A powerful documentary set in the housing project of Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood, Invisible City follows two childhood friends, Kendell and Mikey, who face many challenges while growing up in single-parent homes in the inner city.

Academy Award-nominated director Hubert Davis follows the two young men over three years, setting this intimate portrait against the backdrop of a community in transition: The Regent Park housing projects are about to be torn down and it is unclear whether the redevelopment will result in a brighter future for the residents.

Social pressures tempt the young men to make poor choices, while their families root for them to succeed. Davis doesn’t provide easy answers to the problems at hand. Instead, he shows the real uncertainty and unpredictability in the young men’s lives.

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

Black Liberators WWII tells the heroic stories of Black Canadian and Caribbean soldiers who served in the Canadian Army during World War II. These little-known war stories reveal the amazing acts of bravery and patriotism of these soldiers, all while they faced the harsh realities of racism both at home and on the battlefield.

Director Adrian Callender invites audiences to uncover this history while paying homage to the individuals who fought for their country and their freedom. This ground-breaking documentary is an essential piece of Canadian history, ensuring that the sacrifices of these veterans are never forgotten.

This documentary, produced by Drake, LeBron James, Vinay Virmani, and Maverick Carter chronicles the legacy of anti-Black racism in hockey, from the early segregation of Nova Scotia’s Coloured Hockey League, its connections to the history of Africville and the experiences of today’s Black NHLers. This powerful film is a must-see critique of the systemic failures that have sidelined Black Canadians in a sport that’s built into the country’s DNA.

The latest feature from Academy Award-nominated director Hubert Davis, Black Ice won over audiences and critics alike upon its TIFF premiere in 2022, winning the festival’s People’s Choice Award for Documentaries. It was also named to TIFF’s annual Canada’s Top Ten list.  

The story of musical icon Buffy Sainte Marie is told through interviews with her peers, those she inspired and, of course, Buffy herself. For over five decades, Buffy has demonstrated a commitment to her principles that not only sets her apart from her peers, but has also allowed her to have an impact felt around the world. This musical journey looks over her career, celebrating the brilliance of her composition, writing and fearless activism.

A must-see for both lifelong and new fans of her work, this exceptional documentary premiered at TIFF in 2022 and was nominated for the DGC Allan King award for Best Documentary Film. 
 

If you’ve ever watched the Toronto Raptors, chances are you’ve seen Nav Bhatia (aka the “Raptors Superfan”), stationed in the seat he’s sat in for every home game in the franchise’s history. Superfan explores how Nav found a home in Toronto, fell in love with the Raptors, and grew to be so beloved that he became the first fan ever to receive an NBA championship ring, as part of the 2019 championship Raptors team.

Featuring interviews with comedian Russell Peters, Vince Carter, Isiah Thomas, and Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, this compelling doc tells Nav’s inspiring story of perseverance, passion, overcoming adversity and ultimately finding success and joy. 

Canadian Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire was in command of the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission to Rwanda in 1994 when a bloody genocide erupted. Over the course of 100 days, more than 800,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutus, the rival tribe in their country.

Dallaire attempted to stop the killing by alerting the world through the United Nations and the international media. Though his attempts were unsuccessful, Dallaire emerged as a hero. Ten years later, Dallaire returns to Rwanda to personally commemorate the anniversary of that holocaust.

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005.

“Dallaire is not only the protagonist of Shake Hands with the Devil, he is a compelling reason to see it.” — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Driven by a life-long fascination with sharks, filmmaker Rob Stewart sets out to dispel the myth that these majestic creatures are bloodthirsty, merciless monsters who prowl the seas in search of tasty swimmers.

Filmed in gorgeous high-definition video, Sharkwater takes you into shark-filled oceans, exposing the true nature of sharks as well as the way human interference has turned this noble predator into prey. Stewart teams up with a rogue environmentalist group on a breathtaking adventure to battle shark poachers around the globe. His incredible journey will make you see sharks in a whole new light.

Winner of many Audience and Critics Choice awards at film festivals around the world.

One of the masters of Canadian documentary cinema, Alanis Obomsawin has spent decades chronicling the injustices visited on First Nations communities, creating a remarkable body of work. In her latest film, she digs into the difficult history of Treaty 9, the infamous 1905 agreement in which First Nations communities allegedly relinquished their sovereignty over their traditional lands.

Setting the film against the recent resurgence of First Nations activism (Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike and the Idle No More movement), Obomsawin interviews legal, historical and cultural experts — as well as people whose ancestors were present when the treaty was signed — to explore some fundamental questions about Canada’s relationship with our First Nations.

“Obomsawin’s documentaries inform, inspire and shock us. Trick or Treaty? is no different.” — Nadya Domingo, Toronto Film Scene

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

Ruhi Singh is on her way to Bombay to participate in an intense beauty boot camp as a contestant in the Miss India pageant, a surefire launching pad to fame in a country of 1.2 billion people. 

Meanwhile, just a few hours away, Prachi Trivedi works at a very different kind of camp – one run by a militant Hindu nationalist group, where young girls are trained to combat western influences. 

Moving between the two camps, this lively and provocative documentary paints a portrait of a nation in transformation. A study in contrasts on the one hand, the film also reveals disturbing similarities in the obstacles that each woman faces as she tries to have an impact on her society.

The World Before Her won Best Canadian Feature at the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival. 

