Michel Brault, l'instinct de vue

Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment

June 2000 •English

A documentary about direct-cinema from its very beginnings (Nanook of the North) to the fake-direct-cinema of the Blair Witch Project. All the important direct-cinema filmmakers are portrayed and/or interviewed: Leacock, Wiseman, Maysles, Pennebaker, Reisz and others.

Back to the Land

January 1976 •French

Feature-length documentary as part of Pierre Perrault's Abitibian Cycle. The filmmaker questions the past and present of Abitibi and draws up, face to face, the promises of colonization in the 1930s and the great disappointment caused by the closing of the land in the 1970s. There are witnesses to the heroic era, including the cultivator Hauris Lalancette, as well as extracts from films by Father Maurice Proulx (1934-1940).

The Things I Cannot Change

January 1967 •English

"This feature documentary is considered to be the forerunner of the NFB's Challenge for Change Program. The film offers in inside look at 3 weeks in the life of the Bailey family. Trouble with the police, begging for stale bread, and the birth of another child are just some of the issues they face. Through it all, the father tries to explain his family's predicament. Although filmed in Montreal, the film offers an anatomy of poverty as it occurs throughout North America." - NFB

Little Burgundy

January 1968 •French

"This film is one of the first French Unit productions of the “Société Nouvelle/Challenge for Change” program. When an old area of Montréal is to be demolished to make way for a new low-income housing development, is there anything the residents can do to protect their own interests? The film documents such a situation in the Little Burgundy district of Montréal and shows how the residents organized themselves into a committee that successfully influenced the city’s housing policy." - Anthology Film Archives

Friday: About Cars

January 1978 •English

"Montréal under the snow and the cold winter. It is the period of the year when the garage owners strike it rich. The automobile at the service of man? This small opus would rather show the contrary. This is one in a series of eight films titled “Chronicle of Everyday Life,” a project that filmmaker Jacques Leduc took four years to realize, and whose goal was to revisit Direct Cinema at a moment when it was already heavily “contaminated” by mainstream TV." - Anthology Film Archives

Cesar's Bark Canoe

January 1971 •French

"This documentary depicts a canoe being built in the traditional manner. Cesar Newashish, a 67-year-old Attikamek of the Manawan Reserve North of Montréal, uses only birchbark, cedar splints, spruce roots, and gum. With a sure hand he works methodically to fashion a craft unsurpassed in function or beauty of design. Building a canoe solely from the materials that the forest provides may become a lost art, even among the Native Peoples whose traditional craft it is. The film is free of spoken commentary but text appears on the screen in Cree, French, and English." - Anthology Film Archives

Belle famille

July 1978 •French

A working class family leaves St-Henri quarter in Montréal to build a new home in the countryside.

La vida en Rojo 2025

Invalid date •Italian

The Making of Moonflower

June 2021 •English

Behind the scenes documentary about the making of the two time selected film "Moonflower"

Coalesce

Invalid date •English

In 2020, the World was closed. Life got cancelled. People were struggling. Here’s an emotional and entertaining true story shot live, during the pandemic, about courageous people who came together, despite the risk, to share their love with one another. The film opens in Times Square on NYE 2020. Everything seemed right with the World. Fast-forward six months into the pandemic, hundreds of artists from all different performance art genres are invited to come together over the course of several consecutive days, culminating in a group costume parade event on 10/10/2020 to witness the only live performances happening ANYWHERE. The goal was to lift each other's spirits during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. There were over a dozen genres represented including acrobatics, live music, magic, dance, and even a wedding. Dozens of unscripted live interviews were recorded and the event proved a huge success. The film captures the rawness of what it was like living during this unprecedented time.

Prateados: A Vida em Tempos de Madureza

September 2021 •Portuguese

Surviving 9/11

August 2021 •English

9/11 was perhaps the defining historical event of the postwar era. Broadcast live around the world like horrifying theatre, it was a moment in history imprinted onto people's memories. But what was it like to actually live through, and how easy is it to move on from a day that society wants to go on remembering? Twenty years on, this film brings together 13 ordinary people who were caught in an event they weren't able to fully comprehend at the time and which they are still working through.

Playback

October 2012 •Russian

A portrait of the Russian filmmaker Alexei Guerman via an exploration of the making of his latest film, an adaptation of It Is Difficult to Be a God, a science-fiction novel by the Strougaski brothers, on which he has been working for several years, Hard to Be God explores the director's complex relationships with his crew, who he rules with a rod of iron. The film exposes the power relations of authority and the submission of a film crew to a director who is trying to change history, fight servitude and advocate freedom.

Ghibli Landscapes - The Japan Depicted In Miyazaki's Works

June 2008 •Japanese

Tsuruta Mayu visits the places of “good old Japan” and discovers profound attractions like Totoro and Spirited Away and also shows the charm of Ponyo.

All You Need Is Love

October 2014 •English

All You Need Is Love focuses on the many thousands of children that exist in and around the Thai-Burma border and specifically through the children of Good Morning School in Mae Sot, Thailand. By introducing you to their lives, their hopes and their dreams, we hope that we can show how the power of the positive works in extreme circumstances.

The Barefoot Artist

December 2014 •English

Lily Yeh is a global artist who is fueled by a belief that art is a human right, and that artists can create a foundation for profound social change. Slight of frame, but large in spirit and vision, the 70-year-old artist was born in China, lives in Philadelphia, and now, as constant traveler, the world is her canvas. Our film explores two sides of Lily's life that are connected parts of the same journey: her international ventures helping to heal weakened spirits in communities around the world and a personal journey within, to repair her own fractured family.

The Balmain Style

September 2014 •French

The Balmain Style seamlessly interweaves historical footage of founder, Pierre Balmain with the modern day vision of designer, Olivier Rousteing as he lifts the Autumn/Winter 2014 collection from the pages onto the runway.

Forbidden Films

March 2014 •German

Between 1933 and 1945 roughly 1200 films were made in Germany, of which 300 were banned by the Allied forces. Today, around 40 films, called "Vorbehaltsfilme", are locked away from the public with an uncertain future. Should they be re-released, destroyed, or continue to be neglected? Verbotene Filme takes a closer look at some of these forbidden films.

Malamondo

April 1964 •Italian

This documentary looks at strange behaviors and practices in Europe, including nude skiing in Switzerland, hot-butchering in Italy, and an orgy in a graveyard.

Falling...

September 2014 •English

Winner of Indie Fest USA's Best of Festival Award, FALLING... is award winning actor Michael Zelniker's directorial debut. Heralded as "brilliant, evocative and touching, an incredible cinematic experience", FALLING... is an experiment in narrative film making.