Bluefin

Director John Hopkins
Year 2016
Run Time 53min
Genre Documentary
Endangered giant bluefin tuna have returned to Prince Edward Island, Canada, in surprising abundance after a complete disappearance from overfishing, but renewed human interference threatens to drive them away permanently. This fascinating documentary explores the baffling mystery of why the normally wary bluefin tuna no longer seem to fear humans.

Director

John Hopkins

Writer

John Hopkins

Cast

Carl Safina, Brian Skerry, Boris Worm

Genre

Documentary

Interest

Environment

Original Language

English

Pour la suite du monde (For Those Who Will Follow)

Directors Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault
Year 1963
Run Time 105min
Genre Documentary
For centuries, the villagers of Île aux Coudres, a small island in the St. Lawrence River, hunted beluga whales by creating a sort of “fence” of saplings in shallow, muddy waters, trapping the mammals in low tide as they swim by.

In 1962, Michel Brault and a team of filmmakers travelled to the island to document the resumption of the practice decades after it had been abandoned, shedding light and wit on this “resourceful” tradition.

A balance of grace, humour, and up-close observation, Pour la suite du monde is known as a landmark achievement in documentary filmmaking and was screened at the Cannes film festival.

Directors

Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault

Writers

Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault

Producers

Jacques Bobet, Fernand Dansereau

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Classics, Environment, History

Original Language

French

Occupy Love

Director Velcrow Ripper
Year 2013
Run Time 84min
Genre Documentary
This inspiring documentary captures the heart of a movement that is sweeping the planet in response to current global economic and environmental crises. The apparently fearless filmmaker Velcrow Ripper travels around the world to film a series of popular uprisings — the Arab Spring in Egypt, Spain’s Indignado movement, Occupy Wall Street — asking the question “Is it possible to understand these crises as a kind of love story?”  

This poignant documentary explores what Martin Luther King Jr. called “love in action,” searching for the meaning and importance of the love of humanity and of the planet.  

…the photography is beautiful, the scenes of crowds and their signs arresting, and the interviews with individual protesters — in Tahrir Square, Zuccotti Park, tear-gassed Oakland, and even melting Greenland — are often inspiring.” — Alan Scherstuhl, The Village Voice

Director

Velcrow Ripper

Writer

Velcrow Ripper

Producers

Ian Mackenzie, Nova Ami, Velcrow Ripper

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Environment, Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Rise: Sacred Water – Standing Rock Part 1

Director Michelle Latimer
Year 2017
Run Time 45min
Genre Documentary

This powerful documentary series from VICELAND gives viewers a rare glimpse into the frontline of Indigenous-led resistance, examining Indigenous life through the stories of people in diverse communities who are working to protect their homelands. Several episodes of this urgent and timely show debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and were hailed as “persuasive and poignant” by The New York Times.

Sacred Water: Standing Rock Part 1 The residents of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation of South Dakota are fighting to stop a pipeline from being built on their ancestral homeland. In this absorbing account of the events leading up to the protests, Anishinaabe host Sarain Carson-Fox provides context and background, telling the water protectors’ side of the story as the conflict develops right before our eyes.

Director

Michelle Latimer

A filmmaker and actor, Latimer’s first short, Choke, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her credits include several documentaries and dramatic shorts, such as The Underground and Nuuca. She has directed the television series Rise, Burden of Truth and Trickster.

Cast

Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot/Dene), Sarain Carson-Fox (Anishinaabe)

Producer

Jarrett Martineau (nēhiyaw/Dene Sųłiné)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Environment, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Rise: Red Power – Standing Rock Part 2

Director Michelle Latimer
Year 2017
Run Time 44min
Genre Documentary

This powerful documentary series from VICELAND gives viewers a rare glimpse into the frontline of Indigenous-led resistance, examining Indigenous life through the stories of people in diverse communities who are working to protect their homelands. Several episodes of this urgent and timely show debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and were hailed as “persuasive and poignant” by The New York Times.

Red Power: Standing Rock Part 2 As the #noDAPL movement grows in size and reaches a boiling point, over 5,000 people descend on the Standing Rock camp. Using the unprecedented occupation at Standing Rock as its starting point, this episode delves into the evolution of the Red Power Movement, combining history lessons about Indigenous-led resistance with explosive footage of this urgent and historic moment.

Director

Michelle Latimer

A filmmaker and actor, Latimer’s first short, Choke, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her credits include several documentaries and dramatic shorts, such as The Underground and Nuuca. She has directed the television series Rise, Burden of Truth and Trickster.

