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Portraits (42)
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Bill ReidJack Long 1979 27 minBritish Columbian Haida artist Bill Reid, jeweller and wood carver, works on a totem pole in the Haida tradition. The film shows the gradual transformation of a bare cedar trunk into a richly carved pole, a gift from the artist to the people of Skidegate on Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). Particularly moving is the raising of the pole by the villagers, as Bill Reid stands by. -
BlackwoodTony Ianzelo & Andy Thomson 1976 27 minThis short film studies the works of one of Canada's greatest contemporary etchers - Newfoundland-born David Blackwood. The artist himself guides viewers through a step-by-step explanation of the etching process. Scenes of his hometown, examples of his own work and vivid tales of an old mariner recall the tragic seal hunts and a way of life that has now vanished.
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The Beauty of My PeopleAlan Collins 1977 29 minThe film centres on Arthur Shilling, an Ojibwa artist from the Rama Reserve on Lake Couchiching, Ontario. Shilling's artistic evolution is traced, as is his move to Toronto and the difficulties he encountered there. Also discussed is the illness that caused Shilling to re-evaluate his artistic goals. Interviews with the artist and others interested in his paintings are juxtaposed with examples of paintings.
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Bill Reid RemembersAlanis Obomsawin 2021 24 minBill Reid Remembers is a beautiful tribute from Alanis Obomsawin to her friend’s remarkable life and rich legacy. Despite spending his early life away from his nation’s culture, renowned Haida artist Bill Reid always kept Haida Gwaii close to his heart. While working for CBC Radio, he started learning how to make jewelry, then later sculpture, using Haida techniques and images, a move that would forever change his life and the Canadian artistic landscape. Reid’s powerful narration in the film—interspersed with Obomsawin’s own—recounts his complex childhood, his emergence as an accomplished artist, and his profound connection to his homeland. Decades after his passing, Bill Reid remains an enduring force and one of Canada’s greatest artists.
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The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam BorensteinJoyce Borenstein 1991 29 minWith great singleness of purpose, Sam Borenstein painted for over 40 years. Despite his obvious talent it was only near the end of his life that his work began to be known. Twenty years after the artist's death, animation filmmaker Joyce Borenstein brings her father's work to a wider audience. Using various animation techniques in this documentary, she skillfully and harmoniously integrates archival material, filmed sequences, the painting themselves, and reminiscences of friends and family, to bring Sam Borenstein's work to life.
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Canadian LandscapeRadford Crawley 1941 18 minThis documentary follows painter A.Y. Jackson on his canoe trips and on foot to the northern wilderness of Canada in autumn. This leading member of the Group of Seven discusses his approach to his subject matter and shows some of his paintings.
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The Colours of PrideHenning Jacobsen 1973 27 minAn introduction to four Indigenous painters whose work in recent years has stirred interest in Canada and abroad. Despite the artists' differing styles and origins, their canvases reflect their common heritage. The guide in the film is Tom Hill, a Seneca man who knows art and the Indigenous tradition and encourages his subjects to talk about their own origins and objectives. The painters are Norval Morrisseau, Allen Sapp, Alex Janvier, and Daphne Odjig.
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The Devil You Know: Inside the Mind of Todd McFarlaneKenton Vaughan 2000 1 h 16 minThis feature documentary is a profile of one of the most fascinating and innovative men in popular entertainment today: Todd McFarlane. MacFarlane is a legend to legions of fans. His fictional superhero Spawn has made him the most successful comic book artist in history. He is driven, controversial, relentless in the pursuit of his dreams - yet lives a happy suburban life married to his childhood sweetheart, a level-headed beauty who helps him manage a multi-million dollar entertainment empire. The Devil You Know charts this enigmatic man and explores some of his most intimate thoughts.
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EnigmaticoDavid Mortin & Patricia Fogliato 1995 51 minInterweaving poetry, painting, photography, music and sculpture, this feature documentary is an innovative look at the lives and work of Canadian men and women artists of Italian origin. Broaching issues of identity and culture, the film explores the relationship between the immigrant experience and the creative process.
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Eskimo Artist: KenojuakJohn Feeney 1963 19 minThis documentary shows how an Inuit artist's drawings are transferred to stone, printed and sold. Kenojuak Ashevak became the first woman involved with the printmaking co-operative in Kinngait (formerly known as Cape Dorset). This film was nominated for the 1963 Documentary Short Subject Oscar®.
