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Working Life (37)
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Assholes - A TheoryJohn Walker 2019 1 h 20 minSome grapple with the challenge of treating other human beings decently. Others are just… assholes, claims Professor Aaron James in his New York Times bestselling book, Assholes: A Theory. This intellectually provocative film takes a playful approach to uncovering why asshole behaviour is on the rise in the workplace, in government, and at home. -
Black SugarMichel Régnier 1988 57 minThis feature documentary offers a shocking look at the living and working conditions of Haitian agricultural laborers in the Dominican Republic. Each year, some 20 000 workers cross the border to cut sugar cane, lured by promises of good money. Instead, they toil up to 14 hours per day and live in unhealthy, cramped camps without running water, electricity, medical or educational facilities.
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Bombay CallingBen Addelman & Samir Mallal 2006 1 h 10 minThis feature documentary chronicles the lives of young call-centre workers in Bombay (Mumbai), India. The film profiles several characters who attempt to sell phone services to clients in the UK, showing both sides of globalization’s impact on India – the economic benefits as well as the break with tradition and loss of innocence. A compelling insider’s look at youth culture in India and the growing number of young people who choose to follow the American dream, Indian-style.
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The Back-breaking LeafTerence Macartney-Filgate 1959 29 minHere is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."
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The Colour of BeautyElizabeth St. Philip 2010 16 minRenee Thompson is trying to make it as a top fashion model in New York. She's got the looks, the walk and the drive. But she’s a black model in a world where white women represent the standard of beauty. Agencies rarely hire black models. And when they do, they want them to look “like white girls dipped in chocolate.”
The Colour of Beauty is a shocking short documentary that examines racism in the fashion industry. Is a black model less attractive to designers, casting directors and consumers? What is the colour of beauty? -
The Coca-Cola Case (Short Version)Germán Gutiérrez & Carmen Garcia 2009 52 minFor decades, Colombia has ranked first among countries in the number of social leaders assassinated. From 2002 to 2009, more than 470 leaders were killed by paramilitary militias in the pay of companies ready to do anything to crush the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands were bottling plants of Coca-Cola company products.
These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists Dan Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant, accusing them of turning a blind eye to the misdeeds brought to their attention. By following the relentless efforts of this unshakeable trio, The Coca-Cola Case takes us on a fascinating legal road-movie, against a backdrop of denunciation campaigns claiming: Stop Killer Coke!
After five years of struggle, will Coca-Cola yield in the end? And on the verge of a settlement, what will the victims choose—cash, or power and integrity? -
The Coca-Cola CaseGermán Gutiérrez & Carmen Garcia 2009 1 h 25 minFor decades, Colombia has ranked first among countries in the number of social leaders assassinated. From 2002 to 2009, more than 470 leaders were killed by paramilitary militias in the pay of companies ready to do anything to crush the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands were bottling plants of Coca-Cola company products.
These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists Dan Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant, accusing them of turning a blind eye to the misdeeds brought to their attention. By following the relentless efforts of this unshakeable trio, The Coca-Cola Case takes us on a fascinating legal road-movie, against a backdrop of denunciation campaigns claiming: Stop Killer Coke!
After five years of struggle, will Coca-Cola yield in the end? And on the verge of a settlement, what will the victims choose—cash, or power and integrity? -
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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Everyone's BusinessMary Armstrong 1982 20 minThe Churchill Park Greenhouse Cooperative in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, is a small produce business, much like any other trying to survive in a deteriorating economy. What makes it special is that eight out of the nine co-op members are disabled. Growing, washing, drying and packing vegetables, handling sales, bookkeeping, paying bills and sometimes postponing their own paycheques in order to see the co-op through hard financial times, these determined individuals are dynamic and self-sufficient members of society.
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The Emperor's New ClothesMagnus Isacsson 1995 53 minThis feature documentary focuses on the reality of life before, during, and after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the profound effects the economic agreements between big business and government can have on human lives.
Filmed over a three year period in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, this documentary poses a sobering question: In this global war of cut-rate economies, are people on the losing side? -
Emergency! A Critical SituationTahani Rached 1999 52 minShot at the Pierre Boucher Hospital in Montreal, this film takes us into the emergency room to see how our healthcare system is holding up. What it reveals is a powerful indictment of management that sees only the bottom line while human lives are at stake.
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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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Eye Witness No. 111949 11 minIn this installment of the Eye Witness series, we look at classrooms on rails, circa 1949. We visit Ontario forests north of Lake Superior, where children come from miles away to attend school in a school car. They receive a month's worth of homework at a time, to keep them busy until the next time the classroom comes around. In Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, we see a unique workshop that trains the physically-challenged as furniture makers and seamstresses, allowing them to earn a living and build self-reliance.
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The Glass CeilingSophie Bissonnette 1992 27 minThis short documentary presents 5 women from a variety of backgrounds who use strategy, humour and determination to seek to attain equality in the workplace. Whether in the public service or on the shop floor, discrimination against women is taking on increasingly subtle forms, which makes it even more difficult to tackle and eliminate. Various obstacles combine to hold back the advancement of women in many sectors, particularly in middle management positions, where we are seeing the emergence of a new “female ghetto.”
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Knit a Chain-Link Fence?Don White 1998 3 minThis documentary short reveals what goes into making the fences many children see around their schoolyards every day. How Do They Knit a Chain-Link Fence? is part of a series of films that reveal the mysteries behind how everyday things are made.
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Make Potato Chips?Don White 1997 4 minHow Do They Make Potato Chips? is one of a series of short and snappy videos that reveal the mysteries behind everyday things. Almost every child likes to eat potato chips and will love to learn how they're made. (Bet you can't watch this video just once!)