Set against the backdrop of the Canadian Prairies, Alberta-born singer/songwriter Rae Spoon takes us on the musical journey of a trans person’s coming of age in an evangelical household.  

Using interviews, performances and songs, the film traces Spoon’s musical and personal evolution, as the musician shares stories about discovering the truth about oneself and having the courage to live that truth.

"My Prairie Home is melodic, poetic, and beautifully complicated bliss. An utterly beguiling documentary discovery." Glenn Dunks, Film Experience. 

In this powerful follow-up to his acclaimed documentary Sharkwater, Rob Stewart discovers that sharks aren’t the only ones in danger — climate change has a devastating impact on human life as well. Striking and vibrant landscapes are juxtaposed with startling proof that significant damage has already been done. At the same time, Stewart finds immense hope in the dedicated and passionate youth whose efforts are changing our future for the better.

Serge Ibaka, a newly crowned NBA Champion with the Toronto Raptors, journeys home to the Republic of Congo, with the NBA Championship trophy to inspire his community. He has an emotional homecoming in Brazzaville, where he grew up poor and sometimes homeless, having been left by himself after his mother’s death when he was 7 and his father’s imprisonment shortly thereafter. Despite these overwhelming obstacles, he achieved his dream of becoming an NBA Champion and becoming the first person to bring the trophy back to the Congo. 

While his NBA journey is an inspiring story that led to the fulfillment of his lifelong dream, Ibaka is not just celebrating his own achievement in this documentary but aims to share the message that through hard work and determination, anything is possible.

What would you do if 6,600 people unexpectedly landed in your small town with no place to stay? For the 11,000 people of Gander, Newfoundland, this incredible event happened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, when nearly 40 planes are rerouted and grounded there.

This documentary shows how this town in Newfoundland came together to feed, shelter and support all of the stranded airline passengers for 6 days.

With interviews from a selection of airline passengers and residents of the town, this emotional and inspirational documentary tells the incredible true story that inspired the smash-hit musical Come From Away.

We all know about the terrible “brutality” of the Arctic seal hunt — or do we? Turns out there are other sides to this story: it's the story of families that need to be fed, the story of a hunting practice that began centuries ago and the story of a tradition that is central to the economy and food security of Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic. Angry Inuk contains a story that’s over 4,000 years old.

The seal hunt is not exactly a laughing matter, but humour and technical savvy go a long way to debunk certain claims. Wryly tackling both misinformation and aggressive appeals to emotion, Inuk filmmaker Arnaquq-Baril equips herself and her community with the powers of social media — and yes, #sealfies — to reframe a controversial topic as a cultural issue in this 2016 Audience Award–winning Hot Docs hit.

“Angry Inuk delivers important information about an issue we tend to think we know everything about, and delivers a powerful emotional punch.”
—Susan G. Cole, NOW Magazine

In the not-so-distant future, the world is on the brink of a climate meltdown while large corporations have taken over every aspect of society, posing as socially-conscious and benevolent entities. That was the warning in 2003’s The Corporation, and now the filmmaking team has returned to warn us again, because that dystopian future has arrived.

Following the example of their critically-acclaimed first documentary, The New Corporation delves even deeper into the absolute and far-reaching power that corporations have gained, and the future that awaits us if that power remains unchecked.

“What you want from a film like this one is for it to touch the metaphysics of how corporations now work. The New Corporation does that. It shakes up your perceptions. And it makes you suck in your breath.” — Owen Glieberman, Variety

For more than a hundred years, US corporations — including giants like Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Nike — have been treated as “persons” under the law.

But if a corporation is a person, what kind of person is it?

In answering this question, this provocative film takes a mischievous approach. Because the pursuit of profit is behind every corporate decision, corporations fit a classic psychiatric profile: They are psychopaths.

This unexpected conclusion prompts many moral, political and social questions. Full of interviews with corporate insiders and critics, this often humorous documentary is packed with fascinating insights.

Winner of 26 international awards, including 10 Audience Choice awards at film festivals around the world.

In 2002, when Canadian-born Omar Khadr was 15 years old, he was caught by American troops in a firefight in the village of Ayub Kheyl, Afghanistan. Affiliated with the Taliban at the time, Khadr was imprisoned for throwing a grenade that resulted in the death of an American soldier, despite his being a minor.

His subsequent detention at Guantanamo Bay, a harsh prison on the southern coast of Cuba, became the topic of a major political debate, as child soldiers have not been prosecuted for war crimes since WWII.

Guantanamo’s Child gives Khadr a chance to speak for himself on camera for the first time. More than just a stirring story, this documentary delivers an engrossing intimate portrait of how a teenager from a Toronto suburb became the first juvenile to ever be tried for war crimes.

Based on the internationally acclaimed book Hana’s Suitcase, this poignant documentary tells the tale of George and Hana Brady, two young children who grew up in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia, and the terrible hardships they endured because they were Jewish.

When Fumiko Ishioka, a teacher in Japan, requests artifacts from a Holocaust museum to illustrate the history of WWII to her students, one item she receives is a suitcase labelled “Hana Brady.” As she and her students unravel Hana’s story, the film seamlessly transports audiences through 70 years of history, back and forth across three continents.

“Larry Weinstein’s deft, unique balance of documentary and narrative techniques helps…convey the combination of deep personal trauma and epic atrocity at the heart of Inside Hana’s Suitcase…a lovely, accessible and moving work.” — Kieran Grant, EYE Weekly