The Romance of the Far Fur Country

Director Harold M. Wyckoff
Year 1920
Run Time 120min
Genre Documentary

Shot with a scope that reaches from coast to coast to coast, this early documentary about the fur trade is about as ambitious as it gets. With scenes ranging from intimate to awe-inspiring, this silent epic tells a story that encompasses a wide variety of landscapes and people that participated in the industrial frenzy.

Created to commemorate the Hudson’s Bay Company’s 250th anniversary, this is the first feature length documentary in Canadian History, and is an important piece of history. Documenting different aspects of Canada almost 100 years ago, it is a fascinating look into the culture of that era.

Director

Harold M. Wyckoff

Producers

E. W. Hammons, Hudson's Bay Company

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Classics, History

Original Language

English

La femme de l’hôtel (A Woman in Transit)

Director Léa Pool
Year 1984
Run Time 89min
Genre Drama
Andrea Richler (Baillargeon) is a well-known director who returns to her hometown of Montreal to film a big-budget musical. At her hotel, she has an unsettling encounter with an elderly woman (Marleau). This encounter is forgotten until later, when we begin to realize that the events in this mysterious stranger’s life are somehow mirroring the fictional events of Andrea’s film.

Truth may indeed be stranger than fiction in this intriguing drama by one of Canada’s best female filmmakers. Winner of two Genies and the Toronto International Film Festival’s Best Canadian Feature Film award, this intimate and emotional film is sure to captivate.

Director

Léa Pool

A Member of the Order of Canada, Pool has earned three Genie Award nominations for Best Direction. Her films include Emporte Moi, Mouvements du désir, Lost and Delirious, La dernière fugue, Et au pire, on se mariera and Hôtel Silence, as well as the documentaries Pink Ribbons, Inc and Double peine. La passion d'Augustine won 15 awards, among them six Prix Iris, including Best Film and Best Director.

Writers

Michel Langlois, Léa Pool, Robert Gurick

Cast

Paule Baillargeon, Serge Dupire, Louise Marleau, Marthe Turgeon, Gilles Renaud

Producer

Bernadette Payeur

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Classics, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

French

The Great Toy Robbery

Director Jeff Hale
Year 1963
Run Time 6min
Genre Animation
On his annual Christmas journey, Santa Claus is stopped in the wild west by robbers looking to keep the toys for themselves.

Director

Jeff Hale

Genre

Animation

Interest

Classics

Original Language

English

The Big Snit

Director Richard Condie
Year 1983
Run Time 10min
Genre Animation, Comedy, Drama
A wonderfully wacky look at two conflicts - global nuclear war and a domestic quarrel - and how each is resolved. This classic animated short was nominated for an Oscar. 

Director

Richard Condie

Writer

Richard Condie

Producers

Richard Condie, Michael Scott

Genres

Animation, Comedy, Drama

Interests

Classics, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

The Cat Came Back

Director Cordell Barker
Year 1988
Run Time 7min
Genre Animation, Comedy, Family
In this Oscar-nominated short, a humorous song tells the silly tale of a man who just can't get rid of an unwanted cat. 

Director

Cordell Barker

Writer

Cordell Barker

Cast

Richard Condie

Producers

Cordell Barker, Richard Condie

Genres

Animation, Comedy, Family

Interest

Classics

Original Languages

English, French

Cosmic Zoom

Director Robert Verrall
Year 1968
Run Time 8min
Genre Animation, Documentary
A visually stunning exploration of the infinity of space and the ultimate minuteness of matter. 

Director

Robert Verrall

Producers

Robert Verrall, Joseph Koenig

Genres

Animation, Documentary

Interest

Classics

Original Language

No Dialogue

The Log Driver’s Waltz

Director John Weldon
Year 1979
Run Time 3min
Genre Animation
Canadian folk icons Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing along to the animated tale of a young girl who loves to dance and chooses to marry a dancing log driver over her more well-to-do suitors. 

Director

John Weldon

Cast

Kate McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle

Producer

David Verrall

Genre

Animation

Interest

Classics

Original Language

English

The Sand Castle

Director Co Hoedeman
Year 1977
Run Time 13min
Genre Animation

A man made of sand makes other sand creatures in this inventive, Oscar-winning stop-motion film.

Director

Co Hoedeman

Producer

Gaston Sarault

Genre

Animation

Interest

Classics

Original Language

No Dialogue

The Street

Director Caroline Leaf
Year 1976
Run Time 10min
Genre Animation, Drama

An award-winning adaptation of a story by Canadian author Mordecai Richler about how families deal with older relatives, and the emotions surrounding a grandmother’s death.

Director

Caroline Leaf

Writer

Mordecai Richler

Producer

Guy Glover

Genres

Animation, Drama

Interests

Classics, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

English

The Sweater

Director Sheldon Cohen
Year 1980
Run Time 10min
Genre Animation, Family
In this animated short, bestselling author Roch Carrier recounts the most mortifying moment of his childhood. At a time when all his friends worshipped Maurice "Rocket" Richard and wore his number 9 Canadiens hockey jersey, the boy was mistakenly sent a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey from Eaton's. Unable to convince his mother to send it back, he must face his friends wearing the colours of the opposing team.

This short film, based on the book The Hockey Sweater, is an NFB classic that appeals to hockey lovers of all ages.
 

Director

Sheldon Cohen

Writer

Roch Carrier

Cast

Roch Carrier

Producers

Marrin Canell, David Verrall

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

Classics, Sports

Original Languages

English, French