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Women (21)
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BuffyJohn Walker 2010 6 minFolk music icon Buffy Sainte-Marie became internationally renowned with her protest song "Universal Soldier." In this short documentary, she candidly discusses her hopes, creative vision and songwriting skills, as well as her role as an Aboriginal activist. Still a vibrant artist fifty years into her career, she keeps her eyes set on the future. -
Diane Juster: Foundation of a SongGilles Doiron 2024 4 minDiane Juster: Foundation of a song explores the legendary singer-songwriter’s profound relationship to melody, lyrics and emotion. In this intimate tribute, Juster, an untiring advocate for protecting and encouraging Canadian artists, reflects on a legacy of love from her parents, one she’s passing on to a new generation of artists.
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Eternal EarthLarry Weinstein 1987 28 minOne of the Canadian Composers series, this documentary introduces viewers to the intricacies of contemporary classical music by following Chinese-Canadian composer Alexina Louie as she writes a symphony, The Eternal Earth, commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's musical director, Andrew Davis. Proclaimed Composer of the Year in 1986, Louie is known for her eclectic approach and blended musical heritage from both Chinese and Western influences. The film follows Louie between rehearsal spaces and the streets of Chinatown, including the world première performance of the piece at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall in May, 1986. It illustrates the process whereby musical notation is transformed into the rich, harmonious textures and sounds that audiences hear.
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Edith Butler - Daughter of the Wind and AcadieMonique LeBlanc 2009 5 minCombining interviews with teachers, admirers and musical peers, as well as footage from 40 years of performing, director Monique Leblanc's film captures singer/songwriter Édith Butler's moving artistry. A master show woman, Édith is always in flight – singing, playing, her long hair flying, with an epic grin on her face, covering everything from the softest lament to the most rollicking infectious footstomper. This film was produced for the 2009 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
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Ever DeadlyChelsea McMullan & Tanya Tagaq 2022 1 h 29 minThis film discusses topics of trauma and abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.
Ever Deadly weaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and songs with pain, anger and triumph—all through the expressions of Tanya Tagaq, one of the most innovative musical performers of our time. -
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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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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La Bastringue Madame BolducGeorge Geertsen 1992 4 minThis animated short provides an illustrated version of Madame Bolduc's popular French song, La Bastringue. Although virtually unknown in English Canada, Bolduc is a well-known folk singer among French Canadians in Quebec and New England, circa the 1930s. This was one of her most famous songs.
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MusicanadaMalca Gillson & Tony Ianzelo 1975 57 minWith no commentary other than the music and words of the performers themselves, this fast-moving film presents the grandest Canadian concert of them all. Here, the performers include both the great and the unknown from across the country, the musical styles span the centuries, and the artists are involved in all stages of musicianship: learning, teaching, conducting, recording, performing. Among the film's many stars are Edith Butler, Beau Dommage, Maureen Forrester, Glenn Gould, Paul Horn, the Huggett Family, and Gilles Vigneault.
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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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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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Pauline Julien, Intimate and PoliticalPascale Ferland 2018 1 h 17 minWith a meticulous selection of interviews, performances and photos drawn from a vast and rich archival collection, Pauline Julien, Intimate and Political follows the iconic Quebec singer and eternally free spirit on a journey through key moments in the province’s history.
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Rock the BoxKatherine Monk 2015 9 minCritic-turned-filmmaker Katherine Monk trains her lens on DJ Rhiannon Rozier in this short film about breaking the glass ceiling in a music industry dominated by men. The Vancouver-raised, university-educated Rozier was so intent on making a career in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene that she did something she never thought she’d do: she posed for Playboy.
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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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Spirits of HavanaBay Weyman & Luis Osvaldo Garcia 2000 1 h 30 minThis feature documentary offers a glimpse of contemporary Cuba’s rich musical culture through the experiences of renowned Canadian soprano sax player and flautist Jane Bunnett. Jane and her husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, are surrounded by the charm of Old Havana as they connect with some of the city's finest musicians—like singers Bobby Carcasses and Amado Dedeu —for a recording session. Bunnett and Cramer then venture to small towns like Cienfuegos and Camaguey, where they hook up with local musicians and visit music schools. Global music fans will be captivated by the performances of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, a celebrated Afro-Cuban rumba group, and Desandann, a 10-member a cappella choir that sings in Haitian Creole.
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Songs of Nova ScotiaGrant Crabtree 1958 11 minDr. Helen Creighton explores her native Nova Scotia, finding singers and songs in order to document the fast-receding folklore of the early pioneers on her tape recorder.
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Show GirlsMeilan Lam 1998 52 minShow Girls celebrates Montreal's swinging Black jazz scene from the 1920s to the 1960s, when the city was wide open. Three women who danced in the legendary Black clubs of the day - Rockhead's Paradise, The Terminal, Café St. Michel - share their unforgettable memories of life at the centre of one of the world's hottest jazz spots. From the Roaring Twenties, through the Second World War and on into the golden era of clubs in the fifties and sixities, Show Girls chronicles the lives of Bernice, Tina and Olga - mixing their memories with rarely seen footage of the era. Their stories are told against a backdrop of the fascinating social and political history that made Montreal a jazz and nightclub hotspot for decades. It is a story of song and dance, music and pride.
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A Short Film About Tegan & SaraAnn Marie Fleming 2018 4 minIn this joyful portrait, filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming animates the formative days and musical career of Calgary-born identical twins Tegan and Sara Quin. Their remarkable journey over the past 20 years has often intersected with notions of identity—as artists, as individuals, as sisters, as queer women, and as leading activists in the LGBTQ community. Their musical progression parallels and amplifies their commitment to bringing the marginal to the mainstream.
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Soaring Highs and Brutal Lows: The Voices of Women in MetalMark Harwood 2015 1 h 33 minSoaring Highs and Brutal Lows celebrates the stories of eight female vocalists in the heavy metal genre. Through personal interviews, behind the scenes insights, and concert footage, these women describe in their own words, their choices, their lives, and the hardships and triumphs of being center stage in what is widely perceived as a male-dominated music scene.
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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.
