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Urban Life (55)
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645 WellingtonKaveh Nabatian 2002 54 minA stone's throw from downtown Montreal, quirky artists, blue-collar workers and unconventional families are being forced to leave their old neighbourhood as high-tech firms move in. Like in so many other cities, the tech companies arrive with the promise of a rosy future--but it's one built on demolitions, evictions and the conversion of low-rent property to high-priced condos.
This is a portrait of one building and its residents--people like Constanzo 'Fartman' Manna, an eccentric shipper and packer who's headed for Chile to marry the love of his life and bring her back to Montreal; artist Luc Bourbonnais, who is fighting desperately to hold on to the loft that inspires so much of his art; and Cuban émigré Rolando Zambrano, who ran a neighbourhood snack bar for nearly 30 years.
Shot over a period of six months and set to a pulsing Latin and rock soundtrack, 645 Wellington not only opens a window onto the lives of the building's residents but brings the building itself to life. We come to know the dark hallways, the corners and the doorways. We get to know them well. Just as they are about to change, forever.
645 Wellington 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. -
The Brothers ByrneWilliam Gough 1975 21 minTorn between the world of their childhood and the world where they must now live and work, two flamboyant Newfoundlanders pay a nostalgic visit to the deserted outport where they were born. This is their story, and the story of so many others who, like them, became victims of the Newfoundland government's controversial Resettlement Program.
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The Black SquirrelFadel Saleh 1999 57 minThis feature film is a different portrait of Ottawa, as transfigured by the loving but provocative gaze of well-known Francophone writer Daniel Poliquin. In his novels, the national capital metamorphoses, like the dreaded rat that supposedly changed into the city's ubiquitous black squirrel in a bid to win our affection. Alternating reality and fiction, the film reveals another Ottawa through the dreams and desires of his novels' characters - all portrayed by Poliquin himself.
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Bonjour Toronto!Clément Perron 1965 28 minA young Montrealer explores Toronto for the first time. Despite some ready-made notions, the visitor is eager to look and learn, and before long is caught by the excitement of the Queen City. Although some of his prior convictions are confirmed, he finds, somewhat to his surprise, that the city has much to offer, including a French bookstore.
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Citizen ZCavan Young 2004 11 minThis short documentary focuses on Toronto's Dufferin Grove Park - home to a playground, ice rinks, an organic farmer's market, a theatre troupe and numerous cultural activities. But when city inspectors raid the park on Christmas Eve and discover huge puppets, a baking oven and kitchen sharing the park's dedicated Zamboni building, the flourishing neighbourhood group is threatened with evacuation. This is a tongue-in-cheek look at what happens when a small community, including some wily puppets, takes on city hall.
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Co-op Housing: Getting It TogetherLaura Sky 1975 23 minPeople, housing, funds and expertise: getting them together isn't easy, but it can be done. The film deals with the planning and procedures involved in setting up a co-op, whether that means building one, or buying and rehabilitating existing housing. People living in different kinds of co-ops talk about them, and how they function.
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City LimitsLaurence Hyde 1971 28 minThis short documentary features acclaimed author and activist Jane Jacobs' forthright, critical analysis of the problems and virtues of North American cities. Jacobs orients her fascinating observations around Toronto, to which she moved after leaving New York City because Toronto "is a city that still has options ... it hasn't made so many mistakes that it's bound to go downhill.” Her remarks, made in 1971, are prescient yet earnest and will interest all urban stakeholders. This colourful city film, accompanied by an upbeat, jazzy soundtrack, is a must-see for all civic and community groups—indeed, for all urban dwellers worldwide.
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Co-op Housing: The Best Move We Ever MadeLaura Sky 1975 22 minThe film explores the dimensions of the housing crisis in Canada, the definition of cooperative housing, and its possibilities as described by some of the people who are living in such dwellings today. Here, housing is owned and operated by people as users, not as investors. The film emphasizes an alternative in housing: security of tenure and mutual aid as the owner-families have come to value them.
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Cold FrontsMurray Siple 2010 5 minDirector Murray Siples' love/hate letter to Vancouver weather captures both the mundane and the thrilling experience of living on the West (wet) Coast. The winter rain colours every aspect of city life, but people cope, wielding umbrellas like swords, clutching coats and hats against the constant deluge.
