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Family Life (30)
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"... and They Lived Happily Ever After"Kathleen Shannon , Irene Angelico , … 1975 13 minMade in 1975, as part of the Challenge for Change program, this film takes a long, hard look at marriage and motherhood as expressed in the views of a group of young girls and married women. Their opinions cover a wide range. At regular intervals glossy advertisements extolling romance, weddings, babies, flash across the screen, in strong contrast to the words that are being spoken. The film ends on a sobering thought: the solution to dashed expectations could be as simple as growing up before marriage. -
Allô Téta Allô Jedo (English Version)Joudy Hilal 2020 15 minUsing videos shot on her phone, a director of Syrian origin gives her housebound grandparents back in Syria a look in her adopted city of Montreal.
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Affairs of the ArtJoanna Quinn 2021 16 minHow many obsessions can one family have? In Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy.
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BlossomJulia Kwan 2010 6 minJulia Kwan's short film captures the experience of a young woman as she travels to a new country. As summer opens into spring, mother and daughter build a life together. The taste and texture of each season, whether the ice-cream smell of summer, the crisp birch air of autumn, or the warmth of winter dumplings -- are lovingly rendered in animation, sound and image. Throughout the passage of time, the persistence of love endures, as resolute and unchanging as the cycle of the season.
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Before They Are SixGudrun Parker 1943 17 minThis short documentary offers an early example of the challenges faced by working mothers. As women entered the workforce in greater numbers during WWII, their young children were cared for by others. At day nurseries, trained staff supervised children’s meals, health and play. Toddlers are taught how to wash and dress themselves and to put their toys away tidily. The film is an intriguing portrait of the nascent mid-20th century world of work for women and their families.
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The Crown PrinceAaron Kim Johnston 1988 37 minIn Crown Prince, Frank Robinson abuses his wife verbally and batters her physically, with frightening consequences not only for her, but also for their sons, Billy and Freddy. A thought-provoking drama, this film explores the complex problems teenagers face in dealing with domestic violence, and shows how one family begins the healing process.
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Donna's StoryDoug Cuthand 2001 50 minThis intimate documentary paints a portrait of one Cree woman who left life on the streets to re-emerge as a powerful voice counseling Indigenous adults and youth about abuse and addiction. Raised in foster homes and caught up in drugs and prostitution by the age of 13, Donna Gamble shares her exhilarating and tumultuous journey and what motivated her to turn her life around. Together with her mother and daughters, Donna is working to shatter the cycle of addiction that has plagued their family for generations.
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ExpectationsSuzanne Gervais 1993 7 minIn this short, poetic film, a woman, 9 months pregnant, senses the danger the world holds for her unborn child. She wanders the city holding her camera, expressing and transforming this anxiety through photographic images. Combining live-action images with paper cut-outs, this moving film is about the survival of life on earth, and the hopes we cherish for our children. A film without words.
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For AngelaNancy Trites Botkin & Daniel Prouty 1993 21 minThis short film portrays the experiences of Rhonda Gordon and her daughter, Angela, when a simple bus ride changes their lives in an unforeseeable way. When they are harassed by three boys, Rhonda finds the courage to take a unique and powerful stance against ignorance and prejudice. What ensues is a dramatic story of racism and empowerment.
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Heaven on EarthDeepa Mehta 2008 1 h 44 minIn Heaven on Earth, acclaimed director Deepa Mehta highlights the isolation and disappointment faced by a family of Punjabi immigrants to Canada. When Chand leaves her family and community behind in India to marry a man she's never met in Brampton, Ontario, she finds herself at the mercy of his temper and her mother-in-law's controlling behaviour.
After a magic root fails to transform her husband into a kind and loving man, Chand takes refuge in a familiar Indian folk tale featuring a King Cobra. -
IkweNorma Bailey 1986 57 minPart of the Daughters of the Country series, this dramatic film features a young Ojibwa girl from 1770 who marries a Scottish fur trader and leaves home for the shores of Georgian Bay. Although the union is beneficial for her tribe, it results in hardship and isolation for Ikwe. Values and customs clash until, finally, the events of a dream Ikwe once had unfold with tragic clarity.
