Horse Drawn Magic

Grindcore Vacation

December 2022 •English

Grindcore Vacation melds the expository documentary, diary film, and live performance footage to produce a portrait of the musicians who play grindcore, an extreme sub-genre of punk/metal characterized by high speed and full volume. Shot during a weekend trip from Victoria BC to Dallas TX for a single DIY concert, it interviews members of Deterioration, Cognizant, and Imperial Slaughter. Live concert footage combines with interviews and Super 8mm film to create an impression of the people who play grindcore, why they love the genre, and their experiences as practitioners of the niche style.

The Hutterites

January 1964 •English

A look at the Hutterites, an Anabaptist religious community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites in rural Alberta.

The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters

January 2000 •English

For almost a century, the Coast Salish knitters of southern Vancouver Island have produced Cowichan sweaters from handspun wool. These distinctive sweaters are known and loved around the world, but the Indigenous women who make them remain largely invisible.

The Stand

October 2024 •English

Mixing animation with a wealth of archival footage, Chris Auchter’s film explores the 1985 dispute over clearcut logging on Haida Gwaii. On one side are Western Forest Products and Frank Belsen Logging, who plan to engage in clearcut logging on Tllga Kun Gwaayaay (Lyell Island) and are supported by the BC government. On the other side is the Haida Nation, which wishes to protect its lands against further destruction. The confrontation involves court proceedings and a blockade, and Auchter takes us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action.

Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens

November 2007 •English

In the late 1990s, some officers at Vancouver Police Department made a documentary film (THROUGH A BLUE LENS) about the everyday lives of six drug addicts in Vancouver's skid row, the Downtown Eastside. TEARS FOR APRIL reintroduces us to these six people; with footage shot over a period of nearly ten years, it continues their biography.

CUPNOODLES MUSEUM Movie at Momofuku Theater

Invalid date •Japanese

Momofuku TV employs CG animation to look back at the history of instant ramen and tell the story of how Momofuku Ando overcame great adversity to achieve inventions of worldwide importance. The program presents the six keywords that drove Momofuku’s creative thinking in a fun and easy to understand way.

Highway of Tears

Invalid date •Dutch

Discover the endless highway in British Columbia where over 40 indigenous women and girls (by unofficial estimates) have disappeared since the 1970s.

Haida Carver

January 1964 •English

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.

Des Amandiers aux Amandiers

July 2022 •French

A free and intimate portrait behind the scenes of Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's creation. In front of the camera, she transmits to today’s young actors the memory of the 1980s.

Coast Modern

October 2012 •English

A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.

Haida Modern

October 2019 •English

In the 50 years since he carved his first totem pole, Robert Davidson has come to be regarded as one of the world’s foremost modern artists. Charles Wilkinson (Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World) brings his trademark inquisitiveness and craftsmanship to this revealing portrait of an unassuming living legend. Weaving together engaging interviews with the artist, his offspring, and a host of admirers, Haida Modern extols the sweeping impact of both Davidson’s artwork and the legions it’s inspired.

Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration

September 2020 •English

Short documentary, shot over fours years, showing the incredible daily migration of the western toad tadpoles, a designated indicator species on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Call Of The Coastal Wolves

December 2020 •English

Some of the most secluded beaches of British Columbia are home to a unique wolf species that has evolved to gather their sustenance from both land and sea. Call of the Coastal Wolves follows a group of filmmakers over a two week expedition as they endeavour to film the elusive wolf. This short film asks us to reflect on our impacts to the natural world as we witness these compassionate, loving animals that deserve more attention and respect.

Piracema - uma carta de amor ao teatro

Invalid date •Portuguese

Fanny, Alexander & Me

May 2013 •Swedish

A documentary about the rehearsal of a theater production of Ingmar Bergman's "Fanny and Alexander" in 2012, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Out of the Interior: Survival of the small-town cinema in British Columbia

Invalid date •English

The hard-working cinema owners and operators of the small towns found in BC's southern interior are doing more than showing movies and selling popcorn––they are bringing their communities together.

Cattle Ranch

May 1961 •English

This short documentary offers a portrait of life on a cattle ranch, for both its human and animal inhabitants. Featuring sprightly music by folk singer Pete Seeger and narration by theatre actress Frances Hyland, the film is shot through the seasons on a large Canadian cattle ranch near Kamloops, British Columbia. With hundreds of cows and calves on the ranch, there’s no shortage of work to be done: soil cultivation and crop maintenance are taken care of by seasonal ranch hands while the resident cowboys—“anxious guardians”—brand and breed their bovine charges.

Gentleman Bandit

May 2024 •English

Documentary on the Canadian career of train robber Billy Miner, who became a folk hero in British Columbia. Locations near Kamloops and Mission are explored in present day.

Gurdeep Singh Bains

June 1977 •English

Gurdeep is a thirteen-year-old Canadian Sikh whose family runs a dairy farm near Chilliwack, British Columbia. They have retained their language and religion. Attendance at the Sikh temple, playing soccer with his schoolmates, and working on the farm are all part of Gurdeep's well-integrated life, but sometimes he feels a little different from the other children because he wears a turban. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.

Elk Island

March 1985 •English

This short documentary focuses on a man-made island that became the first federal sanctuary for wildlife in Canada. Situated an hour east of Edmonton, it houses one of the world's densest collections of wildlife, maintained by Parks Canada. Elk Island offers a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes activity of the island.