Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards 2017 | Watch 7 Short Docs on Famous Canadians

This year, seven of Canada’s greatest performing arts stars and champions were awarded a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, a prestigious annual distinction presented in collaboration with the National Arts Center.

As is now tradition, we produced a series of short documentary films that celebrate the artistic achievements of this year’s laureates.

Enjoy the films!

Michael J. Fox

Television and silver screen icon Michael J. Fox discusses the bigger-than-life experience that is acting, as well as how he embraced his Parkinson’s diagnosis and let it lead him to explore different opportunities in Hollywood.

oehttps://www.onf.ca/film/michael_j_fox/

Michael Bublé

Internationally renowned singer, songwriter, and entertainer, Michael Bublé, is one of the most charismatic performers of his generation. But he’s also the kid who grew up dreaming of playing hockey in Burnaby. Spend a day backstage with him.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/audacious/

Martin Short

Prolific comedian Martin Short gives us a peek into the creative process behind his iconic characters while letting us know just how far in life one can get with two hairdos and a single dance move.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/who_is_the_real_martin_short/

William H. Loewen

Philanthropist and humanitarian William H. Loewen talks about Winnipeg city kid envy, how to share a gravel pit with some cows, and more importantly, how the classical music he heard on the radio reminded him of wintertime in the Prairies.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/bill_loewen_music_in_the_prairie_night/

Jean Beaudin

Acclaimed French director Jean Beaudin reminisces about a time where a bag of chips cost you a quarter and film screenings took place in church basements, before he recounts the moment he realized his calling was in the arts.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/for_the_love_of_the_fight_jean_beaudin/

Brigitte Haentjens

Esteemed theatre and artistic director, Brigitte Haentjens, reveals the orchestra-like collaboration behind directing that’s fuelled her career and her passions.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/an_overwhelming_passion/

Yves Sioui Durand

Celebrated writer, theatre and film director, actor, and producer, Yves Sioui Durand, walks you through an Indigenous greeting that honours ancestors past, while discussing how his heritage influences the types of theatre productions he produces.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/greetings_teskennongweronne_yves_sioui_durand/

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Watch 4 Films That’ll Help You Through Adolescence

Adolescence is hard. Arguably one of the hardest stages of life. Just when you’re getting an idea of who you are, everything changes. Puberty hits, hormones surge, and acne rears its ugly head. Then the romantic feelings start, and childhood friendships turn into high-stakes drama.

If you’re lucky, you’re in a good home with a loving family – however that’s composed – but sometimes, you don’t have a place to call home, or any of the advantages that some of the more privileged kids have. In either case, school takes a back seat, life gets really intense, and then… then you become an adult.

And while that doesn’t seem any easier, at least you’ve put adolescence behind you forever.

But guess what?

If you become a parent, you get to go through it all over again.

But chin up! We’ve put together 4 films designed to get you through the difficult years:

XS Stress: Teens Take Control 

This short film follows 3 very different teenagers, each of whom struggle with their own demons. There’s Sarah, who’s been in and out of group homes for most of her young life and self-mutilates; there’s Kira, a young woman whose missed diagnosis of dyslexia early on caused her to follow a path that wasn’t necessarily hers; and there’s Jarrel, an overachieving youth who tries to manage his insane schedule through a highly organized system of agendas. Tying their stories together is Kyra Shaugnessy, who brilliantly conveys the angst associated with growing up through her spoken-word poetry.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/xs_stress_teens_take_control/

Salt

This feature is composed of 4 shorts created by 4 different teens who chose to deal with the issues that preoccupy them through filmmaking. The four girls involved in the project are Beverly, Morgan, Amber and Karen – students from MIND, an alternative high school in Montreal. They did the film for credit, but also to learn a little more about the subjects they were portraying, which ranged from self-mutilation (an uncomfortably popular topic amongst this age group) to the education system. It was an interesting experiment, and offers some valuable insight for teens and adults alike.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/salt/

Becoming 13

This film is amazing. It’s a straightforward documentary that follows 3 girls – Jane, Avi, and Jazmine – over the course of one year, until they turn 13. If you are the mother of a young girl, which I’m sure many of you are, you will relate so easily to both the mothers and the young girls. Listening to the girls reminds you that you once thought the same way, and then listening to the mothers you realize how far you’ve strayed from that thinking. It’s a smart film that takes on a big subject – moving from childhood to maturity – and portrays it with a lot of heart.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/becoming_13/

Sexy Inc. Our Children Under Influence

This film takes on an issue that’s becoming increasingly worrisome as time goes by – the effects of our hypersexualized environment on young people. It’s not comforting to realize this film was made 10 years ago, and the problem hasn’t gotten any better… it’s only gotten worse. As the mother of a 9-year-old, I can tell you it’s near impossible to find summer shorts of a respectable length or a t-shirt that’s not fitted. This film tackles the issue from all sides, and offers up some possible solutions, too.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/sexy_inc/

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Rebel in the Rye

The life of celebrated but reclusive author, J.D. Salinger, who gained worldwide fame with the publication of his novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
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Our Home and Native Land

If you haven’t heard, this year marks the 150 anniversary of Canadian Confederation.