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Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and BackReaghan Tarbell 2008 56 min
Mohawk high steel workers have a special place in North American history. The iconic New York skyline - with its great monuments to modernity - is the fruit of their labour.
While the men were scraping the skies, the women had their feet firmly on the ground - sustaining a vibrant Mohawk community in the heart of Brooklyn.
Little Caughnawaga evokes the neighbourhood's heyday - from the 1920s through to the 60s - and salutes the spirited women who kept the culture alive.
The Brooklyn Mohawks were mostly from Kahnawake, a community long associated with the dangerous world of high steel. In 1907 the small town lost 33 men in the Quebec Bridge disaster, an event that still looms large in collective memory.
Moving back and forth between Brooklyn and Kahnawake, director Reaghan Tarbell crafts an affectionate portrait of Little Caughnawaga ad a heartfelt tribute to the cultural resilience of her people. -
love, ammaPrajwala Dixit 2022 14 minAfter being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, a young mother writes a letter to her daughter about their family’s collective journey to acceptance.
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Mistress MadeleineAaron Kim Johnston 1986 57 minPart of the Daughters of the Country series, this film, set in the 1850s, unfolds against the backdrop of the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly of the fur trade. In protest, some Métis engage in trade with the Americans. Madeleine, the Métis common-law wife of a Hudson's Bay Company clerk, is torn between loyalty to her husband and loyalty to her brother, a freetrader. Even more shattering, a change in company policy destroys Madeleine's happy and secure life, forcing her to re-evaluate her identity.
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Nose and TinaNorma Bailey 1980 27 minThis short documentary tells the unusual story of Nose and Tina, 2 people in love. He is employed as a brakeman, she as a sex worker. The film captures the domestic details of their life together and documents their hassles with work, money and the law.
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Nomad's LandClaire Corriveau 2007 52 minMeet an Air Force wife who discovers that she married into a lifestyle she hadn't chosen. When her husband joined the Air Force, Claire Corriveau discovered a world where everything was subordinate to the needs of the Canadian Forces. Her first film, the feature documentary Nomad's Land, powerfully depicts the hard existence of military wives.
Isolated, often lonely, forced to move repeatedly, these women have little control over their lives. This explosive film reminds us that they are the first collateral damage of an institution that, without their sacrifices and backstage work, would be unable to do its work. Their unsung contributions come at a high personal price. In French with English subtitles. -
NamrataShazia Javed 2009 9 minThis short documentary tells the intensely personal story of Namrata Gill – one of the many real-life inspirations for Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth – in her own words. After six years, Gill courageously leaves an abusive relationship and launches a surprising new career.
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Places Not Our OwnDerek Mazur 1986 57 minPart of the Daughters of the Country series, this dramatic film set in 1929 depicts how Canada's West, home to generations of Métis, was taken over by the railroads and new settlers. As a result, the Métis became a forgotten people, forced to eke out a living as best they could. At the forefront is Rose, a woman determined to provide her children with a normal life and an education despite the odds. But due to their harsh circumstances, a devastating and traumatic event transpires instead.
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Plenty of NothingDagmar Gueissaz-Teufel 1982 55 minHalf a million wives work with their husbands in family-run businesses, but most have no legal title to any part of the operation. This documentary focuses on several farm wives who are seeking their fair share of the family farm. In frank and friendly discussions with their husbands and with financial advisers, the women learn about co-ownership. The importance of having a legal arrangement becomes clear when a former farm wife tells how she lost everything she thought she owned when she and her husband divorced. Filmed in Québec's fertile Richelieu Valley, Plenty of Nothing encourages women to recognize the economic value of their work and to seek the legal recognition of their status and of their right to an equitable financial share.
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RenaissanceWapikoni mobile team 2008 8 minReturning to the Pikogan reserve to give birth to her first child, Sybèle wonders how to give her son a better life than hers while ensuring he stays connected to the Algonquin community.
