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Foreign Countries (16)
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BuddhismDavid Millar 1962 16 minIn this short documentary we learn the back story of the Buddha – the religion he founded and how it is manifested today. Travel through Southeast Asia to India, Burma, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Thailand, Japan, China and many other countries to discover the history and ideas behind Buddhism. -
Eye Witness No. 65Hector Lemieux & Ronald Weyman 1954 11 minOld Glory Weather Station: Life on top of the world is a year-round experience for meteorologists who work at the highest observatory in the Canadian Rockieson on Old Glory Mountain in British Columbia. Easter in Jerusalem: Roman Catholic priests from many Canadian communities join in a pilgrimage to the Holy City during Easter week.
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Exile - A Myth UnearthedIlan Ziv 2012 1 h 37 minThis feature documentary looks at new evidence that suggests the majority of the Jewish people may not have been exiled following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Travelling from Galilee to Jerusalem and the catacombs of Rome, the film asks us to rethink our ideas about an event that has played a critical role in the Christian and Jewish traditions.
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ExeterGerald Budner 1972 28 minExeter Cathedral in Devonshire, England, is considered to be the finest example of architecture of the Decorated period, 1250-1350. This film rolls back the centuries, unfolding the cathedral's history, showing the refinement of the sculpture that went into its building, from the airy vista of the nave--the longest unbroken stretch of Gothic vaulting in the world--to the vibrant colours of its windows. But more than architecture survives: Exeter is still a living church for the people of today.
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Exile - A Myth Unearthed (BBC Version)Ilan Ziv 2013 59 minIt has been depicted in artwork and lamented in poetry and prayer for nearly 2,000 years: the exile of the Jewish people from their homeland in the first century AD, following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
But what if the exile never happened?
That is the central, provocative question of Exile: A Myth Unearthed, a documentary that looks at the exile through the lenses of archaeology, history, myth and religion, asking what it means for our understanding of history and the contemporary struggle over land in the Middle East.
Since 1985, teams of archaeologists have been painstakingly unearthing artifacts from the ancient town of Sepphoris, in Galilee. Their findings are revolutionizing our knowledge of Jewish history.
Exile travels from Sepphoris to Masada, from Jerusalem to the catacombs of Rome, and features interviews with leading historians and archaeologists. Throughout the film we also follow a group of tourists visiting sites in the Holy Land and hear the traditional interpretation of events such as the siege of Masada—an interpretation which stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence.
The issues raised in Exile are of more than passing historical interest. The myth of exile is an essential narrative in Middle Eastern and European history, and of critical importance to both Christian and Jewish theology. And the possibility that many Jews, such as those of Sepphoris, simply remained where they lived, raises uncomfortable questions. Could some Palestinians actually be their descendants?
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God's Dominion - By the Word of GodMarrin Canell 1993 50 minAnne Goldberg shocks friends and family with her decision to join the Lubavitchers, a highly structured branch of Orthodox Judaism. Karl Kleinsasser, who has lived his entire life in a Hutterite community, is finding it hard to take the final step of total commitment to the faith. Karl's and Anne's spiritual choices, defined by the word of God, are among the most orthodox of the religious spectrum examined in this series.
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HinduismDavid Millar 1962 18 minIn India, the home of most present adherents, this film traces the history of Hinduism, its evolution over the centuries and its connections to Buddhism and Jainism. Shown are the observances of this faith, its teaching of non-violence, its respect for all living things, how the social order created by it has been modified in the modern world to outlaw the declaration of individuals as "untouchables" and to remove limitations on freedom imposed by caste.
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How Death Came to EarthIshu Patel 1971 14 minA legend from India, interpreted by a filmmaker from that country. It is a story of gods and men, of suns and moons and Earth, interpreted with an animation style and a richness of colour and design as arresting to the eye as the story and the music are to the ear. Sometimes the illustrations are painted on cells, sometimes the figures are cut-outs moving across shining backgrounds, but always the pace is gentle, inevitable.
