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Women (16)
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And We Knew How to Dance: Women in World War IMaureen Judge 1993 55 minThis feature documentary profiles 12 Canadian women who entered the male-dominated world of munitions factories and farm labour during World War I. In 1994, aged 86 to 101, these women recall their wartime work experiences and the ways in which their commitment and determination helped lead the way to postwar social changes for women. -
The ApologyTiffany Hsiung 2016 1 h 44 minThe Apology follows the personal journeys of three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Some 70 years after their imprisonment in so-called “comfort stations”, the three “grandmothers—Grandma Gil in South Korea, Grandma Cao in China, and Grandma Adela in the Philippines—face their twilight years in fading health. After decades of living in silence and shame about their past, they know that time is running out to give a first-hand account of the truth and ensure that this horrific chapter of history is not forgotten. Whether they are seeking a formal apology from the Japanese government or summoning the courage to finally share their secret with loved ones, their resolve moves them forward as they seize this last chance to set future generations on a course for reconciliation, healing, and justice.
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Boat PeopleKjell Boersma & Thao Lam 2023 9 minAs a child in Vietnam, Thao’s mother often rescued ants from bowls of sugar water. Years later they would return the favour. Boat People is an animated documentary that uses a striking metaphor to trace one family’s flight across the turbulent waters of history.
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Turning the TideTerence Macartney-Filgate 1995 53 minTurning the Tide documents the years between the outbreak of WWII in September 1939 and June 1944. A compilation of modern day interviews interspersed with photographs and footage from the war, this documentary covers landmark events such as the Battle of Britain, the raid on Dieppe, the landing in Sicily and the battle for Ortona. It focuses on both the Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought in the war and the women who became part of the war effort, either by enlisting or by going to work in the factories and shipyards.
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The LiberatorsTerence Macartney-Filgate 1995 54 minThe Liberators focuses on WWII during the period between June and December 1944. While following the action from the D-Day landings on the shores of Normandy up into Belgium and Holland, the film also highlights the contributions of the women who remained on the homefront. As the fourth largest producer of armaments among the Allied countries, Canada spent much of the war evolving into a formidable industrial nation.
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Canada Remembers - Part Two - The Liberators (Educational Version)Terence Macartney-Filgate 1995 55 minJune to December, 1944. After years of dedication and sacrifice, an Allied victory seems tantalizingly close. The Liberators accompanies Canadian soldiers from their D-Day landings on the shores of Normandy, up along the coast of northern France and into Belgium and Holland. The film also visits the homefront in Canada, where the war effort was transforming the country into a formidable industrial nation--the fourth largest producer of armaments among the Allied countries. In achieving this, women played a leading role, with almost one million in the work force by 1944.
The Second World War changed the way Canadian women saw themselves and, indeed, the way the country as a whole saw itself--a young nation that had now become much more mature and self-confident. Interspersed with archival footage are the vivid memories of men and women who recall life during the war years. Part two of the series. -
Gulîstan, Land of RosesZaynê Akyol 2016 1 h 26 minThis documentary travels deep into the mountains and deserts of Kurdistan, where armed female guerillas from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) defend Kurdish territory against ISIS. These women share their most intimate thoughts with filmmaker Zaynê Akyol, resulting in an immersive audience experience. By offering a window into this largely unknown world, the film exposes the hidden feminist face of a revolutionary group united by a common vision of freedom.
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Good Morning KandaharAriel Nasr 2008 50 minAriel Nasr's documentary gives voice to the complex dilemmas faced by contemporary Afghanis under Canadian intervention. The film introduces us to young Afghan-Canadians torn between a deep desire to help Afghanistan and a fear that things will never change. Good Morning Kandahar asks whether Canada's mission in Afghanistan is failing.
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. -
How They Saw Us: Proudly She MarchesAnn Pearson 1977 18 minA recruitment film made in 1943. Its words offer women the excitement and challenge of new kinds of work in the armed services. The visual message, however, suggests that this work is merely temporary and possibly even unnatural for women.
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How They Saw Us: Women at WarAnn Pearson 1977 10 minThis 1942 British film, Women at War, contrasts sharply with similar Canadian productions. It accepts women's direct participation in the war effort as a natural outgrowth of their peacetime occupations.
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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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My Name Is KahentiiostaAlanis Obomsawin 1995 29 minThis short documentary by Alanis Obomsawin tells the story of Kahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman arrested after the Oka Crisis' 78-day armed standoff in 1990. She was detained 4 days longer than the other women. Her crime? The prosecutor representing the Quebec government did not accept her Indigenous name.
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Rosies of the NorthKelly Saxberg 1999 46 minThey raised children, baked cakes... and built world-class fighter planes. Thousands of women from Thunder Bay and the Prairies donned trousers, packed lunch pails and took up rivet guns to participate in the greatest industrial war effort in Canadian history. Like many other factories across the country from 1939 to 1945, the shop floor at Fort William's Canadian Car and Foundry was transformed from an all-male workforce to one with forty percent female workers.
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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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Seven Brides for Uncle SamAnita McGee 1997 52 minThis documentary shares the stories of seven women from Newfoundland who married American soldiers. From the beginning of World War II to the end of the Cold War, Newfoundland housed some of the largest military bases outside of the U.S. As a result, as many as 40,000 Newfoundland women married American soldiers. Using a combination of interviews and old war footage, Seven Brides for Uncle Sam shows how some of the most important events in world history can serve as the backdrop to the timeless tales of romance, heartbreak and joy.
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Soraida, a Woman of PalestineTahani Rached 2004 1 h 59 minThis feature-length film introduces viewers to Soraida, a Palestinian woman who lives in Ramallah. In her neighbourhood the women do not all wear veils, the men do not rattle off empty political slogans, the young people do not strap bombs to their belts, and the children play together like kids everywhere. Taking us into the daily existence of Soraida, her family and neighbours, the film compels us to ask fundamental questions about life in the Middle East.
