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Portraits (18)
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Bearing Witness: Luke MelchiorDan Curtis 2003 51 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Luke Melchior (1973-2021) who, at 26, had already lived longer than most people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive wasting of the muscles. Knowing his life would be relatively short had made Luke feel an urgency about making a lasting contribution. Living independently, with the help of 3 homecare workers, he ran a web-based business selling outdoor gear, and chaired the board of the Disability Resource Centre in Victoria, BC, where he was a passionate advocate for the rights of the disabled.
Bearing Witness consists of 3 films, each approximately one hour long, on people with life-threatening illnesses. The series also profiles Jocelyn Morton, who died of liver cancer at 44, and Robert Coley-Donohue, who died of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) at age 74. -
Bush Pilot - Into the Wild Blue YonderBruno Boulianne 2000 48 minThis documentary paints a vivid portrait of the bush pilots who soar daily above the boreal forests and tundra of Quebec's Great North. Who hasn't dreamed of flying? Head in the clouds, light-hearted giddiness, a surge of adrenaline, exhilarating freedom. Bush pilots of northern Quebec, the last of a dying breed, experience these sensations every day aboard their hydroplanes. Lakes, rivers, forests: this majestic North of open spaces and infinite silence is all theirs.
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Doctor, Lawyer, Indian ChiefCarol Geddes 1986 28 minA tribute to Indigenous women everywhere, this short documentary focuses on 5 women from across Canada. Of varied ages and backgrounds, they have achieved success in a variety of careers: as the Yukon legislature's first Indigenous woman minister (Margaret Joe), as a deck hand on a fishing boat (Corinne Hunt), as a teacher (Sophie MacLeod), as a lawyer (Roberta Jamieson), and as a band council chief (Sophie May Pierre - St. Mary’s Indian Band of the Ktunaxa Nation off the Ktunaxa Nation). Each of these women talks about how she got to where she is today while emphasizing the importance of Indigenous culture - its values, art, and spiritual beliefs - in helping her to develop a sense of self and seeing through rough times, including residential school experiences.
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Earth to MouthYung Chang 2002 41 minFilmed at the Wing Fong Farm in Ontario, this documentary follows the tilling, planting and harvesting of Asian vegetables destined for Chinese markets and restaurants. On 80 acres of land, Lau King-Fai, her son and a half-dozen migrant Mexican workers care for the plants. For Yeung Kwan, her son, the farm represents personal and financial independence. For his mother, it is an oasis of peace. For the Mexican workers, it provides jobs that help support their children back home.
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Eye Witness No. 93Hector Lemieux 1957 11 minThis short documentary offers the inside story of the trucking business in the mid-20th century. Told from the point of view of the driver of a large long-distance trailer transport, the film describes his customary 388-mile run between Montréal and New York and, in the process, shows what a highly organized operation trucking has become.
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Final OfferSturla Gunnarsson & Robert Collison 1985 1 h 18 minThe filmmakers were given remarkable freedom to record the historic 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corporation. Bob White, labour leader of the Canadian branch of the UAW, must also confront his American counterpart from Detroit and succeeds in arriving at a contract that is significantly Canadian. His members had already given him a mandate to fight for independence from the American union. This is an invaluable document for anyone interested in the complexities of United States-Canada relations. It's an extraordinary film about revolutionary events.
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I Want to Be an EngineerBeverly Shaffer 1983 28 minThis film provides a lively introduction to the professional and personal lives of three female engineers--just a few of the growing number of women who are opting for "non-traditional" jobs. Their enthusiasm for and commitment to their work makes them convincing role models for high-school girls who might be considering engineering as a career possibility. As well, the film is effective in fostering positive attitudes towards women working in the traditionally male professions of science and technology. Support material available.
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Jobs that Are Different1959 7 minTravelling Blacksmith: A glimpse of a vanishing trade in Nova Scotia--blacksmithing and horseshoeing. A House Full of Ships: Eugène Leclerc, French-Canadian craftsman, carves replicas of sailing ships. Gold in the Cariboo: Miner John McDougall works abandoned gold mines in the Cariboo district of British Columbia. No. 9 in the series.
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Luckily I Need Little SleepKathleen Shannon 1974 7 minKathy worked as a nurse in Greece and then came to Canada. She and her family live in northern Alberta, where they are developing a farm. Kathy works outside the home as a nurse, sews for the children, maintains the house, and helps with the farm work.
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LailaDiane Beaudry 1980 10 minLaila Paattinen is a working woman. Tired of low-paying jobs, she completed a five-month course in dry-wall installation. Because she had chosen a non-traditional job for women, she ran into resistance in the marketplace. She finally solved her problems by opening her own dry-wall application business. A useful film for women seeking non-traditional jobs.
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Making ItSobaz Benjamin 2006 10 minThis short documentary is an inspiring portrait of Black youth who have made their ambitious dreams come true through willpower. Made as part of the Work For All project 2006, an NFB and HRSDC-Labour initiative to combat racism in the workplace.
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The Megaphone ReelSerge Giguère 1999 52 minThis musical documentary by Serge Giguère focuses on Gilles Garand, a passionate promoter of Quebec’s heritage and an ardent champion of workers’ rights. Garand is a lively figure—a harmonica and accordion player, a CNTU servicing representative, and an organizer of La Grande Rencontre. Filmed in Montreal, Quebec City, and France, the film offers a rare opportunity to hear the masters of Quebec traditional music, Aldor Morin and Philippe Bruneau, who are featured at La Grande Rencontre. In French with English subtitles.
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Pretend You're Wearing a BarrelJan-Marie Martell 1978 9 minAt thirty-five, Lynn Ryan took stock of her life. She had five children, no husband, no job, and the outlook for getting off welfare seemed bleak. That was when she decided to change her life. After help from employment counsellors and a course in welding, she now has a good job as an apprentice engineer in a Vancouver shipyard. This is a vivid picture of a tough-minded woman and her courageous encounter with life.
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Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway SwitchmanRoman Kroitor 1953 9 minIn this film, Paul Tomkowicz, Polish-born Canadian, talks about his job and his life in Canada. He compares his new life in the city of Winnipeg to the life he knew in Poland, marvelling at the freedom Canadians enjoy. In winter the rail-switches on streetcar tracks in Winnipeg froze and jammed with freezing mud and snow. Keeping them clean, whatever the weather, was the job of the switchman.
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Station MasterWilliam Davidson 1954 15 minFinch, Ontario, is where the Canadian Pacific railway crosses the New York Central, a tiny but important link in Canada's railway network. This film looks at the daily duties of station master Dalton Henry and his staff.
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The Taxi DriverLouis Portugais 1954 11 minThis short 1954 film from the Faces of Canada series follows Montreal taxi driver Gerry Lane as he takes various customers to their chosen destinations.
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TurlutteRené Bonnière & Pierre Perrault 1960 29 minIn a valley on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence, the seasons unfold with their chores and pleasures: children gathering roses for honey, an old uncle's wine, pressing apple cider, three brothers shelling broads beans, their flails beating time, grandmother's spinning wheel, the old stone mill, the rushing rivulets of spring, a silvery catch of capelin washed up on shore by the May Moon.
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Une femme de têteMohammed Belhaj 2006 14 minThis film tells the moving story of one woman fighting for her rights and preserving her dignity. Made as part of the Work for All project in 2006, an NFB and HRSDC-Labour initiative to combat racism in the workplace. In French with English subtitles.