A personal take on one man's experience of the winter, Cold Fronts is a kaleidoscopic view of the collision point between nature and the city. -
City Under PressureTheodore Conant 1965 17 minA case study of municipal government and the influence of citizens acting as a group. The case study is that of Edmonton, but the problems shown are those of many cities: urban renewal, traffic congestion, zoning, etc.
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City Center and PedestriansMichel Régnier 1974 56 minThis film focusses on the approaches that several cities have taken to one problem. Through various examples, it examines the implications and options for a pedestrian-oriented city core.
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A City IsJames Carney 1972 17 minMore than buildings, more than people, a city is a total expression of purpose and aspiration, past and present. This is a multi-image look at the conglomerate city, composed of a whole stream of visual and auditory impressions presented without commentary. Often the screen subdivides--two, three, a dozen images appear at the same time, creating a counterpoint of the turbulence and discord, the harmony and sophistication of the big city.
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Centre-Sud ChroniclesRichard Suicide 2021 0 sFrom his shabby apartment in Montreal’s Centre-Sud borough, a writer finds inspiration in observing his neighbour Piton, who navigates poverty with some incredible ingenuity. Through this wildly funny pseudo-scientific allegory, graphic novelist turned filmmaker Richard Suicide draws us into the surreal, chaotic world of his book Chroniques du Centre-Sud, delivering a powerful portrait of a neighbourhood in the midst of a full-blown transformation. Produced by the NFB, this film is part of the Comic Strip Chronicles collection.
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Encounter on Urban EnvironmentRoger Hart 1971 1 h 48 minThis feature documentary takes a look at how the Halifax/Dartmouth community in Nova Scotia was stimulated by a week-long session held by a panel of specialists from different fields who met with members of this urban community to consider the future of the area and the responsibility of the citizens and government in planning the future.
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Flowers on a One-way StreetRobin Spry 1968 57 minYorkville Avenue, Toronto, received newspaper prominence after it became what the papers called a "hippie haven." This film records what happened after the young people staged demonstrations to have the street closed to traffic, and civic authorities used corresponding persuasions to keep it open as a necessary traffic artery. The main confrontation takes place at a council meeting in City Hall, to which spokesmen for the young people have come to present their case. Here the film provides opportunity to judge both their attitudes and those of the city administration.
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Farewell Oak StreetGrant McLean 1953 17 minThis documentary presents a before-and-after picture of people in a large-scale public housing project in Toronto. Due to a housing shortage, they were forced to live in squalid, dingy flats and ramshackle dwellings on a crowded street in Regent Park North; now they have access to new, modern housing developments designed to offer them privacy, light and space.
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GlimpsesJean-François Pouliot 2010 6 minThis film depicts 24 hours in the life of an imagined city – a composite that draws on all Canadian cities. This imaginary day unfolds through the course of four seasons and reveals the nature of places and the people that make them so vibrant.
The images in the film slowly come together with deft, impressionistic touches. Adopting the rhythm of someone strolling through the city, they intermingle and reply to each other – evoking a different story for each viewer. -
Home Feeling: Struggle for a CommunityJennifer Hodge & Roger McTair 1983 57 minThis feature documentary takes us to the heart of the Jane-Finch "Corridor" in the early 1980s. Covering six square blocks in Toronto's North York, the area readily evokes images of vandalism, high-density subsidized housing, racial tension, despair and crime. By focusing on the lives of several of the residents, many of them black or members of other visible minorities, the film provides a powerful view of a community that, contrary to its popular image, is working towards a more positive future.
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Halifax Neighbourhood Center ProjectRex Tasker 1967 33 minShows a campaign launched in Halifax in 1967 to probe the core of poverty in that city--low incomes, ill health and inadequate housing affect more than twelve thousand people in the central area. The project combines the efforts of local agencies with those of government agencies to alleviate these conditions.
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Universe Within - SeoulKaterina Cizek 2015 3 min"Incredible Miracle" is a team of teenage boys who are world champion e-sports (competitive video gaming) players. They live, work and train on video games together in a highrise compound in central Seoul, often not leaving the premises for days on end.
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Universe Within - OttawaKaterina Cizek 2015 2 minCathy, who lives on her rural property outside St. John’s NFLD, has an aging mother who lives in Ottawa. Instead of sending her to a home, Cathy had several wifi connected sensors installed in her mum’s home and is able to keep tabs on her mother.
