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Popular Music (25)
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AudaciousJanice Zolf 2016 5 minMichael Bublé reveals the source of his creative courage in this captivating short film. By the age of five, Bublé knew that music was his destiny. While other performers sang pop tunes, Bublé was swinging the standards on the club scene, becoming an indie artist long before it was cool. Supported by a devoted family who always believed in his dreams, Bublé remains a rebel. With 50 million albums sold, this inimitable Canadian artist is beloved by audiences around the globe, and continues to defy all expectations. -
Au Chic Resto PopTahani Rached 1991 1 h 24 minThis feature-length film about poverty in Montreal is set against a soundtrack that includes rap, blues, rock, and country and western music. The film deals with the universal themes of hunger, hope and love and is named after an actual Montreal restaurant that's been serving those in need for over 25 years. In French with English subtitles.
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Bryan Adams: Bare BonesDavid Battistella 2010 5 minBryan Adams is one of world’s most enduringly popular singer/songwriters. He is most at home in his Vancouver studio, surrounded by his collection of vintage microphones and guitars. Adams calls it “a very analog space in a very digital world.” In this short documentary, we witness an intimate rendition of his song “One World, One Flame” and hear him speak of his audience-centred approach to performance: “I want it to be fun, I want it to be real.”
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Family BandDavid Battistella 2008 7 minIn this short documentary about The Tragically Hip, director David Battistella uses a split-screen and acid-etched colours to distil the iconic Canadian band’s essence. After decades together, through hotels, highways, gigs and recording sessions, The Hip’s members have forged a powerful brotherhood. "These guys are my life partners, musically" says bass guitarist Gord Sinclair. The Hip's brand of straight-ahead rock and roll has catapulted the band to international stardom, and ensured them a place in Canadian musical history, but at heart, they remain a bunch of guys from Kingston, Ontario, making music together just for fun.
This film was produced for the 2008 Governor General's Performing Arts Award. -
Les fleurs de macadamLaurent Coderre 1969 3 minIn this film, Jean-Pierre Ferland sings Les Fleurs de macadam, about the industrial workers of Montréal who are tied to the grind and grime of the city.
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Johnny OsbourneGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 18 minBefore gaining international recognition as the “Dancehall Godfather,” legendary singer Johnny Osbourne was at the forefront of a revolution that transformed Toronto into one of the most influential reggae communities in the world.
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Jerry Brown’s Summer RecordsGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 15 minJerry Brown’s Summer Records was one of the first recording studios to give Canadian reggae artists a voice. Four decades later, never-before-seen footage lets us meet the man behind the mixer for the very first time.
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Kate and Anna McGarrigleCaroline Leaf 1981 27 minThis short documentary profiles Quebec-born singing sisters Kate and Anna McGarrigle. The sisters enjoy international acclaim—although outside of the mainstream—for their inimitable style, their talent as songwriters, and especially their unassuming, informal personalities. With camera and sketchbook in hand, artist and filmmaker Caroline Leaf captures the sisters’ endearing qualities. The result is an easygoing, sometimes whimsical portrait of the famous sisters on and off stage. Highlights include excerpts from the sisters’ Carnegie Hall performance and a look at their songwriting and recording processes.
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k.d. lang: songs & silenceLaura O'Grady 2023 5 mink.d. lang shares her perspective on preferring silence and listening to making noise as one of the 2023 recipients of the GGPAA for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. A musician, 2SLGBTQI+ activist, daughter and icon, lang transcends categorization. Here, she delves into the essence and significance of musical expression, examining its emotional impact on both the performer and the audience.
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Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard CohenDonald Brittain & Don Owen 1965 44 minThis informal black-and-white portrait of Leonard Cohen shows him at age 30 on a visit to his hometown of Montreal, where the poet, novelist and songwriter comes "to renew his neurotic affiliations." He reads his poetry to an enthusiastic crowd, strolls the streets of the city, relaxes in this three-dollar-a-night hotel room and even takes a bath.
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Lonely BoyWolf Koenig & Roman Kroitor 1962 26 minThis short film portrays the story of singer Paul Anka, who rose from obscurity to become the idol of millions of adolescent fans around the world. Taking a candid look at both sides of the footlights, this film examines the marketing machine behind a generation of pop singers. Interviews with Anka and his manager reveal their perspective on the industry.
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Leroy SibblesGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 17 minIn Trench Town—the birthplace of reggae—Leroy Sibbles rose to stardom as the lead singer of The Heptones and the undisputed king of the reggae bassline. Then, at the height of his career, he left it all behind to create a new legacy for himself in Toronto.
