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Historical Perspectives (6)

  • Beyond Paper
    Beyond Paper
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    Oana Suteu Khintirian 2022 2 h 11 min
    At a critical moment in the history of the written word, as humanity’s archives migrate to the cloud, one filmmaker goes on a journey around the globe to better understand how she can preserve her own Romanian and Armenian heritage, as well as our collective memory. Blending the intellectual with the poetic, she embarks on a personal quest with universal resonance, navigating the continuum between paper and digital—and reminding us that human knowledge is above all an affair of the soul and the spirit.
  • Growing Up Canadian: Media
    Growing Up Canadian: Media
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    Susan Terrill 2003 46 min
    Canadian children in the 20th century witnessed an explosion of innovations in communication and entertainment . Witnesses recall the first time that they saw the telephone, a movie, the television, the computer. Media intrigued children and often made parents suspicious. Canadians of all ages talk about the books, radio shows, TV programs, music and movies they loved as children.

    From listening in on the party line to watching newsreels, children became connected to an ever-expanding world. Media changed the definition of growing up Canadian.

    Media is one of a 6-part series entitled Growing Up Canadian. These documentaries explore the myths and realities of Canadian childhood through family life, schooling, work, play, health and the media. The series marks the contribution of childhood and youth experience in defining Canada as it grew into full nationhood in the 20th century.
  • Joseph Howe: The Tribune of Nova Scotia
    Joseph Howe: The Tribune of Nova Scotia
    Julian Biggs 1961 28 min
    This short drama is a portrait of Nova Scotian journalist and politician Joseph Howe (1804-1873) and his battle for freedom of press. When, in 1835, Howe was accused of seditious libel, no lawyer dared defend him. Choosing to defend himself, he addressed the jury for over 6 hours, urging jurors to leave an unshackled press as a legacy to their children. Though the judge instructed the jury to find Howe guilty, jurors took only 10 minutes to acquit him - a landmark event in the evolution of press freedom in Canada.
  • Le Devoir, Part 2: 1945-1973, The Quiet Revolution
    Le Devoir, Part 2: 1945-1973, The Quiet Revolution
    Hugues Poulin  &  Jean-V. Dufresne 1973 26 min
    The Duplessis years, labour violence, the far-reaching policies of Jean Lesage, the B&B Commission, the emergence of the Parti Québécois, the FLQ and the October Crisis of 1970--these were tense times fraught with change. Commenting on their significance and on Le Devoir's involvement is a roster of eminent spokesmen: political leaders, historians, writers, journalists, and Le Devoir's renowned editor-publisher, Claude Ryan.
  • Le Devoir, Part 1: 1910-1945, Do What You Must
    Le Devoir, Part 1: 1910-1945, Do What You Must
    Hugues Poulin  &  Jean-V. Dufresne 1973 27 min
    "Fais ce que dois" (Do what you must) was the motto Henri Bourassa gave to the newspaper he founded in 1910. An attitude of vigorous independence has characterized the Montréal daily ever since. This film and the following one examine Le Devoir's influence over the years, how it has interpreted and treated local, national and world issues--the wartime conscription question, for example. Interviewed in Part 1 is the founder's daughter, Anne Bourassa.
  • Night Mayor
    Night Mayor
    Guy Maddin 2009 13 min
    This short Guy Maddin film tells the story of inventor Nihad Ademi, who harnesses the power of the aurora borealis in Winnipeg in 1939. Ademi uses this power to broadcast images of Canada to its own citizens from coast to coast, but in the process angers he the government.