The Man of a Thousand Songs
2010 · 90m · Documentary
A feature length documentary about extraordinary Canadian singer songwriter, Ron Hynes... an insightful and entertaining exploration of the creative process, the genesis of song, the meaning of performance and the vulnerability of an artist compelled to bare his soul through his music. The film is comprised of Ron performing his music (distinct and live for the camera), interwoven with very intimate black box 'interviews' with Ron (shot tightly and directly addressed to the camera), in which he discusses the songs and the life that informed them: late nights, dark alleys, marriage, children, divorce, his near death and recovery from drug addiction... and punctuated with back stage moments, insight from the street, and Ron's nephew author Joel Thomas Hynes, taking the role of 'chorus of the people'.
More Like This
b.longing
2024
A dialogue and home video about belonging, from young people living in modern colonial society.
More info →
Wide Boyz II – Slender Gentlemen
2014
After their success climbing the world’s hardest offwidth, the Wide Boyz, Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall, embark on their next crack climbing mission. This time their sights are set on the thinner end of the crack climbing spectrum. Their goal is the mighty Cobra Crack in Squamish BC, considered to be the hardest finger crack in the world. First climbed by Canadian ‘rock star’ Sonnie Trotter after battling it out with Didier Berthod, the route hit the media spotlight in the film First Ascent. With no local hard cracks to train on, the Wide Boyz refit their underground training dungeon and commit to a year of torturous finger training. With only a short trip to Canada planned, the Boyz face their biggest challenge yet against the sharp granite bite of the mighty Cobra Crack!
More info →
Home Front
1940 · ★ 9
This short documentary is part of the Canada Carries On series of morale-boosting wartime propaganda films. In Home Front, the various WWII-era social contributions of women are highlighted. From medicine to industrial labour to hospitality, education and domesticity, the service these women provided to their country is lauded.
More info →
Canada: Surviving the Wild North
2022 · ★ 8
Canada is a vast country, with the largest intact forest on the planet, more than two million lakes and rivers, and the longest coastline on Earth. This wild and rugged outpost is home to some of the world’s most astonishing wildlife such as polar bears, arctic foxes, coastal wolves, Canada lynx, great grey owls, and caribou. Journey from the high arctic and tundra to the boreal forests to discover how life manages to survive in the Wild North, where getting the timing right and seizing seasonal opportunities can make the difference between life and death.
More info →The Time of the Tar Sands
1975
A promotional video produced by the Alberta government in 1975, "The time of the tar sands", featuring Gordon Pinsent. credit: Archives of Alberta.
More info →
Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything
2023 · ★ 7.7
Ronnie O’Sullivan hasn’t had the most harmonious relationship with the media over the years, but his attempt to win the Snooker World Championship for a record 7th time in 2021 apparently proved too good an opportunity to pass up.
More info →
Kate Bush: The Sound Witch
2019 · ★ 7.5
She became famous at a very young age and gradually slipped away, cultivating her legend and her mystery. Kate Bush, pioneering artist, is at the heart of a captivating documentary broadcast on Arte.
More info →
Pay-Off In Pain
1948 · ★ 7
The personal and social tragedy of drug addiction with its evil accompaniment, drug traffic. Over the side of the silent liner in the darkness slips the package of smuggled narcotics, introducing us to the complex problem which involves all races and classes of man. We see many aspects of addiction - the addict preparing an injection, a group waiting tensely for their dope peddler; agents preparing and adulterating the illegal product; the police catching a pusher red-handed. International and national authorities are working from two angles - suppression of the illicit traffic; and where possible, rehabilitation of the addict.
More info →
Beyoncé: Self-Titled
2013 · ★ 8
"Self-Titled" is a documentary comprised of several parts that give a glimpse into BEYONCÉ, The Visual Album. This version has been edited into a full-length film.
More info →
The Whale and the Raven
2019 · ★ 8.7
Director Mirjam Leuze’s The Whale and The Raven illuminates the many issues that have drawn whale researchers, the Gitga’at First Nation, and the Government of British Columbia into a complex conflict. As the people in the Great Bear Rainforest struggle to protect their territory against the pressure and promise of the gas industry, caught in between are the countless beings that call this place home.
More info →The Perfect Selfie
2017 · ★ 2
Teenager Olivia Oras has 20,000 Instagram followers. The documentary follows a year of her life.
More info →