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Universe Within - TorontoKaterina Cizek 2015 3 minThe Patel family prays in their apartment morning and night, using their cell phones and their laptop computers to connect with live-streaming from Hindu temples around the world.
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Holding Our GroundAnne Henderson 1988 50 minFilmed in a squatter community of Labangon in Cebu, Philippines, Holding Our Ground is the inspiring story of a group of women who have organized collectively to pressure their government for land reform, to establish their own money-lending system and to create shelters for street kids. A story of grassroots organizing that can be a model in both hemispheres.
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Indian Relocation: Elliot LakeD'Arcy Marsh & David Hughes 1967 29 minVocational and academic education programs are introduced as a way to prepare Indigenous people for city life in this short documentary film. As families move out to northern Ontario's Elliot Lake from neighbouring reserves, programs such as these are used to integrate them into society. Through this film, we hear from some of the families who stayed, and some who returned.
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Invisible CityHubert Davis 2009 1 h 15 minInvisible City is a moving story of two boys from Regent Park crossing into adulthood – their mothers and mentors rooting for them to succeed; their environment and social pressures tempting them to make poor choices. Turning his camera on the often ignored inner city, Academy-award nominated director Hubert Davis sensitively depicts the disconnection of urban poverty and race from the mainstream.
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Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 4: The Heart of the CityYtzen Brusse , Jean-Claude Chiabaut , … 1963 27 minThis short documentary is part of a series hosted by American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic Lewis Mumford, who was particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture. This episode presents a study of the growing sterility, dullness and congestion that is destroying the vitality, variety and breadth that once made cities physically attractive and humanly creative.
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Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 1: The City: Heaven and HellChristopher Chapman , Robert Humble , … 1963 27 minThis short documentary is part of a series hosted by American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic Lewis Mumford, who was particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture. This episode presents an outline of the opposed natures—creative and destructive—of the city throughout history. In this film, the focus is on the elements that created the first cities about 5000 years ago, and the forces that now threaten our "most precious collective invention."
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Legault's PlaceSuzanne Angel 1964 10 minThis short film tells the story of what happens when the world around you changes but you remain the same. Legault is an elderly gentleman whose aging cabin now sits in a new suburb of Montreal. No longer surrounded by fields and woods, it has become an eyesore in a newly developing neighbourhood. A warm and humorous story about learning to change with the times.
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Living TogetherHalima Elkhatabi 2024 1 h 15 minIn a series of captivating encounters, several young people try to find the ideal roommate, that rare gem with whom they can share their space—and their values. A complex and engaging picture of a generation accustomed to playing all their identity cards, Living Together maps a mosaic of cultures and ideas, with explorations of community, individualism and the right to housing in constant interplay.
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The Memories of AngelsLuc Bourdon 2008 1 h 20 minThis visual love letter crafted by filmmaker Luc Bourdon uses clips from 120 NFB films to pay tribute to the city of Montreal in the '50s and '60s, with hat tips to its famous figures, places and residents.
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MobilityRoger Hart 1986 36 minThis short documentary examines the complex range of issues affecting urban transport in developing countries. After examining cost and available technology, as well as the different needs of the industrialized middle class and the urban poor, the film proposes some surprising solutions.
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Modern GooseKarsten Wall 2022 22 minAble to navigate by reading the Earth’s magnetic field, at home on land, air and water, geese straddle the territory between ancient instincts and the contemporary world. Combining beauty, humour and profound empathy, director Karsten Wall’s exquisitely observed film essay embeds in the daily life of these iconic animals to reveal a deeper message of continuity and connection.
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New York - Twin Parks Project - TV Channel 13Michel Régnier 1974 56 minThis feature-length documentary examines the reality of New York City in the 1970s, a place that had become a symbol of urban disaster. The 2 projects profiled attempt to tackle the problem of America’s biggest city: in a dilapidated part of the Bronx, a co-operative citizens’ movement tries to rejuvenate urban life; and WNET-TV uses its programming as an open forum for the public debate on urban issues.
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PaulaDominic-Étienne Simard 2011 10 minInspired by a real-life news item, this animated short paints a pulsating portrait of a mixed-use, working-class neighbourhood where young families cross paths with prostitutes, their interactions leaving unpredictable ripples in the motley fabric of urban life.
