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Peace and Peacekeeping (25)
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Blue VanguardIan MacNeill 1957 1 h 0 minA film made for the United Nations to chronicle its role in restoring peace in the Middle East after the Suez Crisis of October 1956. -
Caught in the CrossfireGarth Pritchard 1995 47 minCaught in the Crossfire is an in-depth and moving look at how Canadian soldiers keep peace in wartorn former Yugoslavia. Seen through the soldiers' eyes, it pays tribute to a community of men and women who have earned the respect of all sides in a bloody dispute. Throughout the film, we gain an awareness of the difficult work of our peacekeepers and of the successes that have resulted from our Canadian policy of refusing to take sides in the conflict.
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Harder Than It LooksTina Viljoen 1986 28 minA penetrating look at how difficult it is for the northern countries--Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark--to remain neutral, caught as they are between the two superpowers. All but Canada were neutral before World War II. Today, only Sweden has not joined a military alliance, but with American and Soviet military forces in the northern seas, even its lone neutrality is at risk. Archival footage from the two world wars, animated maps, and interviews illuminate the historical shaping of each country's stance on neutrality and approach to its own defense, and how these positions work for and against the countries. The film's thesis is that a non-aligned north is the key to separating the superpowers and attaining world peace.
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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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In Pursuit of PeaceGarry Beitel 2015 1 h 24 minIn Pursuit of Peace makes the case for unarmed civilian peacemaking and mediation as a response to violent international conflict. We follow four Canadian peacemakers as they take us inside the drama of their work in some of the world’s hottest conflict zones: land disputes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the civil war in South Sudan, IDP camps with displaced minorities in Kurdistan in Northern Iraq.
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Kosovo: Fragile PeaceMoira Simpson 2002 53 minThis feature documentary offers a rare glimpse into the frontlines of democracy building through the eyes of a Canadian mother and her daughter. In the heart of Kosovo, an international mission struggles to bring democracy to a land torn apart by bloodshed. There, Canadian lawyer Carolyn McCool works to build bridges between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs, while her 20-year-old daughter Kate travels with a musical roadshow to generate grassroots support for the election among the youth.
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No More Hibakusha!Martin Duckworth 1983 55 minHibakusha is the Japanese word for the survivors of the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This powerful and moving documentary focuses on a few of the eighty hibakusha who journeyed from Japan to New York in June, 1982, to take part in peace demonstrations held to coincide with the Second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament. They came to urge the nations of the world to prevent nuclear war. Instead of concentrating on the physical suffering of the victims, the film reveals the mental anguish of the hibakusha, who are still haunted by nightmares.
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No More HiroshimaMartin Duckworth 1984 25 minThis short documentary depicts the stories of two hibakusha, survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This film follows them on their mission to New York as representatives of the Japanese Peace Movement at the second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament held in June 1982.
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The Price of DutyGarth Pritchard 1995 47 minA tribute to Canadian peacekeeper Mark Isfeld, or "Issy" as he was known to his fellow soldiers. In the first 3 years of UN peacekeeping activity in former Yugoslavia, 10 Canadian soldiers died. Many others were seriously injured, a number of whom were "engineers" – soldiers assigned the dangerous task of clearing land mines to create a safer environment for the local people. As we see in dramatic close-up, this is a painstaking job requiring great personal risk, nerves of steel and unwavering trust among soldiers. It's a job that cost Canadian peacekeeper Mark Isfeld his life.
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The Pacifist Who Went to WarDavid Neufeld 2002 51 minThis documentary is the story of two Mennonite brothers from Manitoba who were forced to make a decision in 1939, as Canada joined World War II. In the face of 400 years of pacifist tradition, should they now go to war? Ted became a conscientious objector while his brother went into military service. Fifty years later, the town of Winkler dedicates its first war memorial and John begins to share his war experiences with Ted.
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Paris 1919Paul Cowan 2008 1 h 33 minThis feature-length film, based on Margaret MacMillan's acclaimed book of the same name, takes us inside the most ambitious peace talks in history. Revisiting the event with a vivid sense of narrative, the film evokes a pivotal moment when peace seemed possible, and reflects on the hard-learned lessons of history.
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The PeacekeepersPaul Cowan 2005 1 h 23 minIn this documentary, Paul Cowan delivers unprecedented access to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping, and the determined and often desperate manoeuvres to avert another Rwandan disaster, this time in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC). The film cuts back and forth between the United Nations headquarters in New York and events on the ground in the DRC. We are with the peacekeepers in the 'Crisis Room' as they balance the risk of loss of life on the ground with the enormous sums of money required from uncertain donor countries. We are with UN troops as the northeast Congo erupts and the future of the DRC, if not all of central Africa, hangs in the balance. As Secretary General Kofi Annan tells the General Assembly at the conclusion of The Peacekeepers: "History is a harsh judge. The world will not forgive us if we do nothing." Whether the world's peacekeeper did enough remains to be seen.
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Return to DresdenMartin Duckworth 1986 27 minIn 1945, Great Britain and the United States organized a bombing raid that devastated the ancient city of Dresden. This short documentary returns exactly 40 years after its destruction and celebrates its renaissance with the re-opening of one of the most beautiful opera houses in Europe. One guest at this gala was the Canadian navigator of one of the bomber planes, returning to Dresden on a mission of peace that brought him face-to-face with the people who were once his enemies.