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First Stories - Patrick RossErvin Chartrand 2006 5 minIn this short film, we meet 29-year-old Patrick Ross, an ex-prison inmate-turned-artist. Watch Patrick as he creates one of his extraordinary paintings while sharing his thoughts on his art, his time in jail, and his hopes for the future. First Stories is an emerging filmmaker program for Indigenous youth which produced 3 separate collections of short films from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Produced in association with CBC, APTN, SCN, SaskFilm and MANITOBA FILM & SOUND.
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Hands of HistoryLoretta Todd 1994 51 minIn this acclaimed 1994 documentary, Loretta Todd, a leading figure in Indigenous cinema in Canada, profiles four contemporary female artists—Doreen Jensen, Rena Point Bolton, Jane Ash Poitras and Joane Cardinal-Schubert—who seek to find a continuum from traditional to contemporary forms of expression. Each artist reveals her practice and journey in her own words. The film is a moving testimony to the vital role Indigenous women play in nurturing Indigenous cultures.
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I Don't Have to Work that BigMichael McKennirey 1973 27 minThis short documentary focuses on prairie sculptor Joe Fafard. If there's one thing Joe knows, it's cows. He knows the way they tuck in their forelegs to lie down to ruminate and the way a calf romps in the barnyard. He also knows his friends and neighbours in the farming community of Pense, Saskatchewan—and he sculpts them all in clay, as eloquent and quirky miniatures. Joe's work has been exhibited throughout Canada as well as in Paris and New York, and this film offers a glimpse into his process, his aesthetic, and the charming prairie community in which he lives.
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Like Emily CarrJane Churchill 2005 10 minThis short film is part of a series entitled I Can Make Art and focuses on the work of Emily Carr. In this film, kids examine Carr's unusual world and the inspiration for her haunting landscapes. Drawing on this inspiration, they then attempt to create a giant forest mural on a window in their school. The series is comprised of six short films that take a kid's-eye view of a diverse group of Canadian visual artists.
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Like Kai ChanJane Churchill 2005 11 minIn this short film, sculptor and textile artist Kai Chan shares his artistic philosophy of economy and repetition with young artists who build extraordinary, complex 3D structures using simple materials and basic techniques. Part of the I Can Make Art ...series.
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I Can Make Art ... Like Ron NoganoshJane Churchill 2005 15 minThis short film introduces kids to sculptor Ron Noganosh, who transforms items like rusted hubcaps and computer parts into art. Inspired by Ron's found-object sculptures, a group of primary school students discover how to turn "junk" into art. Part of the I Can Make Art series of 6 films that take a kids'-eye view on a diverse group of Canadian visual artists.
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In Search of InnocenceLéonard Forest 1964 27 minA questioning filmmaker from Québec finds out how Vancouver's poets and painters look at life and art. Among the people seen are sculptor Donald Jarvis, painters Jack Shadbolt, Joy Long and Margaret Peterson, and printmaker Sing Lim.
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I Can Make Art ... Like Marcelle FerronJane Churchill 2005 10 minMarcelle Ferron was a Quebec-born painter and stained glass maker, and a dominant figure in contemporary art in Quebec and Canada. Frequent stays in a dull, dark hospital room due to a childhood illness left her with a passion for light and colour that is evident in her abstract painting and modern stained glass creations.
In I Can Make Art Like Marcelle Ferron, students are exposed to contemporary abstract art and discover Ferron's luminous world. Inspired by her extraordinary art, they create their own works, experimenting with the texture and transparency of cellophane and paint.
Awash in colour and bold design, I Can Make Art Like Marcelle Ferron captures her passion and reinforces the important legacy of this groundbreaking artist.
I Can Make Art is a series of six short films that take a kids'-eye view on a diverse group of Canadian visual artists. -
I Can Make Art ... Like Maud LewisJane Churchill 2005 12 minIn this short film from the I Can Make Art Like... series, a group of Grade 6 students are inspired by Maud Lewis, the celebrated Nova Scotian folk artist who painted scenes of country life. With the help of artist Kyle Jackson, they create a folk art painting of their own downtown neighbourhood. Informative, touching and filled with the magic of creation, this film shows both the power and simple pleasure of folk art.
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Like Andrew QappikJane Churchill 2005 11 minThis short documentary is a portrait of Andrew Qappik, a world-renowned Inuit printmaker from Pangnirtung, Nunavut. Originally inspired by images in the comic books he read as a child, Andrew now finds his subjects in the stories, traditions and day-to-day events of his world.