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Braid Rope?Don White 1997 4 minHow Do They Braid Rope? is a fascinating visual voyage through the twists and turns of rope-making. The How Do They...? series is comprised of short films that reveal the mysteries behind how everyday things are made. A film without words.
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Put the Centres in Chocolates?Don White 1997 4 minHow Do They Put the Centres in Chocolates? is one of a series of short films that reveal the mysteries of how things are made. Viewers are taken on a visit to the factory to see how a whole variety of chocolate treats are produced.
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The Hasty Man Drinks His Tea with a ForkSylvie Groulx 2003 1 h 23 minA blend of drama and documentary, this film follows several people caught up in the turmoil of the modern world. The drama centres on a woman who has burned out and who holds up her own despair – and her attempts to rebuild her life – as a mirror to the rest of us. With a blend of gravity and humour, Sylvie Groulx's film shows the absurdity of a society dedicated to the cult of speed at all costs.
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How They Saw Us: Needles and PinsAnn Pearson & Roger Blais 1977 10 minIn this film about a factory seamstress, there is the substitution of glamor for genuine job satisfaction and advancement. The film was made in 1955.
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How They Saw Us: Service in the SkyAnn Pearson 1977 9 minMade in 1957, this film glamorizes a service job in which minor emergencies appear as serious and absorbing challenges. Marriage is assumed to be the natural end of the middle-class woman's working life.
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How They Saw Us: Women at WorkAnn Pearson 1977 12 minThis is an abridged version of a film made in 1958. The greater part of the film accepts as normal the waste of women's talents in repetitive or service jobs, while elevating this work to the status of a career.
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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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LockedBhimsain 1997 5 minOn the way to school, a boy is confronted by an enormous man whose hand grabs hold of his school bag and tosses it into the air. The hand pushes him towards a huge padlock, then forces him to enter through the keyhole: the schoolboy is imprisoned in a hazardous lock factory. Like the other children inside, he finds himself forced to operate a high-speed punch press. Struggling to follow the movements of the machine, he cuts off a finger. He tries to run away, but is recaptured.
Back at the factory he starts to cough up blood after inhaling iron particles that will prove lethal: the child dies on the job. Coldly, the hand picks up his body and drops it in the box the padlocks are shipped in, symbol of his murdered innocence. How can we live with forced child labour? This India/Canada co-production is inspired by Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child, which particularly upholds the child's right to be protected from economic exploitation. An animated film without words for 12- to 17-year olds. -
The NecktieJean-François Lévesque 2008 12 minA mixture of puppet and hand-drawn animation, The Necktie is the story of Valentin and his quest to find meaning in his life. Stuck in a dead-end job, he has forgotten all about the things that used to bring him joy. Years pass, and boredom replaces all his aspirations and hope for the future. It is only on his 40th birthday, when he rediscovers an old accordion hidden in the depths of his closet, that he regains his lust for life.
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No Time to StopHelene Klodawsky 1990 29 minKwai Fong Lai is from Hong Kong, Alberta Onyejekwe from Ghana, and Angela Williams from Jamaica. They are immigrants to Canada, visible minorities, and women, a combination designed to make their lives difficult. While Canadian society has yet to accustom itself to its immigrant reality, these strong and resilient women manage to adapt and survive. At home and at work, they speak candidly about the conditions that shape their lives.
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North China FactoryTony Ianzelo & Boyce Richardson 1980 56 minThis documentary from 1980 depicts a factory community in China where over 6000 workers process, spin and weave raw cotton into 90 million yards of high-quality cloth per year. Also seen are the workers' residential, social, recreational and educational facilities, all located on factory property. The film presents an engrossing study of a lifestyle that is very different from that of the Western world.
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Okanagan DreamsAnnie O'Donoghue 2001 46 minThis documentary follows the migration of thousands of young Quebecers as they travel to British Columbia to harvest fruit in the lush Okanagan Valley. The camera follows several spirited youth into the orchards for seven weeks. As the rain sets in, reality unfolds: it's cold, the cherry crop is late, and money is short. But as they make friends and enjoy their independence, the promise of adventure is realized. Although their work is integral to the local economy, the youth find that the experience is not just about making money. It's about awareness, self-discovery and exploring the world.
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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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Railroad TownDon Haldane 1956 30 minThis short documentary is a delightful trip back to an era in which railroad was king. The small community of Melville, Saskatchewan, is a railroad town. Long-time CBC host Fred Davis visits with various railway workers and learns about the operation of one of the vital service stations which keep the Canadian National Railway running smoothly.
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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 SpecialistDon Arioli & Boris Kolar 1971 9 minAn amusingly drawn cartoon about a highly proficient lady bricklayer, graduate of Specialists' School, whose work takes her high up in the world, and her erstwhile friend, whose equally dedicated professionalism brings him lower. She builds towers of bricks while he tunnels down below ground. What develops in the story involves other unlikely characters, plausible enough in this cartoon context.
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ShipbreakersMichael Kot 2004 1 h 12 minThis feature documentary profiles a bustling Indian shantytown where 40,000 people live and work in the most primitive conditions. Dismantling the rusting hulks of the world’s largest ships, the workers have no protection from injury or death. On average, one worker dies every day, some from explosions or falls, but many from cancers caused by asbestos, PCBs and other toxic substances. This visually stunning film vividly captures the haunting shells of decaying industrial machinery as well as the deplorable conditions of workers in 21st century global economics.
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Society of ClothesJeong Dahee 2024 15 minWhen morning arrives in Society of Clothes, a shirt and a pair of pants step outside the closet, transforming into a human figure. In this world, everyone exists only as clothes. They wander into the streets, bodiless and faceless, performing absurd daily tasks
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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.
