Black Life: Untold Stories – Northern Beats

Director Will Prosper
Year 2023
Run Time 44min
Genre Documentary

A musical look at the rise of hip hop in Canada, as told by some of its earliest pioneers, culminating in the worldwide success of artists like Drake and The Weeknd.

Director

Will Prosper

Writers

Leslie Norville, Margot Daley

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, History

Original Language

English

A Canadian Tarantella With Claudio Santaluce

Year 2022
Run Time 60min
Genre Documentary

If you grew up in the Toronto-area and attended family weddings or community fundraisers, you would have witnessed the rise of this young star. Despite his notable presence, there has never been a biopic on his life and artistic pursuits, until now. In this special documentary, viewers will learn about this old world master musician and what drives his passion for traditional music-making.

Directors

Genre

Documentary

Interest

Arts and Culture

Original Language

Other Language

Hey, Viktor!

Director Cody Lightning (Cree)
Year 2023
Run Time 102min
Genre Comedy

Twenty-five years after starring in the hit 90s film Smoke Signals, Cody Lightning directs and stars in this uproarious mockumentary about a fictionalized version of himself attempting to make a sequel. When a mysterious fan offers a full budget for the film, Cody jumps at the chance, promising the full participation of the original cast. The only thing standing in his way is the small fact that the entire original cast hates him. 


A refreshing and occasionally raunchy comedy, this charming underdog story is a great movie about how to make a terrible one.

Director

Cody Lightning (Cree)

Writer

Cody Lightning (Cree)

Cast

Cody Lightning (Cree)

Producers

Blake McWilliam, Sara Corry, Samuel Miller, Kyle Thomas

Genre

Comedy

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe

Director Robert McCallum
Year 2023
Run Time 90min
Genre Documentary

For so many Canadians, Ernie Coombs and his character Mr. Dressup was an enduring childhood fixture, promoting the power of creativity, play and imagination. This heartwarming documentary traces the roots of this universally celebrated and uniquely Canadian children’s programme, its enduring legacy, and how it stayed true to its aim throughout its run of almost 30 years.


Winner of the People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary at TIFF, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe is an absolute crowd-pleaser that is sure to bring a tear to your eye.


The Magic of Make-Believe not only serves as a reminder of the joy Coombs brought to our young lives, but it also emphasizes the need for Mr. Dressup's patience and kindness today more than ever.” – Rachel Ho, Exclaim!

Director

Robert McCallum

Writers

Robert McCallum, Jordan Christopher Morris

Producers

Nina Keogh, Matthew Hornburg, Mark J.W. Bishop, Jordan Christopher Morris, Aeschylus Poulos

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, ESL, History, Newcomer Stories

Original Language

English

Testament

Director Denys Arcand
Year 2023
Run Time 115min
Genre Drama

Archivist Jean-Michel (Girard) doesn’t recognize the world he’s living in anymore. Feeling like society has moved on from him, he’s dismayed when the seemingly safe confines of his retirement home become the site for a protest centred on a culture clash of generational values. As it grows into a full-blown media sensation, he decides to involve himself in the conflict – with hilarious results.


Partly a reflection on life and legacy, partly a playful skewering of contemporary society, the latest from Canadian icon Denys Arcand is a touching comedy with a lot of heart.


“Arcand’s genius is in every frame of this movie.” – Ralph Lucas, Northernstars.ca

Director

Denys Arcand

Writer

Denys Arcand

Cast

Rémy Girard, Sophie Lorain

Producer

Denise Robert

Genre

Drama

Interest

Arts and Culture

Original Language

French

Patty vs Patty

Director Chris Strikes
Year 2022
Run Time 19min
Genre Documentary
In 1985, restaurants in Toronto serving Jamaican patties went to war with the federal government over the right to call their beloved dish a “patty”.

Director

Chris Strikes

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Paul à Québec

Director François Bouvier
Year 2015
Run Time 98min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Paul is a cartoonist who lives with his girlfriend and their little daughter. His in-laws are a large, joyful clan with a much loved patriarch, whose health is failing. Based on a graphic novel of the same name, Paul à Québec is the touching story of a family coping with life’s troubles with courage, tenderness and lots of love.

Director

François Bouvier

Film and TV director Bouvier was nominated for the Best Director Genie in 1990 for his film Les matins infidèles. Since then, he has directed numerous television shows and films, including Histoires d'hiver and Maman Last Call, starring Patrick Huard. He recently directed the TV series Ruptures and the film La Bolduc. Currently he is completing work on the film La Cordonnière.

Writers

François Bouvier, Michel Rabagliati

Cast

François Létourneau, Julie LeBreton, Gilbert Sicotte, Louise Portal

Producers

Nathalie Brigitte Bustos, Valérie d'Auteuil, André Rouleau, Karine Vanasse

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

French

Vinyl

Director Alan Zweig
Year 2000
Run Time 110min
Genre Documentary
Alan Zweig’s cult favourite documentary mines the comedy and tragedy of obsessive record collecting, assembling an all-star lineup of audiophiles, store clerks, DJs, Elvis fanatics and hot jazz enthusiasts. A hard-core collector himself, Zweig uses mirror confessionals to excoriate his anti-social compulsion, while approaching his interview subjects with open-hearted compassion.

With this film, Zweig established his voice as a documentarian who is not content to be merely a fly on the wall in the lives of his subjects. Instead, he deploys the camera as a tool for engagement, rooting around in the margins of contemporary society to explore themes of beauty, addiction, love and longing in a profound and unique way.

Director

Alan Zweig

Writer

Alan Zweig

Cast

Alan Zweig, Harvey Pekar, Alan Williams, Don McKellar

Producers

Alan Zweig, Greg Klymkiw, Bruce McDonald, David McCallum

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

English

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media

Directors Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick
Year 1992
Run Time 167min
Genre Documentary
In this compelling and still timely documentary, linguist and liberal political activist Noam Chomsky presents his ideas on how the mass media works against the best interests of democracy. He argues that the corporations that control the outlets from which most people get their news are selectively picking what to cover for their own reasons and private agendas, rather than being the impartial news-dispensing entities we believe them to be.

Directed by Mark Achbar, who later made The Corporation, and the late Peter Wintonick, one of our country’s leading documentarians, Manufacturing Consent is a fascinating analysis of how society and the media are driven by corporate interest, and a primer on how to be a well informed citizen in spite of it all.

Directors

Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick

Producers

Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick, Adam Symansky

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, History, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

RiP! A Remix Manifesto

Director Brett Gaylor
Year 2009
Run Time 87min
Genre Documentary
In this challenging and thought-provoking documentary, filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age and the crumbling barriers between users and producers.

The film centres on Girl Talk, a mash-up musician who tops the charts with his sample- based creations, provoking debate about ownership, copyright, piracy and what it means to be an artist in the 21st century.

Musicians, authors and pop culture critics all weigh in on the issues in this wildly innovative and experimental doc.

A great mix of compelling analysis and difficult questions, RiP! addresses issues of sampling, sharing, intellectual property and creative freedom with flair and style.

Director

Brett Gaylor

Writer

Brett Gaylor

Producers

Mila Aung-Thwin, Kat Baulu, Germaine Ying Gee Wong

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, History

Original Language

English