Cast

Sarain Carson-Fox (Anishinaabe), Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot/Dene)

Producer

Jarrett Martineau (nēhiyaw/Dene Sųłiné)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Environment, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Manufactured Landscapes

Director Jennifer Baichwal
Year 2006
Run Time 86min
Genre Documentary
A remarkable meditation on humanity’s impact on the environment, this doc follows internationally acclaimed photographer Edward Burtynsky to China, where he documents industrial landscapes and their impact on the surrounding natural world. Exploring the surprising beauty amid the waste generated by factories and dumps, Burtynsky and documentarian Jennifer Baichwal travel across the vast landscape, capturing incredible visuals that need little commentary.

An impactful but subtle statement about humanity’s impact on the world, Manufactured Landscapes’ powerful images raise more questions than answers.

Director

Jennifer Baichwal

Baichwal and de Pencier are known for their CSA-winning docs, Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark and Anthropocene. They are frequent collaborators, with Baichwal directing and de Pencier as her cinematographer and producer. Their credits include The Holier it Gets, Act of God and Payback, and their newest film together, Into the Weeds.

Cast

Edward Burtynsky

Producers

Jennifer Baichwal, Nick de Pencier, Daniel Iron

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Environment, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Sea of Life

Director Julia Barnes
Year 2017
Run Time 88min
Genre Documentary
Inspired by the films of Rob Stewart, 16-year-old Julia Barnes decides to follow his example and take eco-action through filmmaking. Travelling around the world surveying the various problems that threaten ocean ecosystems, Barnes takes a deep dive into how actions by governments, businesses and ordinary people can all have a drastic impact on sustainability.

Culminating in the demonstrations leading up to the important but ultimately ineffective Paris Climate Agreement, this documentary charts a path for what comes next and how a conscious treatment of the ocean could present the answer to keeping our planet liveable and beautiful for generations to come.

Director

Julia Barnes

Writer

Julia Barnes

Cast

Julia Barnes, Rob Stewart

Producer

Julia Barnes

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Environment, Female Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Rise: The Urban Rez

Director Michelle Latimer
Year 2017
Run Time 44min
Genre Documentary

Winnipeg is home to the largest urban Indigenous population in the country, with a high percentage living in a low-income neighbourhood with the highest crime rate in the city. In the face of a staggering number of cases of missing Indigenous women and girls, the community has decided to take a stand, working on an individual level to support, protect and improve the lives of its residents.

Hosted by Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot, Dene) this documentary shows the brave fighters who have dedicated themselves to the cause and delves into the underlying factors and intergenerational trauma that has allowed this environment to develop in the first place.

Director

Michelle Latimer

A filmmaker and actor, Latimer’s first short, Choke, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her credits include several documentaries and dramatic shorts, such as The Underground and Nuuca. She has directed the television series Rise, Burden of Truth and Trickster.

Cast

Sarain Carson-Fox (Anishinaabe), Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot/Dene)

Producer

Jarrett Martineau (nēhiyaw/Dene Sųłiné)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Environment, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

The Energy Carol

Director Les Drew
Year 1975
Run Time 10min
Genre Animation
In a playful spin on the Charles Dickens classic, the CEO of a power company must confront the impact his wasteful ways will have on the future of the planet.

Director

Les Drew

Genre

Animation

Interest

Environment

Original Language

English

The Whale

Directors Michael Parfit, Suzanne Chisholm
Year 2010
Run Time 85min
Genre Documentary, Family
This touching documentary, narrated by Ryan Reynolds, tells the story of a young killer whale, Luna, who gets separated from his family on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. As rambunctious and surprising as a visitor from another planet, Luna endears himself to the community with his determination to make contact, leading to many unexpected consequences.

The Whale charts the community’s struggle to deal with Luna, since whales who are separated from their pods rarely survive in the wild. Raising more questions than it can answer, the film is a truly compelling exploration of our relationship with animals.

“The issues surrounding the emotional lives of animals — and the often presumptuous assumption of humans that they comprehend them — are explored in The Whale with a quiet dignity and gorgeous images.” — Andy Webster, New York Times

Directors

Michael Parfit

Parfit co-founded the BC-based Mountainside Films with Suzanne Chisholm, which Realscreen once named among the world’s 100 most influential production companies. Their work has aired on CBC, CNN, PBS, BBC and National Geographic. Their latest film is Call of the Baby Beluga and they recently executive produced the doc Doeville.

Suzanne Chisholm

Chisholm co-founded the BC-based Mountainside Films with Michael Parfit, which Realscreen once named among the world’s 100 most influential production companies. Their work has aired on CBC, CNN, PBS, BBC and National Geographic. Their latest film is Call of the Baby Beluga and they recently executive produced the doc Doeville.

Cast

Ryan Reynolds

Producer

Suzanne Chisholm

Genres

Documentary, Family

Interests

Environment, ESL, Female Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English