There’s about a million activities planned to celebrate (and we have a few of our own, in case you didn’t know), so this July 1st, what better way to express your love for Canada than with a couple different renditions of our national anthem?

 

O Canada

This short film illustrates the Canadian national anthem through the use of contemporary and archival footage.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/o_canada/

O Canada

This very short stereoscopic film by Evelyn Lambart uses drawings to suggest movement across Canada’s ever-changing countryside.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/o-canada/

William Shatner Sings O Canada

It’s our national anthem like you’ve never heard it before! William Shatner steers his starship to comic heights, taking patriotism where it’s never gone before.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/william_shatner_sings_o_canada/

O Canada #1: National Anthem: ‘With Glowing Hearts’

This version of our anthem was arranged for the 1976 Olympics.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/o_canada_1_national_anthem_with_glowing_hearts/

February 15, 1965: Raising Canada’s New Flag

While not a national anthem, this short documents the first time Canada’s new flag was raised on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It’s a vital piece of Canadian history, and the NFB was fortunate enough to be there to film it.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/february_15_1965_raising_canadas_new_flag/

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Amityville: The Awakening

Une mère célibataire emménage avec ses 3 enfants dans la célèbre maison hantée sans connaître l'histoire du lieu...
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Patti Cake$

Patricia Dombrowski, alias Patti Cake$, a 23 ans. Elle rêve de devenir la star du hip-hop, rencontrer O-Z, son Dieu du rap et surtout fuir sa petite ville du New Jersey et son job de serveuse dans un bar miteux. Elle doit cependant s’occuper de Nana, sa grand-mère qu’elle adore, et de Barb, sa mère, une chanteuse ratée et totalement instable. Un soir, au cours d’une battle sur un parking, elle révèle tout son talent de slammeuse. Elle s’embarque alors dans une aventure musicale avec Jheri, son meilleur ami et Basterd, un musicien mutique et asocial.
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5 Films That Capture the Magic of Canadian Summers

School’s out and summer is here!

We know that in theory every season gets four months, but as Canadians, we also know there are really only two seasons: Summer and winter, with winter lasting around 10 months, and summer a scant two.

There is something so magical about this season, when everyone emerges from winter hibernation and ventures outside their homes to chat with neighbours, stroll through the neighbourhood, and take their kids to the park.

Camping, fishing, boating, outdoor sports – it’s all part of our summers here in the great North; our attempt to make the most of this short, glorious time. And naturally, we’ve had filmmakers who perfectly captured the magic.

Blackfly

What’s summer without the nuisance of flying, biting, and stinging insects? Sure, we say we hate them, but aren’t they part of the charm of summer? What’s that you say? They’re not? Well, then, can we at least agree that no summer is complete without a decent earworm?

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/blackfly/

Distant Islands

This animated short brings us back to a different time, a time when parents casually smoked in the cabin of a sailboat with their young daughter sleeping 5 feet away. But aside from that (it was set in the past), it’s a must-see film film, created using embroidered tapestries and appliqué to tell the story of a little girl who recalls her adventurous summers spent sailing with her parents in British Columbia.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/distant_islands/

St-Henri the 26 of August

This is a beautiful film, or a collection of films, that pays tribute to the French cinéma-vérité classic, À Saint-Henri le cinq septembre. Over a period of a day, it follows the stories of several residents of the Montreal neighbourhood; a neighbourhood that used to be working-class, but is slowly being gentrified. It is the perfect summer-in-the-city film.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/st-henri_the_26th_of_august/

Song of the Paddle

What list of summer films would be complete without an appearance by Bill Mason? This film is the epitome of summer. It’s a return to nature, to basic values, and a relationship with the earth. It’s also mesmerizing. I could watch this family paddle their canoes all day – especially through the rapids. This film is a treat, a gift, and if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour and watch it today.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/song_of_the_paddle/

60 Cycles

Granted, for most of us summer sports involve baseball, soccer, tennis, swimming, maybe some casual hiking and cycling… not doing a 2400 km bike race across Quebec. But it’s fun to watch. And it’s no wonder the film’s a classic, it’s got everything going for it: postcard-perfect towns, great music, and non-stop action. It’s even got some great characters, like cyclist #4. Watch it. It’s 17 minutes of great cinema.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/60_cycles_en/

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