians tracks down the supposed "subversives" and traces the effect that the blacklist had on their lives. Many had their careers ruined and their family lives destroyed. Director Len Scher knows how it feels to grow up in one of these families. His father was one of those blacklisted. Scher's attempts to learn why resulted in the publication of the book "The Un-Canadians," upon which this film is based.
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Why?Bretislav Pojar 1995 8 minFour children see images of other youngsters around the world who dream of doing great things when they grow up but whose dreams are dashed by the harsh reality of their lives. Shocked, the children urgently ask adults to do something. A synthesis of articles 27, 29, 30, 31 and 38 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to a future. Film without words.
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Women on the MarchDouglas Tunstell 1958 58 minThis feature film in two parts is an exploration of the women’s suffrage movement. Spearheaded by women like Emmeline Pankhurst, founder of the Women's Social and Political Union, the Suffragettes realized they would have to become radical and militant if the movement was going to be effective. There followed many demonstrations, and imprisonments until the women’s vote was finally granted, in 1918 (Britain) and 1919 (Canada, except Quebec.)
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We Can't Make the Same Mistake TwiceAlanis Obomsawin 2016 2 h 42 minThe rights of First Nations children take centre stage in this monumental documentary. Following a historic court case filed by the Assembly of First Nations and the Child and Family Caring Society of Canada against the federal government, Alanis Obomsawin exposes generations of injustices endured by First Nations children living on reserves and their families. Through passionate testimony and unwavering conviction, frontline childcare workers and experts including Cindy Blackstock take part in a decade-long court battle to ensure these children receive the same level of care as other Canadian children. Their case against Canada is a stark reminder of the disparities that persist in First Nations communities and the urgent need for justice to be served.