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Long Time Comin'Dionne Brand 1993 52 minThere is a cultural revolution going on in Canada and Faith Nolan and Grace Channer are on the leading edge. These two African-Canadian lesbian artists give back to art its most urgent meanings--commitment and passion. Grace Channer's large and sensuous canvasses and musician Faith Nolan's gritty and joyous blues propel this documentary into the spheres of poetry and dance. Long Time Comin' captures their work, their urgency, and their friendship in intimate conversations with both artists.
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My World, Your MelodyBianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes 2024 1 minA choir of tropical frogs performs infectious pop in delightfully unsettling animation from Costa Rican-Canadian artist Bianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes. Riffing on karaoke companion videos and the swipe-n-scroll conventions of handheld media, she infuses candy-coloured digital animation with the spectre of ecological collapse.
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Nana McLeanGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 15 minAgainst the changing face of Toronto’s Little Jamaica, where she established some of the city’s landmark reggae record stores, singer Nana McLean challenges outdated stereotypes and establishes her reputation as the queen of Reggae in Canada.
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RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the WorldCatherine Bainbridge 2017 1 h 42 minRUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World tells the story of a profound, essential, and, until now, missing chapter in the history of American music: the Indigenous influence. Featuring music icons like Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, Jesse Ed Davis, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, Randy Castillo, RUMBLE will show how these talented Native musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives.
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Roy & YvonneGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 15 minRoy Panton and Yvonne Harrison made history as one of the first Jamaican ska duos. Decades after going their separate ways, the pair rekindle their magic—this time, 3,000 kilometres north, in Scarborough, Ontario.
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Street MusiqueRyan Larkin 1972 8 minAnimator Ryan Larkin does a visual improvisation to music performed by a popular group presented as sidewalk entertainers. His take-off point is the music, but his own beat is more boisterous than that of the musicians. The illustrations range from convoluted abstractions to caricatures of familiar rituals. Without words.
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The Socalled MovieGarry Beitel 2010 1 h 27 minThis feature-length documentary is a dynamic kaleidoscopic portrait of Socalled (aka Josh Dolgin), a multi-disciplinary musician and artist whose unique blend of klezmer, hip hop and funk is blasting through the boundaries that separate music of different cultures, eras and generations.
Socalled is unstoppable: a pianist, singer, arranger, rapper, producer and composer – as well as magician, filmmaker and visual artist. The "Socalled" Movie offers a nuanced picture of an individual who's artistically fearless. -
SaltAmber Goodwyn , Morgan Gage , … 2000 1 h 17 minThese provocative 20-minute movies made by high school students provide an insider's look at youth culture. Made by four 17-year-old directors with help from a professional crew, Salt is a four-part filmzine: four films, four flavours, four windows into youth culture that explore alternative education, Montreal's flourishing independent music scene, the troubling practice of self-mutilation and a quest for the punk subculture.
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A Song for QuebecDorothy Todd Henaut 1988 55 minProduced in 1988, this feature documentary presents a living history of Quebec's last 40 years as seen through the eyes of one couple. Pauline Julien and Gérald Godin, two Quebec artists, share their perspectives on the events that have marked Quebec's evolution. Julien, a singer, and Godin, a poet, express their love and passion for the province (and each other) while providing a unique take on the Quebec nationalist movement.
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TaxiRoland Stutz 1969 2 minClaude Léveillée expresses the frustrations of a taxi driver steering his vehicle through the obstacle course of downtown traffic. Accelerated camera action heightens the fury and the frenzy.
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Why I SingJohn Howe 1972 57 minThis documentary is an intimate portrait of popular French singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault and how he helped revitalize Quebec musical culture. Vigneault shows a different side of himself as he discusses some of the themes he explores in songs like his international hit “Mon Pays.”
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Wits EndRoger Blais & Douglas Tunstell 1952 10 minJane Mallet appears in Nature Woman as a physical fitness enthusiast interviewed by Peter Mews. The Commodores sing Ilklay Moor, and then Peter Mews returns in the comedy skit Ten Minutes with Marg Margetson, in which a woman radio personality answers listeners' problems.
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Wes “Maestro” Williams: Wes to the East - Forward Movin'Gilles Doiron 2024 3 min“Don’t make records, make history.” A true trailblazer, Wes “Maestro” Williams was the first Canadian rapper to break into the mainstream. In this snapshot portrait, Wes to the East- Forward Movin’, Williams takes us through his career as a recording artist, actor, author and motivational speaker, a career that has always tirelessly looked ahead to shatter barriers for the next generation.
