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Adolescents (24)
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Beyond KicksGary Toole 1972 28 minIn the early 1970s, a group of young volunteers, the Free Youth Clinic of Winnipeg, operated a "crisis bus" to rescue young people experiencing bad drug trips, usually from LSD. This film documents the activities of the volunteers: responding to and treating emergencies, whatever the hour, and obtaining further medical aid for their patients, if required. -
Being DifferentJulia Murphy 1957 9 minThis short film from the late 1950s looks at peer pressure among adolescents, using the example of a 13-year-old boy who collects butterflies. While the boy adores his passion, his friends laugh at him, making him question whether he should pursue his interest or conform to fit in with the crowd.
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BloomFanie Pelletier 2022 1 h 24 minThrough moments in the lives of three groups of girls, images gleaned from the web and live streams of young women around the world, Bloom delves into the world of today's teenage girls. We delicately observe a hyper-connected but lonely generation inhabited by great lucidity, an inner struggle with self-image obsession, and a need for self-affirmation in the face of a complex sense of alienation.
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DuelPavel Koutsky 1997 6 minAn animation film about a clarinet and a trumpet that meet, clash, compete, compromise and harmonize. Sound film without words.
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Exiles in LotuslandIlan Saragosti 2005 1 h 10 minThis feature documentary tells the story of 2 teens who head out west in search of self. Like a quarter of Vancouver’s itinerant youth population, Mélo and Ti-criss made the trip from Quebec, hopeful for a better life. Still minors, the pair seeks escape and adventure, perhaps the meaning of life. From east to west, from the streets to a hotel, with a welcome interlude in the country, they seek their place in society.
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The End of SummerMichel Brault 1964 27 minFilmed at a summer cottage in the Laurentians north of Montreal, this film penetrates briefly the charmed world of the adolescent. Watching and listening, you sense the bittersweet mood of childhood's end, the poignant awareness that nothing will ever be the same after this summer at the lake. With English subtitles.
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Film ClubCyrus Sundar Singh 2001 44 minThis documentary brings together a group of long lost classmates who used to belong to an after-school film club. Formed at the initiative of a Grade 8 teacher eager to pass along his love of cinema, the club attracted a klatch of immigrant kids eager to embrace their new country. Stimulating and creative, the club was a complete departure from anything they had known and provided a safe haven from the harsh world around them. Together, they made a tiny 8mm award-winner called Ohh Canada. Twenty-five years later, the group looks back to marvel at their childhood dreams and the bond they share with the teacher who brought them together.
This film was produced as part of the Reel Diversity Competition for emerging filmmakers of colour. Reel Diversity is a National Film Board of Canada initiative in partnership with CBC Newsworld. -
GuidelinesJean-François Caissy 2014 1 h 15 minThis feature documentary explores the world of adolescence in rural teenagers' interactions with various authority figures. Outside the classroom, though, the teens enjoy more control of their world; in this playground, they can test the limits of their temporary freedom. A work of patient observation relying mostly on uninterrupted long takes,Guidelines emphasizes the contrast between adult and adolescent, between the regulated classroom and the great outdoors, gradually revealing the interior drama of adolescence with its shifts from fragility to reckless abandon.
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Hairy LegsAndrea Dorfman 2024 16 minHairy Legs, an animated short film, documents a 13-year-old girl’s small yet life-changing act of rebellion on the road to womanhood and feminism. Deciding not to shave her legs led filmmaker Andrea Dorfman to question and ultimately defy society’s expectations.
With charm, warmth and humour, Hairy Legs captures the universality of girls exploring gender, curiosity and freedom as they evolve from spending exuberant, carefree days on their bicycles to facing and defying stereotypes. -
In Other WordsJan Padgett 2001 27 minThis short documentary explores homophobic language and its consequences among teenagers. Name-calling and cruel language hurt, say the teens who speak in this video. Homophobic language is a common verbal put-down among young people, but many adults feel uncomfortable responding. This video is a tool for teachers, counsellors and youth groups to explore the origins of the words, how young people feel about them and how to overcome the pain they cause.
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The Invention of the AdolescentPatricia Watson 1967 28 minThis short documentary studies the fate reserved to young people through the ages. Drawing from paintings, archival footage and various other documents, the film demonstrates that during the 16th and 17th century, young people lived happily alongside their elders. This equilibrium was broken in the 19th century, when the defense of the young and the protection afforded by reformers and educators created the generation gap evident in Western society today. Will dialogue between society’s young and less young ever resume
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Kid SentimentJacques Godbout 1968 1 h 27 minBlending fiction with documentary, this French feature by Jacques Godbout takes a critical look at Quebec youth in the 1960s. An exploration of first loves, the film focuses on the exploits of one teenager, Kid Sentiment, who shies away from tenderness because she's embarrassed. Featuring the music of two members of the band, The Sinners.
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Listen Listen ListenBarbara Greene 1976 1 h 22 minThis film is about a controversial educational community in southwestern Ontario where people of all ages come, either freely or referred by the courts, psychiatric wards and training schools. The film focusses on the "referrals," and their common struggle to instill new meaning into their lives.