In I Can Make Art Like Andrew Qappik, he captivates his student audience by creating a soapstone relief print before their very eyes. Then it's the kids' turn. They explore Andrew's symbolic imagery - and their own - as they each create a self-portrait relief point. -
Jean Giguère: The Measure of a PlaceDeco Dawson 2014 6 minThis short film profiles Jean Giguère, a lifelong volunteer and champion for the arts. Giguère has witnessed the transformative power of the arts in our society—an experience that’s enriched her life immeasurably. Jean Giguère: The Measure of a Place offers a creative representation of Giguère’s arts community and celebrates her particular brand of volunteerism—one marked by humour, compassion and a dedication to changing the world.
This film was produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2014 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. -
KurelekWilliam Pettigrew 1967 10 minA documentary about the self-taught painter William Kurelek, told through his paintings. There are scenes of village life in the Ukraine and the early days of struggle on a prairie homestead and the growing comfort of family life. In Ontario, Kurelek paints the present life of Canada with the same pleasure he painted the old.
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Kwa'nu'te': Micmac and Maliseet ArtistsCatherine Anne Martin & Kimberlee McTaggart 1991 41 minThis film profiles a number of Mi’kmaq and Maliseet artists from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, showing their similarities and differences, samples of their work and the sources of their inspiration. It offers a remarkable look at Indigenous art and spirituality in Atlantic Canada.
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Klee WyckGrant Crabtree 1946 15 minThis short documentary from the Canadian Artists series presents the art of Emily Carr, the Canadian painter who found exciting subject matter on British Columbia's Pacific Coast, with its giant trees and its Indigenous villages, totems and carvings. When Carr visited the Ucluelet Indian Reserve on Vancouver Island in 1898, the Nuu-chah-nulth people gave her the name Klee Wyck, meaning “Laughing One.” Her canvases are shown here amidst the landscapes and places where they were painted. At the end of the film Tse-shaht painter George Clutesi is pictured as Carr left her paintbrushes and other materials to him.
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Krzysztof Wodiczko: ProjectionsDerek May 1991 53 minThis full-length documentary examines the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko, an artist who has taken his art out of museums to project it onto the sides of buildings. The film explores Wodiczko’s philosophy of art as social contract and shows examples of his provocative work, which has lit up walls from London's Trafalgar Square to Zion Square in Jerusalem.
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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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LismerAllan Wargon 1951 19 minThis short documentary looks at the work of artist Arthur Lismer, a member of the Group of Seven, emphasizing his contribution to art education and to Canadian art. At the Montreal Art Centre we see how children learn the independence of creative self-expression in art.
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LypaShelagh Mackenzie & Sharon Van Raalte 1988 29 minThis short documentary is a portrait of Inuit hunter and artist Lypa Pitsiulak, who decided to return to the land several years ago. His goal was to rediscover his culture, teach his family survival skills in the harsh Arctic environment, and pull himself and his family away from the negative influences of white culture. The film portrays his lifestyle, his love for his family, and some of the sources of his artistic inspiration. It also highlights his beautiful prints and sculptures, with their fantastic interweaving of figures from the animal, spirit and human worlds.
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My Floating World: Miyuki TanobeIan Rankin , Stephan Steinhouse , … 1979 26 minThis documentary short is a portrait of Miyuki Tanobe, a Japanese painter who has chosen to make Québec her home. She works in the Nihonga style, applying centuries-old techniques to scenes drawn directly from the working-class neighborhoods of Montréal. The film records the progression of one of her paintings from preliminary sketch to completion.
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Miller BrittainKent Martin 1981 57 minFor Miller Brittain, variously described as a mystic, a war hero, a madman and a drunk, there was only one constant--art. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1912, he painted most of the time in or near that city. Personal, social and religious upheavals were all reflected in his art, in aching, obsessive works that people didn't understand, and much of the time didn't buy, though now they are worth thousands. The film is a powerful reconstruction of the life and career of this misunderstood Maritime painter, and his relation to other Canadian artists.
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Nothing SacredGarry Beitel 2003 51 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Montreal political cartoonists Aislin and Serge Chapleau. In the pages of The Montreal Gazette and La Presse, respectively, they’ve been skewering politicians for 30 years. But who are these biting satirists? The film seeks to answer this question through interviews with the cartoonist's friends, families, colleagues, and even a few of their favourite victims, including Gilles Duceppe and Louise Beaudoin. Featuring many of their classic cartoons, Nothing Sacred pays tribute to gifted iconoclasts whose hilarious characters have seeped into our collective consciousness.
