Set in the austere post–World War II British world of rationing, Cyril dreams up an ode to an imaginary character named Merlin Mound who can provide anything one can wish. Merlin becomes real and grants his host's wishes; not by conjuring the items out of thin air, but depriving them from other...
This documentary tells the story of Max Ward, a former bush pilot whose company grew to become one of the major airlines in Canada. A study of entrepreneurship, the film focuses on Ward himself, depicting his distinctive style of hands-on management. Between hallway meetings, informal chats with...
A documentary about the self-taught painter William Kurelek, told through his paintings. There are scenes of village life in the Ukraine and the early days of struggle on a prairie homestead and the growing comfort of family life. In Ontario, Kurelek paints the present life of Canada with the same...
This short documentary is a portrait of the early era of computing and the process and implications of the digitization of large amounts of information. Examining the arduous work of assessing and documenting the geographical landscape, including sampling and analysis of soil, forestry, timber,...
Nesbitt Spoon, who's a bit of a nebbish, tells us about his day, which is fairly average up until the moment that his doctor tells him he has only five minutes left to live.
On Canada's Pacific coast this film finds a young Haida artist, Robert Davidson, shaping miniature totems from argillite, a jet-like stone. The film follows the artist to the island where he finds the stone, and then shows how he carves it in the manner of his grandfather, who taught him the craft.
A new system devised by Canadians whereby the dryout process in fuel bundles for a nuclear reactor can be completely checked, thereby preventing uneconomical burnup. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada.
In 1961, philosopher Roland Barthes collaborated with filmmaker Hubert Aquin to produce a film, for Canadian television, intended to reveal the poetics of sport and spectatorship. The question 'what is sport' is answered by Barthes' eloquently scripted commentary. The recurring theme of purging...