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Scared SacredVelcrow Ripper 2004 1 h 44 minScared Sacred is a feature documentary that asks the question: Can we be Scared into the Sacred? The film takes us on a journey to the pivotal ground zeros of the world, places like Bosnia, Hiroshima, New York City and Afghanistan in search of stories of hope and meaning.
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Speaking Our PeaceTerre Nash & Bonnie Sherr Klein 1985 55 minFilmed in Canada, Britain and the U.S.S.R., this hour-long documentary focuses on local and international peace initiatives by women. Featured in the film are Rosalie Bertell, Marion Dewar, Muriel Duckworth, Ursula M. Franklin, Darlene Keju, Margaret Laurence, Solanges Vincent and Kathleen Wallace-Deering. In interviews and in encounters with Soviet women, they outline their views on war and peace. The film includes scenes of women in mass demonstrations at Litton Systems Canada and at Greenham Common in England, as well as footage of ordinary citizens who must live with the health and environmental problems caused by uranium mining and nuclear weapons testing.
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The Strangest DreamEric Bednarski 2008 1 h 29 minThis is the story of Joseph Rotblat, the only nuclear scientist to leave the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government’s secret program to build the first atomic bomb. His was a decision based on moral grounds.
The film retraces the history of nuclear weapons, from the first test in New Mexico, to Hiroshima, where we see survivors of the first atomic attack. Branded a traitor and spy, Rotblat went from designing atomic bombs to researching the medical uses of radiation. Together with Bertrand Russell he helped create the modern peace movement, and eventually won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Featuring interviews with contemporaries of Rotblat and passionate public figures including Senator Roméo Dallaire, The Strangest Dream demonstrates the renewed threat of nuclear weapons and encourages hope through the example of morally engaged scientists and citizens. -
Under the RainbowSidney Goldsmith 1972 10 minA little good will goes a long way--between persons, and between nations. That is the lesson to be learned from this animated film. It begins with a confrontation between a man who grows flowers and a technologist who operates computers. A flower pops up in the computer room; a computer tape appears in the garden. Each man destroys the "foreign object." When they come face to face they discover that understanding is better than distrust, respect better than hostility.
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The Van Doos in Afghanistan - A Minute of SilenceClaude Guilmain 2011 2 minThe Van Doos in Afghanistan is a documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment. In this clip, the soldiers gather for a minute of silence in memory of Corporal Yannick Scherrer, their comrade-in-arms. His coffin is carried onto the plane that will fly him home to his final resting place.
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The Van Doos in Afghanistan - The Road to MushanClaude Guilmain 2011 4 minThe Van Doos in Afghanistan is a documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment. In this clip, Captain Pascal Croteau, Armour Officer assisting the 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment Battle Group, and Sergeant Patrick Auger, Platoon Second-in-Command, talk about their work to secure the road to Mushan. Confidence is growing and increasing numbers of Afghans are now using the road.
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The Van Doos in Afghanistan - Proud InfantrymenClaude Guilmain 2011 3 minThe Van Doos in Afghanistan is a documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment. Private Stéphane Perreault is passionate about his profession in the infantry. He talks about what made him decide to enlist and how proud he is to serve in the military as part of the French-speaking Royal 22e Régiment. He plans to carry on his work for a long time to come.
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The Van Doos in Afghanistan - My BattalionClaude Guilmain 2011 2 minThe Van Doos in Afghanistan is a feature-length documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment. In this clip, we meet Corporal Maxime Émond-Pépin, who suffered a serious leg injury and lost an eye on his first mission in 2009. Despite his injuries, he rejoined his battalion in Afghanistan. He talks about how important it was for him to get back to the infantry.
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The Van Doos in Afghanistan - Mission AccomplishedClaude Guilmain 2011 4 minThe Van Doos in Afghanistan is a documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment. In this clip, Lieutenant-Colonel Michel-Henri St-Louis and Major François Dufault take stock of the progress that has been made since the beginning of the military intervention in Afghanistan. While being realistic and aware of the fragility of the situation, they are, nevertheless proud of the work that has been accomplished by Canada`s armed forces.
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The Van Doos in Afghanistan - The PatrolClaude Guilmain 2011 4 minThe Van Doos in Afghanistan is a documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment.
In this clip, we follow Captain Stéphane Guillemette on the ground as he conducts daily searches for improvised explosive devices or hidden insurgent weapons caches. Conducting daily patrols of the Panjwaye district demands constant vigilance. -
The Van Doos in AfghanistanClaude Guilmain 2011 44 minIn this documentary, we hear directly from francophone soldiers serving in the Royal 22e Régiment (known in English as “Van Doos”) who were filmed in the field in March 2011, during their deployment to Afghanistan. They speak simply and directly about their work, whether on patrol or performing their duties at the base. The film's images and interviews bring home the complexity of the issues on the ground and shed light on the little-understood experiences of the men and women who served in Afghanistan.
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War II: Total WarWilliam Canning 1965 25 minA film record, suitable for schools, of the war years of 1939 to 1945, showing major developments from the rise of Nazism in Germany to the first atomic bomb at Hiroshima. It does not minimize the brutality of war, but shows how this "total war," unlike wars of the past that engaged only the men of the fighting front, involved in varying degree almost every individual of every nation.
