The Arrow

Year 1997
Run Time 180min
Genre Drama

Based on the true story of how Canada built — and then destroyed — the world’s most advanced fighter plane at the height of the Cold War, this gripping and critically acclaimed miniseries follows the Avro team under the leadership of charismatic president Crawford Gordon (Aykroyd), as they race to build the supersonic jet. Unfortunately, conflicting political agendas and pressure from the US ultimately unravel their dream, and the program is cancelled in 1959. Though the record-breaking Arrow itself does not survive, its creation remains a high benchmark in Canadian and international aerospace achievement.

The Arrow won nine awards, including six Geminis. Please note the long running time of this film.

 

The Arrow was originally aired as a miniseries and can be watched as a film or in two parts. 

Directors

Genre

Drama

Interest

History

Original Language

English

O Canada

Director Jerry Popowich
Year 2017
Run Time 2min
Genre Animation
Mercury Filmworks created this charming animated version of the national anthem for National Canadian Film Day 150. It screened at over 1,800 events around the world and became a classic.

Director

Jerry Popowich

Genre

Animation

Interest

Arts and Culture

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

What Are You?

Director Richard Pierre
Year 2019
Run Time 20min
Genre Documentary

The mixed-race identity is explored through a series of interviews recounting the isolation, discrimination and self-discovery that come from being stuck between two cultures.

Director

Richard Pierre

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Volta

Director Ryan Mullins
Year 2009
Run Time 13min
Genre Documentary

In this gorgeously shot documentary, Ryan Mullins is guided by a former projectionist on a tour of a derelict movie theatre in rural Ghana that is now serving as a make-shift school. 

Director

Ryan Mullins

Producers

Noah Dumahasi, Ryan Mullins

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

  • Own Voice

To Wake Up the Nakota Language

Director Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree)
Year 2017
Run Time 6min
Genre Documentary

At 69 years old Armand McArthur is one of the last fluent Nakota speakers in Saskatchewan, but he has dedicated his life to passing down his teachings so that the language and culture survive for generations to come.

Director

Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree)

Writer

Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree)

Producer

Jon Montes

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Take Me to Prom

Director Andrew Moir
Year 2019
Run Time 21min
Genre Documentary

The high school tradition of prom is explored through a series of interviews with LGBTQ+ students over the years, sharing their own diverse stories and perspectives.

Director

Andrew Moir

Producer

Andrew Moir

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Fast Horse

Director Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)
Year 2018
Run Time 14min
Genre Documentary
At the Calgary Stampede, Cody BigTobacco competes in his first Indian Relay, a fast-paced and dangerous horse race where jockeys ride bareback and switch horses.

Director

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Producer

Niobe Thompson

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Sports

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Lake

Director Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)
Year 2019
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary
Two Métis women demonstrate their process of ice fishing on a cold lake in northern Alberta.

Director

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Writer

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Producer

David Christensen

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Environment, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Hyphen: Gabriela’s Story

Director Gabriela Warrior Renaud
Year 2016
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary

Renaud explores her hyphenated identity through a portrayal of the complexities of her multiracial family.

Director

Gabriela Warrior Renaud

Writer

Gabriela Warrior Renaud

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker

Original Languages

English, French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

  • Own Voice

Hard Learning

Director Daniel Fortin
Year 2017
Run Time 7min
Genre Documentary
With no high school in her northern community of Wapekeka, 14-yearold Miranda must move 500 km away for Grade 9. This touching doc reveals the challenges faced by many northern Indigenous youth.

Director

Daniel Fortin

Writers

Paul Neary, Daniel Fortin

Producer

Daniel Fortin

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Mni Wiconi: Mitakuyelo (Water is Life)

Director Victoria Anderson-Gardner (Ojibwe)
Year 2019
Run Time 12min
Genre Documentary
Indigenous youth leaders from the Standing Rock protests reflect on the experience of living at the camp as well as the importance and lasting impact that it had on their lives.

Director

Victoria Anderson-Gardner (Ojibwe)

Producers

Victoria Anderson-Gardner (Ojibwe), K.J. Edwards, Tash Naveau

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Cry Rock

Director Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)
Year 2016
Run Time 29min
Genre Documentary
Fewer than 15 Nuxalk-language speakers and storytellers are left in Bella Coola, B.C. This thoughtful film explores what is lost from a culture when a language threatens to go extinct.

Director

Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)

Writer

Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)

Producer

Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Languages

English, Other Language

  • Own Voice

When the Children Left

Director Charlene Moore (Cree)
Year 2019
Run Time 13min
Genre Documentary

With no high school in their community, the people of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation must send their children away from home at only 14 years old in order to access educational opportunities.

Director

Charlene Moore (Cree)

Producers

Charlene Moore (Cree), Ryan Cooper

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

I’m Scared Too

Directors Nadia Lakhdari, Caroline Lavergne
Year 2017
Run Time 2min
Genre Animation
In the days following the attack on a Quebec City mosque, directors Lakhdari and Lavergne sought out stories from Quebecers of all walks of life, revealing the same emotions that unite rather than divide us.

Directors

Nadia Lakhdari, Caroline Lavergne

Writer

Nadia Lakhdari

Genre

Animation

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Thunderbird

Director Erin Collins (Anishinaabe)
Year 2018
Run Time 3min
Genre Documentary

The amazing story of Steven Collins, a First Nations ski jumper who competed in the Olympics when he was only 15 years old.

Director

Erin Collins (Anishinaabe)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Sports

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Air Show

Director Maya Bastian
Year 2017
Run Time 8min
Genre Drama
Having recently started a new life in Toronto, a Tamil family comes face to face with their lingering trauma when they first encounter the thundering noise of the air show

Director

Maya Bastian

Writer

Maya Bastian

Producer

Maya Bastian

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Jordan Gordon’s Guide to Kuujjuaq

Director Jordan Gordon (Inuk)
Year 2018
Run Time 4min
Genre Comedy, Documentary
Jordan Gordon is thrilled to show you around his hometown, taking you through the highlights with a wonderful mix of humour and charm.

Director

Jordan Gordon (Inuk)

Writer

Jordan Gordon (Inuk)

Genres

Comedy, Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Environment, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Dystopianest Dystopia Ever

Director Jon Murray
Year 2013
Run Time 2min
Genre Comedy
A hilarious take on a “not too distant future” in which we no longer need old fashioned forms of communication like (ugh!) talking.

Director

Jon Murray

Writer

Jon Murray

Producer

Jon Murray

Genre

Comedy

Interests

Arts and Culture, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

  • Own Voice

Hole

Director G. Goletski
Year 2018
Run Time 6min
Genre Animation, Drama
The story of Mo, a young adult on the autism spectrum whose daily routine is disrupted when a mysterious hole begins to follow them around.

Director

G. Goletski

Writer

G. Goletski

Genres

Animation, Drama

Interest

BIPOC Stories

Original Language

English

Sharkwater Revolution Saipan

Director Rob Stewart
Year 2011
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary
After watching the feature film Sharkwater, a Grade 6 class in Saipan of the Northern Mariana Islands pressures their government to ban shark fins — and succeeds.

Director

Rob Stewart

Stewart was an award-winning journalist and filmmaker, whose docs Sharkwater, and Revolution earned awards at festivals worldwide. A tireless activist, Stewart was credited with saving a third of the world’s sharks. He tragically passed away in 2017, while filming Sharkwater: Extinction, which was completed posthumously and premiered at TIFF 2018.

Genre

Documentary

Interest

Environment

Original Language

English