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Hand of God, Hand of the DevilYvan Patry , Sam Grana , … 1996 50 minIn April 1994, the international community sat by and watched while a million Tutsi men, women and children were massacred in the central African nation of Rwanda. Hand of God, Hand of the Devil, the second volume in the three-part Rwanda series, explores Canada's role in the development of the genocidal ideology that took root in Rwanda, which was considered the "jewel" of Canadian aid in Africa. This video focuses on the murder of two Canadian missionaries, killed for having protested against corruption and human rights violations. Brother François Cardinal, who worked at the controversial Rwandan college, funded by Canadian aid money to the Rwandan president's advisors. Like countless others in Rwanda, his killers were never found. Father Claude Simard, the only Canadian to have stayed in Rwanda during the 100 days of genocide, was murdered in 1994--after the regime responsible for the massacre of Tutsis had been overthrown. Since Simard had risked his life to rescue Tutsis, the Canadian government concluded that his killers must have been Hutus who feared being identified for their crimes. However, the video uncovers evidence that Simard died at the hands of the new government, upset by the Canadian priest's objections to its reprisal killings of innocent Hutus. Hand of God, Hand of the Devil raises disturbing questions about Canada's role in Rwanda. Having assisted the former regime, will Canadian aid now sow the seeds for a new crop of killers? Volume 1 of the series.
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IslamDavid Millar 1962 19 minIslam is winning new converts, particularly in North Africa. This film explores the faith of the Muslims, taking you to Mecca, birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed, and to Islam's holy of holies, the Ka'aba. Following the routes of Muslim conquest you see shrines of holy men and heroes from Cairo to Pakistan. Everywhere the strength of Islam is manifested.
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The India TripBill Davies 1971 49 minThis documentary is a portrait of modern-day Pondicherry, an ancient city near the southern tip of India. For several centuries an outpost of France, the city is now home to Auroville, a spiritual community growing on its periphery. There, European and North American devotees of Sri Aurobindo, a Bengali poet and mystic, come to live the contemplative life. Their guru is a 94-year-old woman from France. This mecca of sorts is seen through the eyes of Albert Jordan, a professor from Concordia University, in Montreal, who spent a year there with his family in 1971.
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In God's CommandGarth Pritchard 1995 47 minThis documentary introduces us to Captain Mark Sargent, chaplain to the Canadian peacekeepers (soldiers of the First Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry) stationed in former Yugoslavia. It offers an intimate look at the work of this remarkable man as he travels from bunker to bunker and from village to village, ministering to soldiers and civilians caught in the bloody conflict that has torn apart the Balkans.
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Meditation in MotionIrene Angelico 1978 10 minA short lyrical document about an ancient Eastern discipline, this film moves from the streets of China, where people practice Tai-Chi daily, to North America, where the same movements are executed by a solitary figure in a park.
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A Song for TibetAnne Henderson 1991 56 minFilmed in the Indian Himalayas and in Canada, A Song for Tibet tells the dramatic story of the efforts by Tibetans in exile, including the Dalai Lama, to save their homeland and preserve their heritage against overwhelming odds. Since the invasion of their territory by China in the late 1950s, Tibetans have been struggling for cultural and political survival.
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of LifeYukari Hayashi & Barrie McLean 1994 45 minThis two-part series explores ancient teachings on death and dying. It was filmed over a four-month period on location in the Himalayas where the original text still yields an essential influence over people's views of life and death. A Way of Life contains footage of the rites and liturgies surrounding and following the death of a Ladakhi elder. The Dalai Lama explains his own feelings about death, while other scenes within a palliative care hospice in San Francisco depicts the use of the texts to counsel dying AIDS patients. This film, by revealing ancient teachings on how to think about death and dying, can be a valuable source of counsel and comfort.
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great LiberationHiroaki Mori , Yukari Hayashi , … 1994 45 minThe Tibetan Book of the Dead is a two-part series that explores ancient teachings on death and dying. It was filmed over a four-month period on location in the Himalayas where the original text still yields an essential influence over people's views of life and death. The Great Liberation, is a docudrama which, in the company of an old Buddhist lama and a 13-year-old novice monk, leads us into the very foundations of Buddhist philosophy--the search for compassion and truth. Pema Choden, the lama, and Tubten, the young monk, read from the texts of The Tibetan Book of the Dead as they conduct the 49 days of final rites for a deceased Himalayan villager. We must all face the death of somebody we love, as well as our own death. This film helps us to prepare for these inevitabilities.
