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Musical Instruments (26)
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AlegriaJacques Leduc 1973 28 minFilmed without comment, this study of guitar-making says as much about the maker, Fred Anders, as about the instrument. There is a feeling here, the feeling of a man at peace with what he does. As the camera rests on the sensing fingers, there emerges an unvoiced communication between them and the responsive wood. Alegria is more than a demonstration of a manual art; it shows the joy of building music into inanimate material. -
CatuorJudith Klein 1970 3 minThis film is about cats--actually, one very clever cat. The title is a play on the French quatuor, meaning quartet, but the chorus is not the usual alley-cat variety. The cat in this film is talented indeed. He is both pianist and piano, trumpet and trumpeter and, if need be, even becomes the music--a pulsing rock and roll--or a whole swarm of alley cats.
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CalliopeTony Ianzelo 1980 2 minA vignette on the travelling calliope (also known as steam organ), a musical instrument that produces sound by sending steam through large locomotive whistles.
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Celtic SpiritsJames Littleton 1978 57 minIn this feature-length documentary, two Cape Breton musicians visit Ireland and Scotland in search of their musical roots. Diving deep into Cape Breton music – from the past and present – Celtic Spirits also offers an intimate look at life in the region.
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A Drummer's DreamJohn Walker 2010 1 h 25 minA rare and unique assembly of some of the greatest drummers in the world. Explosive talent, passion, humour and irresistible personality come together in a magical setting as these diverse drummers and forty students create a profound and unforgettable experience. Featuring Dennis Chambers, Kenwood Dennard, Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Mike Mangini, Raul Rekow and Nasyr Abdul Al-Khabyyr, the film engages us with a diversity of musical styles. These master drummers of rock, jazz, Latin fusion and soul have backed the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Carlos Santana - and now each other. At the end of the film you will be tapping out the rhythms that live within us all, and the positive energy of these masters will pulse through you for days to come.
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Duel-DuoJean-Michel Labrosse 1975 2 minAn animation film about a clarinet and a trumpet that meet, clash, compete, compromise and harmonize.
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Eye Witness No. 221950 10 minAlberta's Blood Indians: On their reserve near Cardston, Alberta, the Kainai take action against waste and want, to improve living standards. Music Master: All the world of music reaches blind Paul Doyon, piano virtuoso, through his "seeing fingers." Sky Sentries: Jet planes of the Royal Canadian Air Force's famed 401 Squadron scream through the skies over Montréal in an air defense exercise.
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The Fiddlers of James BayBob Rodgers 1980 28 minThis short documentary traces the history of the fiddle’s arrival in Canada 300 years ago via Scottish traders from Orkney Island. The Cree population of what is now Northern Québec adopted the instrument, and many contemporary Cree residents are master fiddlers. In this film, two Cree fiddlers travel to the Orkney Islands, the birthplace of the music they learned from their fathers and grandfathers. The film captures the warmth and good will of this reunion.
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First Stories - His Guidance (Okiskinotahewewin)Duane Linklater 2007 6 minThis short film tells the story of Rocky Morin, a drummer who first felt the pull of the drum almost 15 years ago and hasn't looked back since. It's a powerful reminder of the need to maintain a strong connection to one's roots. First Stories is an emerging filmmaker program for Indigenous youth which produced 3 separate collections of short films from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Produced in association with CBC, APTN, SCN, SaskFilm and MANITOBA FILM & SOUND.
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Getting StartedRichard Condie 1979 12 minThis hilarious short animated film stars a man who procrastinates. Our hero attempts to practice a piece of music on the piano, but distractions get in the way. When he finally sits down to play, pandemonium breaks loose.
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Glenn Gould - Off the RecordRoman Kroitor & Wolf Koenig 1959 29 minIn this short documentary, Canadian concert pianist Glenn Gould enjoys a respite at his lakeside cottage. This is an aspect of Gould previously known only to the collie pacing beside him through the woods, the fishermen resting their oars to hear his piano, and fellow musicians like Franz Kraemer, with whom Gould talks of composition.
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Gaston's RecitalAndré Melançon 1981 21 minThis short fiction film about a young boy torn between conflicting loyalties is resolved with humour and wisdom. Sunday, 2 o'clock, is zero hour for Gaston. He must be in two places at once: performing at a music recital and playing hockey with his teammates. What is Gaston to do?
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Glenn Gould - On the RecordRoman Kroitor & Wolf Koenig 1959 29 minThis short documentary follows Glenn Gould to New York City. There, we see the renowned Canadian concert pianist kidding the cab driver, bantering with sound engineers at Columbia Records, and then, alone with the piano, fastidiously recording Bach's Italian Concerto.
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HunguNicolas Brault 2008 9 minUnder the African sun, a child walks in the desert with his kin. Death is prowling, but a mother's soul resurrected by music will return strength and life to the child when he becomes a man. Inspired by the grace and raw beauty of African rock paintings, Nicolas Brault paints a story without borders, with the humanity and elegance of a universal narrator.