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Promises, Promises ...Reevan Dolgoy 1973 29 minThis short film explores the problems and potentials of small towns in the Drumheller Valley region of Alberta. Citizen participation in the growth and improvement of the region is encouraged through the Task Force on Urbanization and the Future. However, the Task Force initiative is eventually curtailed, as unemployment and uncertainty enter the picture. The film provides an interesting portrait of a region in socio-economic flux.
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The Point: Community Legal ClinicGrant Kennedy 1972 27 minCitizens of Point St. Charles, a bilingual district in Montréal's inner city, found a solution to the lack of adequate legal aid in their community by forming a legal clinic with salaried lawyers and student volunteers from university law faculties. In this film citizens and volunteers talk about the project, how it was initiated, and how it now serves the needs of people who lack the money for the fees of legal professionals.
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The PointRobert Duncan 1978 48 minThis documentary is a portrait of Point St. Charles, one of Montreal’s notoriously bleak neighbourhoods. Many of the residents are English-speaking and of Irish origin; many of them are also on welfare. Considered to be one of the toughest districts in all of Canada, Point St. Charles is poor in terms of community facilities, but still full of rich contrasts and high spirits – that is, most of the time.
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Printemps Now! (English Version)Jean Jean 2019 15 minInspired by Berlin: Symphony of a great city, Printemps Now! is a cinematographic poem, an audiovisual symphony of the city of Montreal transitioning from winter to spring.
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Some People Have to SufferChristopher Pinney 1976 42 minThis film documents a community's struggle to survive in the face of government indifference and the political and financial clout of industrial developers. In 1953 the residents of Bridgeview, British Columbia, were promised sewers; following years of debate, frustration, meetings and verbiage, construction started in 1977. The film interviews some of the residents, who state their opinions frankly both to the camera and at meetings. When the film was shown at the Habitat conference in Vancouver, 1976, press coverage noted: "The Third World is merely twenty miles from the site of Habitat."
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September Five at Saint-HenriHubert Aquin 1962 27 minThis short film is a series of vignettes of life in Saint-Henri, a Montreal working-class district, on the first day of school. From dawn to midnight, we take in the neighbourhood’s pulse: a mother fussing over children, a father's enforced idleness, teenage boys clowning, young lovers dallying - the unposed quality of daily life.
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St-Henri, the 26th of AugustShannon Walsh , Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette , … 2011 1 h 25 minA collaborative work made in the spirit of cinéma-vérité, St-Henri, the 26th of August was directed by Shannon Walsh and16 fellow documentary filmmakers. Chronicling life in a former working-class Montreal neighbourhood over a 24-hour period, St-Henri, the 26th of August follows several compelling stories and characters. The film is an homage to the 1962 Hubert Aquin classic À Saint-Henri le cinq septembre.
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A Short History of the Highrise, Part One: MudKaterina Cizek 2013 3 minIn the first installment, "Mud" traces the historical roots of the residential highrise, from the biblical Tower of Babel to the tenement buildings of New York. The film is narrated by singer-songwriter Feist, and is directed by Katerina Cizek in collaboration with the New York Times.
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A Short History of the Highrise, Part Three: GlassKaterina Cizek 2013 3 minIn the third installment, "Glass" examines the recent proliferation of luxury condos and the growing segregation between the rich and poor. The film is narrated by the singer-songwriter of Cold Specks, and is directed by Katerina Cizek in collaboration with the New York Times.
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A Short History of the Highrise, Part Two: ConcreteKaterina Cizek 2013 6 minIn the second installment, "Concrete" explores how, in New York City and globally, residential high-rises and public housing attempted to foster social equality in the 20th century. The film is narrated and directed by Katerina Cizek in collaboration with the New York Times.
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A Short History of the Highrise, Part Four: HomeKaterina Cizek 2013 4 minIn the final installment, "Home" consists of images from New York Times readers, who submitted personal pictures of their lives in high-rises from around the world. Montreal musician Patrick Watson wrote the music for the film.
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Taxi!Barry Greenwald 1982 57 minThis feature documentary studies one of the city’s most visible yet most anonymous character: the taxi driver. Filmed by day and night, the film offers an entertaining and sometimes comical look at the drivers, fleet operators and dispatchers who are expected to deliver passengers, parcels… and even babies.
