Skip to content
Accessibility
Politics (14)
-
After the BallotManuel Foglia 2008 1 h 29 minAfter the Ballot is a full-length documentary portraying the gruelling everyday life of two Members of Quebec's National Assembly who, although at opposite ends of the political spectrum, share the fact that their sole power lies in their convictions. One is Daniel Turp, the PQ Member for Mercier. The other is Charlotte L'Écuyer, Liberal MNA for Pontiac. The film aptly illustrates that ordinary MNAs have very little authority since the real power is held by ministers who are subject to the ups and downs of a globalized economy. Meanwhile, their fellow citizens keep asking for the impossible… -
Flora: Scenes from a Leadership ConventionPeter Raymont 1977 58 minThis feature documentary offers an incisive look at Canadian politics at the 1976 Progressive Conservative Party leadership convention. Cape Bretoner Flora MacDonald is campaigning for the Party’s leadership, the first woman to do so. We follow MacDonald behind the scenes as she works with her staff to prepare policy, speeches, and strategies to win the race. We also get a glimpse of MacDonald’s sprightly and upbeat attitude as she puts her best foot forward in front of voters, media, and the Party’s elite.
-
Kim Campbell Through the Looking GlassMichel Jones 2000 1 h 10 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Kim Campbell, who won the Tory leadership after Brian Mulroney's resignation and became Canada's nineteenth prime minister in 1993. She called an election, and two and a half months later led the Progressive Conservatives to the biggest defeat of any major political party in Canadian history. This film documents the doomed campaign through never-before-seen interviews with Campbell, her family, colleagues and members of the media. They reflect on what brought such a hopeful candidacy to such an astounding upset.
-
Love Affair with Politics: A Portrait of Marion DewarTerre Nash 1987 26 minIn this short documentary, Oscar®-winner Terre Nash turns her lens on Marion Dewar, one of Canada's most successful female politicians, while she was mayor of Ottawa. In her 7 years as mayor, Dewar was instrumental in the Rideau Centre project, introduced disarmament referendums into municipal politics, was the leading force in raising Canada's quota for Vietnamese refugees, and became known for her social responsibility and common sense.
-
Marilyn Waring on Women and Economics Show TwoTerre Nash 1996 30 minAs chairperson of New Zealand's Public Expenditures Committee, which reviewed all the parliamentary budgets of her government, Marilyn Waring travelled to over 35 countries and discovered that the rules governing the finances of her own country were operating worldwide. In each country she visited, Waring spent a day with a local woman her own age. She witnessed the enormous, unrecorded, unacknowledged extent of women's work. Women remain more than 50 percent of the world's population, yet hold no more than 10 percent of the seats in national legislatures. In one government in three, there are no women in the highest decision-making bodies. This film takes a hard look at the disparity between what women contribute to communities and how their work is valued.
-
Marilyn Waring on the Environment Show ThreeTerre Nash 1996 26 minMarilyn Waring, ex-MP in the New Zealand Parliament and spokesperson for global feminist economics, now lives and works on her farm in the lush green hills of New Zealand. While in office, Waring fought to preserve the priceless natural resources of her riding, drawing on the pragmatic wisdom of her neighbours--farmers whose livelihoods depend on sustainable land use, and the Maori, who have lived in harmony with their environment for countless generations. Waring makes a convincing argument for changing a system that does not value what may be our most precious assets: clean air, water, and the unspoiled ecosystems that sustain and enrich life on earth.
-
Marilyn Waring on Politics: Local & Global Show OneTerre Nash 1996 30 minIn 1975, 22-year-old Marilyn Waring became the youngest member in the New Zealand Parliament. At the age of 24, she became Chairperson of the prestigious Public Expenditures Committee, which reviewed all the parliamentary budgets of her government. She travelled to over 35 countries in this capacity, and discovered that the rules which governed the finances of her own country were operating worldwide. By approaching politics from the viewpoint of an average citizen, Waring challenges the assumption that the systems that currently determine how the world does business are adequately meeting the needs of both local and global communities. Using plain language laced with ironic humor, Waring makes it clear that classic economics work to benefit one particular group, while the rest of us--the vast majority--pay the price.
-
Michaëlle Jean: A Woman of PurposeJean-Daniel Lafond 2016 52 minIn 2005, Michaëlle Jean became the Governor General of Canada. A social activist, global citizen, and black woman, she would redefine the possibilities of that office. While her national priorities were at-risk youth, women, and Indigenous peoples, her international success came from her cultural diplomacy. 2010: the earthquake in Haiti tragically brings her back to her homeland. Michaëlle Jean: A Woman of Purpose is an intimate and sensitive portrait of the stateswoman she came to be.
-
Reflections on a Leadership ConventionPeter Raymont 1978 21 minFlora MacDonald was Canada's first woman to make a bid for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party. She lost. This documentary shows people who were close to the event. It questions the mechanics of a leadership convention, whether it is the best way to choose a nation's leader, and whether Flora lost because she is a woman. Among the people interviewed are Flora MacDonald herself, the late Judy Lamarsh, political scientist John Meisel, and political commentator Larry Zolf. (Follow-up film to: Flora: Scenes from a Leadership Convention.)
-
The Right Candidate for RosedaleBonnie Sherr Klein & Anne Henderson 1979 32 minThis short documentary records Black activist Anne Cools’ 1978 run for the Liberal Party nomination in Rosedale, one of Toronto's largest and socially most diverse federal ridings. The film records her bid for political power, and explains the nomination contest, a basic step in the Canadian electoral process. Because she was competing against the Liberal Party's preferred candidate, the nomination battle in Rosedale turned into one of the most innovative and fascinating in the history of Canadian politics.
-
A Song for QuebecDorothy Todd Henaut 1988 55 minProduced in 1988, this feature documentary presents a living history of Quebec's last 40 years as seen through the eyes of one couple. Pauline Julien and Gérald Godin, two Quebec artists, share their perspectives on the events that have marked Quebec's evolution. Julien, a singer, and Godin, a poet, express their love and passion for the province (and each other) while providing a unique take on the Quebec nationalist movement.
-
Sophie Wollock's NewspaperGilles Blais 1979 27 minThis short documentary profiles Sophie Wollock and the newspaper she founded for the western suburbs of Montreal in l963, The Suburban. A weekly paper distributed free to some 45,000 homes, most of them anglophone, The Suburban became famous for the strongly worded editorials written by Wollock, mainly on the subject of Québec nationalism. The film looks at the paper, then under the guidance of her son, and sums up some of Wollock's more impassioned editorials.
-
Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global EconomicsTerre Nash 1995 1 h 34 minWarning: This film discusses and depicts mature subjects related to sex, sex trafficking and prostitution of people of various ages. Viewer discretion is advised. In this feature-length documentary, Marilyn Waring demystifies the language of economics by defining it as a value system in which all goods and activities are related only to their monetary value. As a result, unpaid work (usually performed by women) is unrecognized while activities that may be environmentally and socially detrimental are deemed productive. Waring maps out an alternative vision based on the idea of time as the new currency.
-
Why Women RunMeredith Ralston 1999 46 minThis documentary offers a glimpse into the 1997 federal election in the Halifax electoral district. Two strong female politicians, Liberal candidate Mary Clancy and NDP party leader Alexa McDonough, are caught in a tight competition in one of the most contested races in the country. Director Meredith Ralston follows the two women around the campaign trail for weeks, getting inside an election that was often described as “nasty.” Both larger than life and hungry to win, in quieter moments Clancy and McDonough reveal the strains and contradictions of their chosen careers. Why Women Run highlights the accomplishments of women in politics and the problems many women face participating in the political process.