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Portrait of the Artist--As an Old LadyGail Singer 1982 27 minParaskeva Clark, artist, socialist, feminist, is her own woman at her own cost. This film is a cameo of an irascible and oftentimes touching artist whose work has won her a place in exhibitions and private collections. Born in Russia in 1898, she eventually married a Canadian and moved to Toronto. Because her canvases reflect a strong social conscience, she had to struggle hard to earn a place in the nation's ultra-conservative galleries.
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Picturing a People: George Johnston, Tlingit PhotographerCarol Geddes 1997 50 minThis documentary, by filmmaker Carol Geddes, is a unique portrait of George Johnston, a photographer who was himself a creator of portraits and a keeper of his culture. Johnston cared deeply about the traditions of the Tlingit people, and he recorded a critical period in the history of the Tlingit nation. As Geddes says, his legacy was "to help us dream the future as much as to remember the past."
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Portrait of the ArtistGordon Burwash , Julian Biggs , … 1964 28 minGlimpses into the lives of three artists: Erhabor Amokpae of Lagos; Cid de Sosa Pinto of Sao Paulo; and Gord Smith of Montréal. Each artist provides his own commentary on how he lives, works, thinks and feels.
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Paul Kane Goes WestGerald Budner 1972 14 minThis short documentary showcases the work Paul Kane painted in the Canadian northwest in the mid-1800s. Travelling overland west to the Pacific in the mid-1800s, Kane immortalized the area’s great Indigenous Peoples, Chiefs, ceremonies, war parties, buffalo hunts, rapids and waterfalls. In this film, his canvases are projected with lighting that brings to life every glowing detail.
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The Paradox of Norval MorrisseauDuke Redbird & Henning Jacobsen 1974 28 minIn this revealing study of Norval Morrisseau, filmed as he works among the lakes and woodlands of his ancestors, we see a remarkable Indigenous artist who emerged from a life of obscurity in the North American bush to become one of Canada's most renowned painters. Morrisseau the man is much like his paintings: vital and passionate, torn between his Ojibway heritage and the influences of the white man's world. Jack Pollock, the Toronto art gallery owner who discovered Morrisseau's paintings in the early 1960s, comments on what makes them so unique.
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A Quiet WaveBarry Perles 1971 20 minFor some people it is the later years that release the passion and confidence for self-expression in the arts. This film shows one of them, Cecil Richards, close to his seventieth year, who spends his time working alone at his Lakefield, Ontario, retreat, in what he calls the "honest" media of sculpture--wood, clay, stone and bronze. For anyone interested in the nature of an artist and his inspiration, here is a relaxed, absorbing study.
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Lorraine Pintal - So The Light Never DiesAriane Louis-Seize 2019 5 minDirected by Ariane Louis-Seize, this tribute film was created as a gift for Lorraine Pintal, director of Montreal’s Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. Featuring some of the most memorable characters and performers of Pintal’s career, the film’s succession of surreal scenes from different dramatic worlds introduces viewers to the exceptional woman of theatre, stage director, and friend whom they consider to be the “ghost light” of Quebec theatre.
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VarleyAllan Wargon 1953 16 minThis short documentary is a portrait of Frederick Varley, Canadian painter and member of the Group of Seven. In the film, Varley returns to his studio in Toronto after a sketching trip. The camera moves about the studio selecting examples of his canvases and watches him as he begins a new painting.
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West WindGraham McInnes 1944 21 minThis short documentary features a visual tour of legendary Canadian painter Tom Thomson's favourite natural landscapes. The film traces Thomson's career, which began in Toronto, where he worked as a commercial artist. Later, Thomson's weekend sketching trips in the country turned into longer journeys farther north, and he finally settled in northern Ontario's Algonquin Park. Thomson spent less than four years as an artist and was barely 40 when a canoe accident ended his life. Fellow artists Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson and Arthur Lismer pay tribute to this genius, who, in Jackson's words, "contributed more to Canadian painting than any other artist."
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Yuxweluptun: Man of MasksDana Claxton 1998 21 minThis short documentary serves as a portrait of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, one of Canada's most important painters. We meet him at the Bisley Rifle Range in Surrey, England, where he's literally shooting the Indian Act in a performance piece called "An Indian Shooting the Indian Act." It's in protest of the ongoing effects of the Act's legislation on Indigenous people. We then follow him back to Canada, for interviews with the artist and a closer look at his work.
