Nanook Revisited

A Greater Chance

2024

Upon learning of his father's terminal illness diagnosis, a young, autistic, hearing-impaired artist travels back to Taiwan with a filmmaker to make a film in his honour.

How to Build an Igloo

1949 · ★ 7.2

This classic short film shows how to make an igloo using only snow and a knife. Two Inuit men in Canada’s Far North choose the site, cut and place snow blocks and create an entrance--a shelter completed in one-and-a-half hours. The commentary explains that the interior warmth and the wind outside cement the snow blocks firmly together. As the short winter day darkens, the two builders move their caribou sleeping robes and extra skins indoors, confident of spending a snug night in the midst of the Arctic cold!

Timuti

2012

In this short film, artist Jobie Weetaluktuk turns his gaze on his family and the power of ritual through the story of a young woman and her unplanned child. In Inukjuak, an Inuit community in the Eastern Arctic, a baby boy has come into the world and they call him Timuti, a name that recurs across generations of his people, evoking other Timutis, alive and dead, who will nourish his spirit and shape his destiny.

This Temporal World

2022

A haunting story of the FBI's dark hand in American life. In 2015, Khalil Abu-Rayyan was just a young Muslim man in Detroit, Michigan: to get by, he delivered food for his family's pizzeria. Depressed and lonely, Khalil found solace in smoking weed and looking at extremist material online. Then two young women started messaging him, and he fell in love. But one of them suggested he start doing increasingly violent things. Nothing was as it seemed. And Khalil's life would never be the same. A documentary by Garret Harkawik for the Gravel Institute.

Ulrich Seidl - A Director at Work

2014

This cinematic portrait shows the Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl at work. The much-discussed ‘Seidl method’ is conveyed here vividly and directly: The camera watches over Seidl’s shoulder during the filming of his new production IM KELLER, and observes him at the rehearsals for his latest theatre production ‘Böse Buben / Fiese Männer’. The film paints the picture of a fascinating and exceptional artist using a combination of extensive interviews and excerpts from earlier works.

Resistance, Why?

1971

In 1970, Christian Ghazi and Noureddine Chatti met with a number of Arab political figures, especially Palestinians residing in Lebanon, resulting in this piece of armed (alternative or third) cinema that captures a crucial cross-section of the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon in 1970. The film features footage of Ghassan Kanafani, Sadiq Jalal El-Azm, Nabil Shaath and other personalities who share their vision of the Palestinian revolution, tracing its history back to the early 20th century. These testimonies describe the numerous strikes and popular protests that took place in Palestine under the Ottoman occupation, followed by the British colonization and the settlement of the Jewish state in 1948. They enumerate the objectives of the struggle, emphasising the necessity for a free and democratic Palestine, defended through armed or non-armed struggle by all its citizens, men and women of various affiliations.

The Devil's Trap

2017 · ★ 10

A 25-year-old former cult member seeks out his family in a closed world of neon crosses, deadly alcoholism, and abuse.

Another Day in Missouri

2021

An inside look at Jessica Piper, a Democratic Candidate running for a House seat in District 1 of Missouri. This is a snapshot of her mind and what it feels like to run a campaign in an overlooked place.

Canada Vignettes: Vignettes from Labrador North

1979 · ★ 7

Brief history and profile of Inuit communities in Northern Labrador and the role of the Moravian missionaries in the region. Warning for outdated and offensive term used.

Images of the Mind: Cinematic Visions by Raymond Durgnat

1992

An introduction to the great film critic Raymond Durgnat's appreciation of the nature of cinema.

Universal State of Mind

No synopsis available.

CALL OF KAIFU

Faced with the wreckage of a failed film project and the turmoil of his troubled youth, a young filmmaker, urged by his friends, seeks refuge in therapy. Each session becomes a battleground where he confronts his deepest fears and darkest nightmares. As his life unfolds in the therapist's office, a glimmer of hope emerges amidst the chaos. Yet the journey is fraught with peril, forcing him to confront painful memories and insecurities. Through unwavering determination, he triumphs over his nightmares, emerging from the shadows reborn and renewed. This film is a testament to the power of the human spirit, offering hope even in the darkest of times.