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There’s No Place Like This Place, AnyplaceLulu Wei 2020 1 h 16 minThere’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplace chronicles the transformation of a much-loved Toronto landmark, the Honest Ed’s block, through the stories of its community members who are forced to relocate when it is sold to a developer.
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Urban ElderRobert S. Adams 1997 28 minIn the last forty years, Canada has seen a major population shift of Indigenous peoples to the urban centres like Toronto which has become home to the largest urban Indigenous population in the country (an estimated 65,000).
Today's urban Indigenous peoples (both those with a direct connection to land-based reservation life, and those who have always lived in cities) are developing an urban Indigenous culture. They are discovering ways to integrate important expressions of traditional culture into city life, including the tradition of the Elder: a person of great wisdom who dispenses advice, settles disputes, and acts as a model and arbitrator of acceptable behaviour.
Meet Vern Harper, Urban Elder, who walks the "Red Road" in a fast-paced, urban landscape. The camera follows Vern as he leads a sweat lodge purification ceremony, watches his 11-year-old daughter Cody at a classical ballet rehearsal, conducts a private healing ceremony, participates in a political march of 150,000 people, and counsels Indigenous prisoners at Warkworth Federal Prison.
In his own voice, Vern Harper tells the Urban Elder story of how he reaches into the past for his people's traditions, blending those old ways into the present so that the future can be a time of personal growth and spiritual strength. -
VTR St-JacquesBonnie Sherr Klein 1969 26 minThis short film was an experiment in using video recordings and closed circuit television to stimulate social action in a poor Montreal neighbourhood. A citizen's committee filmed people's concerns and then played back the tapes for the community. Upon recognizing their common problems, people began to talk about joint solutions. It proved an important and effective method of promoting social change.
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Whistling SmithMichael Scott & Marrin Canell 1975 27 minThis film is a revealing portrait of a tough cop with a big heart. Sergeant Bernie "Whistling" Smith walks the beat on Vancouver's Eastside, the hangout of petty criminals, down-and-outs and a variety of characters. His policing is unorthodox. To many drug users, petty thieves and prostitutes in this economically depressed area he is more than the iron hand of the law, he is also a counsellor and a friend.
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Where Do We Go from Here?James Carney 1973 22 minToronto is the example used in this film, which deals not only with the mechanics of urban transportation, but also with many of the underlying political and economic tensions. Perhaps more important than any answers it offers, are the questions it raises.
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The Weight of the WorldGlynis Whiting 2003 51 minThis fascinating documentary looks at obesity. Stockholm’s Dr. Stephan Rossner, an obesity specialist, proves beyond doubt that obesity is a man-made epidemic. Super-sized fast foods and a $12 billion ad industry are proving to be lethal when mixed with a car-dominated culture, urban sprawl and labour-saving technologies. This film was launched by the NFB and the CBC in partnership with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Physical and Health Education Canada.
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Wapos Bay: Long GoodbyesDennis Jackson 2011 1 h 12 minIn this feature animation film, Talon and Raven learn that their dad, Alphonse, has taken a job in the big city and their family will have to move away from Wapos Bay, their Cree community in Northern Saskatchewan. This news takes Talon on a journey of self-discovery as he sets off to accomplish his bucket list of things he wanted to do with his friends before they leave. Raven, on the other hand, decides to take matters into her own hands with the clear goal of keeping the family in Wapos Bay. With their whole world being turned upside down, Talon and Raven must join forces to keep the family together before it’s too late.
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Wild in the CityGordon Fish 1985 16 minThis short documentary films some of the wild animal species that have adapted to the city of Vancouver, from the familiar pigeons and starlings to the less familiar herons nesting in Stanley Park and a coyote in a farmer's field.
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Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes (English & Cree version)Dennis Jackson 2011 1 h 12 minIn this feature film, Talon and Raven learn that their dad, Alphonse, has taken a job in the big city and their family will have to move away from Wapos Bay. This news takes Talon on a journey of self-discovery as he sets off to accomplish his bucket list of things he wanted to do with his friends before they leave. Raven, on the other hand, decides to take matters into her own hands with the clear goal of keeping the family in Wapos Bay. With their whole world being turned upside down, Talon and Raven must join forces to keep the family together before it’s too late.
