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Subjects (65)
Politics and Government - Canada (38)

National Capital (5)

  • Capital City
    Capital City
    Fergus McDonell 1957 30 min
    This short documentary presents Ottawa through the eyes of a veteran tourist guide who knows all the answers, from the height of the Peace Tower to the reason the Rideau Canal was built.
  • Canada's Capital: Behind the Scenes
    Canada's Capital: Behind the Scenes
    Ian Ferguson 1989 24 min
    This short film presented in a TV news-magazine format, is hosted by 2 young Canadians and a zany reporter on location in Ottawa. Their mission: to explore the capital "behind the scenes." The result is an intriguing look at Canada's capital and how it serves people across the country.
  • Eye Witness No. 30
    Eye Witness No. 30
    1951 10 min
    These vignettes from 1951 covered various aspects of life in Canada and were shown in theatres across the country. Subjects included here are British Columbia's Cariboo Trail, once the scene of a great gold rush and which still pays off for the placer miner and occasional prospector; Canada's new state residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, a redesigned old stone mansion destined to become Canada's No. 10 Downing Street; a unique ceremony in remote Chesterfield Inlet as the first Inuit girl in history receives the veil of the Grey Nuns; Great Lakes conservationists outsmart the eel-like bloodsucker that preys on fish; and the new blue model uniforms designed for the Women's Division of the Air Force.

    Please note that this is an archival film that makes use of the word “Eskimo,” an outdated and offensive term. While the origin of the word is a matter of some contention, it is no longer used in Canada. The term was formally rejected by the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1980 and has subsequently not been in use at the NFB for decades. This film is therefore a time-capsule of a bygone era, presented in its original version. The NFB apologizes for the offence caused.
  • The Man in the Peace Tower
    The Man in the Peace Tower
    Roger Blais 1951 10 min
    This 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.
  • Ottawa, Wartime Capital
    Ottawa, Wartime Capital
    1942 10 min
    This look at Ottawa shows it as the nerve-centre of Canada during World War II. Everyone, from Prime Minister Mackenzie King and his Cabinet down to the most junior civil servants, shares the responsibility of maintaining the country in the face of wartime requirements.

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