Since 2004, Wapikoni Mobile has been giving young Aboriginals the opportunity to speak out using video and music. This short film was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2007 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile DVD. -
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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A Sunday at 105Daniel Léger 2007 13 minA 105-year-old Acadian agrees to be filmed one Sunday as she goes about her daily routine and ruminates on life. Filmed by her great-grandson, Aldéa Pellerin-Cormier comments wisely on politics, sex and religion. From getting ready in the morning to drinking her nightcap before bed, every moment is punctuated with a witticism or existential thought. Respectful of the old woman's privacy, Daniel Léger's first documentary looks at wisdom, serenity and enjoyment of life. In French with English subtitles.
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Stitches in TimeAnne-Marie Sirois 1987 5 minIn this charming animated film, two women knit and recall moments from their lives--memories of their neighbours, husbands, mothers and of other women knitting. Pastel drawings, music and a lively soundtrack evoke the past.
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To a Safer PlaceBeverly Shaffer 1987 58 minThis inspiring film is the story of how one woman has come to terms with her life as a survivor of incest. Sexually abused by her father from infancy to early adolescence, Shirley Turcotte is now in her thirties and has succeeded in building a rich and full life. In To a Safer Place, Shirley takes a further step to reconcile her past and present. The film accompanies her as she returns to the people and places of her childhood. Her mother, brothers and sister, all of whom were also caught up in the cycle of family violence, openly share their thoughts. Their frank disclosures will encourage survivors of incest to break through the silence and betrayal to recover and develop a sense of self-worth and dignity.
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This Is No Time for RomanceFernand Dansereau 1966 28 minIdle hours at a summer cottage, when her husband is at work and the children busy at play, give a wife time to dream a little and reflect on her life and her marriage. Is it enough? What else might she have made of herself? But then her husband returns and she opts for things as they are. A relaxed drama that has much of the mood of a summer outdoors.
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Travel LogDonald Winkler 1978 9 minThis short, experimental road movie is a study in mystery and atmosphere. Juxtaposing photographs on the screen with a woman's words, the film tells the story of a couple who drifts apart, of a journey with no return. Introspective and haunting, this mood piece is a travel album about intimacy and dispossession.
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Two SistersCaroline Leaf 1991 10 minThis animated short, etched directly onto tinted 70 mm film, depicts the story of two sisters: Viola, who writes novels in a dark room, and Marie, her only companion. Disfigured, Viola counts on her sister to take care of her and shelter her from the outside world. But when an unexpected stranger turns up on their front door, the sisters' quiet lives are disrupted and their routine turns to chaos.
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Unveiled: The Mother Daughter RelationshipMaureen Judge 1997 55 minThis documentary dares to untangle to the complicated web of mother/daughter relationships. Fraught with love, anger, compassion, laughter, and joy, these relationships are already intense. Imagine what happens when you throw a wedding into the mix.
Enjoy a candid, revealing, sometimes cringe-worthy but often hilarious look at the ties that bind as three sets of mothers and daughters tell all in this highly-charged film. You'll meet Sabina and Shari, Ruth and Carline, and Pearl, Rhonda, and Heather. Each set of relationships is unique and seeks to examine one of the most complex human connections, and does so with humour, pathos, and love. -
With GrandmaFrançoise Hartmann 1999 9 minWhen her parents leave her behind for the first time, Madeleine sees them off with tears in her eyes. Fortunately, her grand-mother is there to coax her out of her sadness. Grandma's house is full of surprises, including a chest full of costumes perfect for dress-up. Together they play and bake. Slowly, Madeleine discovers that Grandma seems to know exactly how to have fun. Adults will reminisce about cherished moments shared with grandparents and reflect on the nature of memory. Younger children will be delighted by young Madeleine's adventures. A film without words.
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Women and Men UngluedKatherine Gilday 2003 1 h 26 minAt the start of the new millennium, relations between men and women are in turmoil. Traditional marriage is challenged on all fronts. Long-held notions about gender, commitment and courtship have been cast aside. And 'marriageable' people are staying single in record numbers.
Is this an historical blip or a fundamental change in society? Do men and women even need each other anymore? Women and Men Unglued dares to ask these questions.
This provocative documentary takes an uncensored look at single, urban Gen-Xers living on the edge of this social change. Operating in a free-for-all zone where old mating rules don't apply and new ones don't exist, these young urbanites struggle to find intimacy amid chaos.
Against this backdrop, leading experts like Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and Bert Archer take a fresh look at how relations between the sexes are evolving.
