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Television Broadcasting and Production (18)
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The Bronswik AffairRobert Awad & André Leduc 1978 23 minThis funny yet serious short film demonstrates the effectiveness of advertising and the marketing machine. Its comic appeal lies in the characters and the absurd situations they find themselves in, but it also shines a harsh light on our tendency towards needless consumerism prompted by a steady flow of commercials. -
Capturing GeorgeScott Smith 2009 6 minGeorge F. Walker's career has spanned almost four decades, but Rolly and Stevie (from Walker's play Criminal Genius) have succeeded in tying the notoriously elusive dramatist down. To a chair. With lots of rope. Director Scott Smith's wicked reversal of theatrical order puts Walker in the centre of one of his own creations. This film was produced for the 2009 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
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Canadians AbroadDon Haldane 1956 30 minThis short documentary from 1956 catches up with several talented Canadians who have found a home in the entertainment or arts scenes of London and Paris. Among them are Toronto-born Beverley Baxter, a baronet and MP who claims that London has a history of being invaded (first the Romans, now the Canadians), and then-aspiring novelist Mordecai Richler, who feels he has a better chance of making a living in England than he does back home.
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Dashan - Ambassador to China's Funny BoneGuy Nantel 1996 50 minThis documentary introduces us to Mark Rowswell, a Canadian comedian virtually unknown in his own country who has an enormous following in mainland China, where he is known as Dashan.
The film provides a unique look at China through the eyes of a man who has become fully at home in Chinese culture—his appearances on national television have been known to draw up to 600 million viewers. It shows Rowswell performing, talking about his art and popularity, and discussing the West’s role in the development of the new China. -
Live TVAnnie O'Donoghue 1996 21 minThis short live-action comedy satirizing TV's violent ways tells the story of 4 children who go searching for their school’s 2 missing turtles. In this task, the children are assisted by a television set that morphs to life as a goofy action superhero. As the search progresses, the children discover that TV solutions and real-life solutions don't always mix. When the kids take charge and use their own wits, the turtle mystery is solved in a jiffy.
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Last ResortJacques Godbout 1987 1 h 10 minThis feature length documentary by Jacques Godbout tackles a topic all too rarely explored in the media: terrorism in Canadian society. From Montreal to Vancouver, and Quebec City to Toronto, exasperated individuals find a new calling as self-style saviours of humanity and decide to mete out their own justice. Part reportage, part essay and part critical analysis of the phenomenon, this film includes first-hand accounts by Serge Daoust, Franco Piperno, François Schirm, Pierre Vallières and young militants from the journal Révoltes.
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Night MayorGuy Maddin 2009 13 minThis 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.
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New York - Twin Parks Project - TV Channel 13Michel Régnier 1974 56 minThis feature-length documentary examines the reality of New York City in the 1970s, a place that had become a symbol of urban disaster. The 2 projects profiled attempt to tackle the problem of America’s biggest city: in a dilapidated part of the Bronx, a co-operative citizens’ movement tries to rejuvenate urban life; and WNET-TV uses its programming as an open forum for the public debate on urban issues.
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Once upon a Prime TimeBernard Devlin 1966 16 minThis short fictional film is a zany spoof of TV content with plenty of violence borrowed from the very source it seeks to parody. Our protagonist is a housewife who has lost her family to the television set. Suddenly, her home is invaded and her life is taken over by characters that seem to spring from the V screen. Initially, she attempts to get the intruders out of her house. But eventually, she begins to see that perhaps a life on TV wouldn’t be so bad after all. Will her distracted husband even notice her departure?
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People and Science: DeadlinesJefferson Lewis 1987 11 minWhile preparing a program on a proposed water-diversion project, a television journalist must come to terms with the fact that she must present an unbiased look at the positive and negative effects of damming a river.
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The PerformerDonald Ginsberg 1959 58 minThis 1959 feature documentary is a foray into Canada’s art milieu. What is it like to be a Canadian artist? Answering this central question are Teresa Stratas, winner of Metropolitan Opera auditions; acclaimed lyric tenor Léopold Simoneau and his talented wife, soprano Pierrette Alarie; the National Ballet Company of Canada’s artistic director, Celia Franca and leading male dancer, David Adams; as well as jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, whom we visit at 3 o'clock in the morning at Boston's Storyville Club. The film also includes interviews with radio and television actor John Drainie, Christopher Plummer and Jean Gascon, director of Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.
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The Question of Television ViolenceGraeme Ferguson 1972 56 minA film report of the hearings of the United States Senate Subcommittee on Communications investigating the effects of television violence. An NFB crew recorded the four days of intensive debate in Washington, where representations were made by the three major networks, the Surgeon General of the United States, independent scientists, and representatives of concerned parent groups. The hearings established that there is a correlation between violence on the screen and violence in real life.
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Rick Mercer: "Take Action" FiguresStephen Dunn 2019 5 minWhile gift shopping at an “enlightened” toy store, a mother and son are out of luck finding the latest Spider-Man and Transformers toys—because all this eccentric shopkeeper proudly sells are Rick Mercer-themed toys that are meant to inspire the next generation of Canadian youth.
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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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TV SaleErnie Schmidt 1975 10 minThis animated short is an entertaining and incisive satire on some of the material that is disgorged via the "boob tube." The opening pitch of the television salesman establishes the tone of this pithy film: a solid-state model guarantees high-quality entertainment, and programs are always designed around products, not spectators.
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The Universal Clock - The Resistance of Peter WatkinsGeoff Bowie 2001 1 h 16 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Peter Watkins, an Oscar®-winning British filmmaker who, for the past 4 decades, has proved that films can be made without compromise. With the proliferation of TV channels, documentaries are enjoying an unprecedented boom fuelled by audiences seeking an alternative to infotainment. But now documentary filmmaking, too, finds itself constrained by the imperatives of television. However, there is a rebel resisting this uniformity of the spirit. Pre-eminent among today's documentary filmmakers concerned about this mind-numbing standardization, Peter Watkins has never strayed from either his principles or the cause.
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VTR St-JacquesBonnie Sherr Klein 1969 26 minThis short film was an experiment in using video recordings and closed circuit television to stimulate social action in a poor Montreal neighbourhood. A citizen's committee filmed people's concerns and then played back the tapes for the community. Upon recognizing their common problems, people began to talk about joint solutions. It proved an important and effective method of promoting social change.
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William Shatner Sings O CanadaJacob Medjuck 2011 5 minWhen William Shatner gets a Lifetime Achievement Award from Canada's Governor General, he shows appreciation as only Shatner can. In this short film, the most famous space cadet in showbiz takes helm of our heritage and treats us to a memorable rendition of Canada's national anthem.