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Home Cooked MusicMike Maryniuk 2014 9 minThis short documentary profiles an imaginative inventor and craftsman who makes whimsical stringed instruments out of unlikely items. In his hands, shovels, rakes, baseball bats, and stop signs become beautiful and functional guitars, violins, banjos, and fiddles. After a near-death experience, retired machinist Lorne Collie embarked on his creative journey, and this heartening film offers a folksy, one-of-a-kind portrait of Collie's spirit and talent. Through weathered doc footage and hand-crafted animation, the film shows that Collie is having more fun than he’s had in a long time and feeling more than alive.
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Heartbeat of a NationEric Janvier 2022 20 minIn the Northern Alberta community of Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation, a father teaches his child how to create a caribou drum. In Heartbeat of a Nation, a short documentary by Eric Janvier, cultural reclamation and traditional knowledge are celebrated and passed down from one generation to the next, inspiring renewed hope for the future.
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JablonskiReevan Dolgoy 1971 49 minA film on the life of Canadian concert pianist Marek Jablonski. He is seen at a concert debut in Spain, on a visit to his native Poland, where he began his piano studies at the age of four, in Montréal playing to an audience of school children, and in Edmonton where he lives. This is a memorable portrait of a man who lives for music.
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Monsieur PointuBernard Longpré & André Leduc 1975 12 minThis animated short about virtuoso stage entertainer Monsieur Pointu (Paul Cormier) is screen magic at its best. Here, the man and his violin are literally taken apart - head, feet, limbs, various items of stage attire, bow, strings, and box all go into their own separate acts, with strange and amusing results.
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The Man in the Peace TowerRoger Blais 1951 10 minThis short film from 1951 introduces us to Robert Donnell, the man who served as Dominion Carilloneur at that time. The Dominion Carilloneur works inside the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and is responsible for playing the carillon on weekdays and at the request of Parliament. It offers some stunning views of the belfry with its bells, which range in weight from 10 lbs to 11 tons.
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Our Last Days ... In MoscowMartin Duckworth 1987 55 minPianists Kuo-Yen of Taiwan and Pierre Jasmin of Québec met and fell in love while studying music in Vienna. The film is a "letter" from Pierre to Kuo-Yen, who has made the difficult decision to return to her native land. Jasmin is sending her the images, words, and music of their last days as a couple ... in Moscow. They had come there for Kuo-Yen to compete in the 8th Tchaikovsky Piano Competition; how she fared determined her future. While pivoting on the drama of an international music competition and the sorrow inherent in parting, the film is also full of laughter, light, and love.
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Ready When You AreDouglas Kiefer & John N. Smith 1975 12 minThis short documentary takes a frank look at the difficulty of filmmaking before the digital era, when takes were precious and few. It’s pure havoc on a pier in the Halifax dockyards as a National Film Board crew attempts to film 1000 Halifax school children playing I Believe in Music on their ukuleles. The crew's efforts are confounded by two destroyers, one helicopter, several tugboats, bullhorns, walkie-talkies, and a rather critical lack of bathroom facilities.
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Story of a Violin1947 22 minThis film shows how a violin is made. When Bill's violin gets broken in a tussle, it is the beginning of a fascinating experience for him and his friends. They discover how a violin-maker cuts and fits, sandpapers and polishes, until, three months after he began the work, a new, glossy violin is ready for Bill to apply his bow and draw out a tune.
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SynchromyNorman McLaren 1971 7 minThis animated short by Norman McLaren features synchronization of image and sound in the truest sense of the word. To make this film, McLaren employed novel optical techniques to compose the piano rhythms of the sound track, which he then moved, in multicolor, onto the picture area of the screen so that, in effect, you see what you hear.
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Taa TamAndré Leduc 1995 9 minTaa Tam of the Maha Tribe knew music before music even existed... or so this imaginary legend goes. He saw rhythm everywhere: in the flutter of the leaf, in the pounding of corn, in the pulse of the planet. One night, he dreams himself into a place where all he touches becomes an instrument. Wood and bone metamorphose into xylophone and rattle. Animal hide resounds with the deep voice of the drum. With his soul on fire, an exultant Taa Tam discovers his ability to bring alive the passion that has been locked inside him for so long. Volcanoes erupt and flames leap to the vigorous beat of the world's premier concert. Wrapped in luxuriant colors and a vibrant sound track, Taa Tam celebrates human creativity at a performance where music is the guest of honor. A film without words.
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WavemakersCaroline Martel 2012 1 h 37 minThis feature documentary takes us on an intriguing human and musical discovery of the most expressive of electronic instruments, the Ondes Martenot. A group of Martenot aficionados pursues the legacy of Maurice Martenot (1898–1980), inventor of an instrument as rare and fragile as it is magical. Musicians, artisans and scientists strive to unravel the mysteries of this “Stradivarius of the electronic age.”
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When Shirley Met FlorenceRonit Bezalel 1994 27 minThis short documentary offers an intimate portrait of two women in their mid-sixties—one homosexual, the other heterosexual—whose love for one another and the music they create together transcends differences. Florence and Shirley's lifelong attachment is a heartwarming connection that defies categorization.