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Love TapsAnnie O'Donoghue 1996 22 minHigh school students Mark and Terese are involved in a dangerous relationship. Mark is becoming more possessive and abusive. Terese thinks it's probably her fault but is convinced she can handle it... until Mark physically attacks her in front of a group of friends. Kelly cares deeply for her boyfriend Benson, but she is always making sarcastic remarks about his intelligence. When Benson reacts to her verbal abuse, Kelly says she's "just joking." A powerful drama about teens, relationship, and dating violence. Previewing before use is recommended.
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No Quick FixAndrée Cazabon 2000 51 minA revealing portrait of two young addicts, their life on the street and their despairing parents who find themselves powerless to save their children from the habit that is consuming them. As filmmaker Andrée Cazabon follows Cathy and Laurent for many months, recording their desperate drug-fuelled existence, she remembers her own life on the street. "My parents and I relived that horror," she says of her creative journey. But it was for all parents that she made this film. Cathy's and Laurent's parents live in a permanent state of bewildered anxiety and guilt. How can they avoid being totally destroyed by grief? How do they manage to carry on with their lives, in spite of everything? And how do they deal with a system that views them with suspicion? By grimly showing two children in the grip of a brutal addiction, No Quick Fix hopes to alleviate and identify some of the enormous pain endured by parents coping with an addicted child. In French with English subtitles.
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Of Hopscotch and Little Girls...Marquise Lepage 1999 52 minHopscotch is universal. Girls around the world trace squares on the ground, then hop through them, trying hard to reach the end. Girls share other interests too; they all like to talk about school, what they want to be when they grow up, who they will marry, how many children they will have, their hopes for a better life for themselves and their family.
But all too often, through poverty, perversion, spite, ignorance or superstition, adults shatter these dreams by denying girls the right to an education, entering them into forced labour, subjecting them to mutilation, sexual abuse and other injustices.
Soni, Kamlesh, Mou, Yui, Dalal, Esmeralda, Fatou, Adiaratou, Safi and Maude range in age from 8 to 14. Some are frail, some strong; all are beautiful. Whether they live in India, Thailand, Yemen, Peru, Burkina Faso or Haiti, they all speak of having much of their childhood stolen from them. Because they are girls. With subtitles. -
Reema, There and BackPaul Émile d'Entremont 2006 52 minFilmmaker Paul Émile d'Entremont's documentary presents Reema, a lively and sensitive young girl confronted with difficult questions about her identity. After spending the first 16 years of her life with her Canadian mother, Reema re-connects with her Iraqi father by spending 2 months with him in Jordan. On returning home to Nova Scotia, she realizes she will always have a double identity, and that it is both a burden and a treasure.
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Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova ScotiaSylvia Hamilton 1992 28 minIn their predominantly white high school in Halifax, a group of black students face daily reminders of racism, ranging from abuse (racist graffiti on washroom walls), to exclusion (the omission of black history from textbooks). They work to establish a Cultural Awareness Youth Group, a vehicle for building pride and self-esteem through educational and cultural programs. With help from mentors, they discover the richness of their heritage and learn some of the ways they can begin to effect change.
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A Trumpet for the ComboMorten Parker 1965 8 minIn a city high school, a jazz combo needs a trumpet player. Randy is the natural choice since he is the most talented, but the music teacher favours Bruce, a black student. What should come first? The band? The opportunity it affords to Bruce? The teacher's pleasure? These are questions for the audience to decide.
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Taking ChargeClaudette Jaiko 1996 25 minTaking Charge shows teens taking the initiative to overcome the fears and vulnerabilities of growing up in an increasingly violent and rapidly changing society. Through role-playing, theatre groups, peer discussion groups and anti-violence collectives these young activists have "taken charge," educating themselves and their peers towards a deeper understanding of the effects of violence rooted in sexism, racism and homophobia.
We see through their various initiatives, as well as personal testimonies, that teens speaking and organizing against violence sends a positive message to everyone. Taking Charge encourages the viewer to re-examine definitions of violence, and shows how to effect change.
The defiant lyrics of the theme song match the bold and creative energy alive in these teens. Witty animation sequences add a layer of visual playfulness, but the message remains: Do something before it is too late! -
Tales of Ordinary FatphobiaJosiane Blanc 2019 24 minWhat is fatphobia and what can be done to overcome it? With poetic illustrations and painful, compelling testimony, Tales of Ordinary Fatphobia offers multiple examples of the psychological effects of weight-based discrimination and bullying on adolescent girls.
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Wards of the CrownAndrée Cazabon 2005 42 minThis film examines the lives of 4 young people who grew up in the child welfare system. It is also a critical exposé of a system that couldn't meet their needs, as well as a stirring tribute to the strength, courage and resilience of these foster kids.
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WowClaude Jutra 1969 1 h 34 minPrompted by the filmmaker, nine teenagers individually act out their secret dreams and, between times, talk about their world as they see it. Babette conceives of herself as an abbess defending her fortress, a convent; Michelle is transported in a dream of love where all time ceases; Philippe is the revolutionary, defeating all the institutions that plague him, and so on, through all their fantasies. All the actual preoccupations of youth are raised: authority, drugs, social conflict, sex. With English subtitles.
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You're No GoodGeorge Kaczender 1965 28 minThis short fiction tells the story of Eddie, a young man who "borrows" a motorbike parked in front of a store and takes his girl for a spin—a brash decision with disastrous and alienating consequences. The film, a commentary on a society that often offers youth little purpose or sense of accomplishment, is a play-by-play exploration of the clash between young people's impulsiveness and society's need for law and order.
