My Real Life (Ma Vie Réelle)
Drugs, delinquency, dysfunctional families, abandonment, poverty: “real life” is tough for young people in Montréal-Nord. Magnus Isacsson followed four teens from the impoverished area for 18 months, capturing not only their problems but their immense energy and will to escape. At the heart of their struggle is rap: raw, sincere, potent music that speaks for […]
Anarchronicles: Chronicles of a Libertarian Movement
This feature documentary relates the experience of various militant anarchists from Quebec, who represent different sides of this political movement. Drawing from more than 40 hours of interviews, countless manifestations, and numerous libertarian initiatives, this film strives to be a tool for popular education, which will de-mystify the chaotic and violent labels which are too […]
Silence is Gold
What are the limits to freedom of speech? Can we put a price on our spoken and written words? Following the 2008 release of the book Noir Canada, author Alain Deneault, his co-writers and his publisher, Éditions Écosociété, grappled with these questions – at great personal expense – after being sued for defamation in Quebec […]
Honour Your Word
Marylynn Poucachiche and Norman Matchewan faced tear gas and police batons when they joined their parents on the barricades to defend the Barriere Lake Algonquins’ traditional territory in the 1980s. Little did Marylynn and Norman realize they would still be on the barricades over 20 years later, this time with their own young children at their […]
Encirclement: Neo-Liberalism Ensnares Democracy
Drawing upon the thinking and analyses of internationally renowned intellectuals, ENCIRCLEMENT: NEO-LIBERALISM ENSNARES DEMOCRACY sketches a portrait of neoliberal ideology and examines the various mechanisms used to impose its dictates throughout the world. The one-size-fits-all dogmas of neoliberalism are well known: deregulation, reducing the role of the State, privatization, limiting inflation rather than unemployment. In […]
5 Broken Cameras
An extraordinary work of both cinematic and political activism, 5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, […]
THE HOLE STORY
“Don’t know much about mines? Not many people do. Mines don’t talk. Especially about their history.” Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie relate this history in their latest documentary, THE HOLE STORY, a documentary which continues in the same provocative vein as their earlier FOREST ALERT. The history of mining in Canada is the story of […]
Shadows of Liberty
Based on Ben Bagdikian’s critically acclaimed book The Media Monopoly, SHADOWS OF LIBERTY by Quebec filmmaker Jean-Philippe Tremblay takes an intrepid journey through the darker corridors of the American media landscape, where global media conglomerates exercise extraordinary political, social, and economic power. The overwhelming collective power of these firms raises troubling questions about democracy. Unravelling […]
Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada
Feminism has shaped the society we live in. But just how far has it brought us, and how relevant is it today? Status Quo? asks these questions and uncovers provocative – at times shocking – answers about the evolution of women’s equality in Canada. Interweaving a wealth of dynamic archival material with startling contemporary stories, […]
Surviving Progress
“Every time history repeats itself the price goes up.” Surviving Progress presents the story of human advancement as awe-inspiring and double-edged. It reveals the grave risk of running the 21st century’s software — our know-how — on the ancient hardware of our primate brain which hasn’t been upgraded in 50,000 years. With rich imagery and […]
The Chocolate Farmer
The Chocolate Farmer is the story of Eladio Pop, a cacao farmer in a remote district of southern Belize. A direct descendent of the ancient Maya, Eladio comes face to face with the moral dilemmas around the “fair trade” label within the multi-billion dollar chocolate industry. A tender and moving family tale, director Rohan Fernando’s […]
Pressure Point
Zeroing in on the Montreal Blockade against the M.A.I. (Multilateral Agreement on Investment), this stunningly filmed 52-minute documentary chronicles a daring civil disobedience action against the increasing impact of globalization. Arms linked, using nothing but their bodies, the 100-odd activists block several entrances of a luxurious downtown Montreal hotel to prevent key M.A.I. proponents from […]
The Battle of Rabaska – Chronicle of an Environmental Conflict
Building large industrial plants in a community always raises questions about public consultation and democracy, but when these mega-projects involve fossil fuels, the discussion also becomes environmental. Over four years, filmmakers Magnus Isacsson and Martin Duckworth follow the battle fought by citizens against the Rabaska consortium’s methane tanker terminal planned for the south shore of […]
Pax Americana: The Weaponization of Space
As if there weren’t enough weapons here on earth, space has become the newest arena for countries around the globe to launch their struggle for supremacy. Denis Delestrac’s film Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space is packed full of some truly startling facts — everything from the “Rods of God” (space weapons that can launch from […]
Manufacturing Consent – Noam Chomsky and the media
“The question is whether privileged elites should dominate mass communication, and should use this power as they tell us they must – namely to impose necessary illusions, to manipulate and deceive the stupid majority and remove them from the public arena. The question in brief is whether democracy and freedom are values to be preserved, […]
You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 Days Inside Guantanamo
A poorly recorded video starts. The door of the interrogation room opens. Behind table a young prisoner in chains and dressed in orange sits waiting. Two men and a woman enter the cell: Man 1: How’s your English?Omar Khadr: Good.Man 1: It is good, eh?Omar Khadr: Yea.Man 1: Look, the reason we’re down here, we […]
