Canada Vignettes: December Lights

All I Want for Christmas: The Magic Time Machine

November 2022 •Danish

At Santa Claus School, the principal has called a meeting. Lucia, her parents Julius and Claudia and everyone else at school are excited. But the tension is replaced by a shock when the headmaster cancels Christmas. He seems confused, and it soon becomes clear that he is trapped in a Christmas trauma from his younger days as Santa Claus. Lucia sets out to find out what has happened and with the help of the younger student Elias and a magical time machine, she travels back in time in the hope of saving Christmas.

Anchors Up

October 2017 •Norwegian

After a brave rescue mission in stormy weather, a young rescue boat is headhunted to a larger harbor where he realizes that bigger is not always better.

Midnight Sun

September 2014 •English

In northern Canada, a young boy sets a goal for himself to to reunite an abandoned polar bear cub with its mother. Goran Visnjic joins the cast as Muktuk, a half Inuit and half Canadian, who knows the terrain where the polar bears live and who agrees to help the boy.

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

December 1977 •English

Nestor the donkey is a bit of an oddity--his long ears are enough for six donkeys and stretch all the way to the ground. One night, when Nestor is locked out in the cold, he begins to wander the desert.

Christmas Break-In

December 2018 •English

Izzy is an energetic 9-year-old. Overscheduled and running late, Izzy's parents can't pick her up on-time the last day of school before Christmas break. A blizzard complicates the matter, but not as much as a pair of bad guys who are freezing in an ice cream truck. The school's janitor is kidnapped by the intruders, and it's up to Izzy to save the day.

Grumpy Old Santa

September 2023 •English

When Nic’s daughter heads off to college, he expects a quiet Christmas. Instead, his wife leaves him, his friends rope him into chaos, and he finds himself facing life’s curveballs with a little grump and a lot of humor. Starring Glenn Morshower, Kevin Farley, and Gary Valentine, Grumpy Old Santa is a festive comedy about family, forgiveness, and moving forward.

The National Christmas Tree, A Century of Celebration

September 2024 •English

A Ken Burns-style documentary exploring the first 100 years of our National Christmas Tree. On Christmas Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. We follow the tree through its first 100 years, where it served as a backdrop to many events in our nation's history. We meet the designers and learn their process of lighting our federal fir each year. Available to view here: https://odiesnoutproductions.vhx.tv/

The Boy & the Octopus

November 2024 •English

A young boy encounters a curious octopus while snorkeling on a seaside vacation. The persistent mollusk attaches itself to the boy’s head and becomes his constant companion.

Against the Wild

December 2013 •English

The action-packed feature film tells the dramatic tale of two siblings and their Alaskan Malamute, who must make an emergency landing when their small plane has engine problems. They find themselves in a beautiful but potentially dangerous natural environment that they must overcome together.

Aliens Next Door

November 1990 •English

Transferred to a new job, the Peoples family arrive on the planet Bolognia. Feeling very insecure about the move, they become even more intimidated by the sight of their hosts who are green, spotted and have antennae! Their new Bolognian neighbors, Charlick and Mavo Zox, find the look of the Earth family just as shocking. However, when little Benny Peoples gets "lost", he unwittingly brings the two families together and life on this new planet begins to look promising.

Los Reyes Magos

January 2011 •Spanish

All I Didn't Want for Christmas

December 2022 •English

Emily Harris is not doing great. In a desperate attempt to improve her life and make this Christmas not totally suck, Emily writes a letter to Santa. Fortunately, and unfortunately, her wine-soaked wishes start coming true.

Lucky Fares

January 2014 •Spanish

One of the Three Kings and Santa Claus spend Christmas in jail, talking about what their future will be like in a world like this.

Black Mountain Side

January 2016 •English

A group of archaeologists uncover a strange structure in Northern Canada, dating over ten thousand years before the present. The team finds themselves isolated when their communication systems fail and it's not long before they begin to feel the effects of the solitude.

I Killed My Mother

June 2009 •French

Hubert, a brash 17-year-old, is confused and torn by a love-hate relationship with his mother that consumes him more and more each day. After distressing ordeals and tragic episodes, Hubert will find his mother on the banks of Saint Lawrence river, where he grew up, and where a murder will be committed: the murder of childhood.

The Wild and the Innocent

May 1959 •English

In Wyoming, mountain trapper Yancey goes to the nearest town to trade his pelts but gets into trouble when he tries to save runaway dance-hall girl Rosalie from her shameful job.

Return of the Fly

July 1959 •English

Fifteen years after his father's experiments with matter transmission fail, Philippe Delambre and his uncle François attempt to create a matter transmission device on their own. However, their experiments have disastrous results, turning Philippe into a horrible half-man, half-fly creature.

Women in the Shadows

January 1991 •English

Filmed on location in Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle Valley to Hudson Bay, the documentary traces the filmmaker's quest for her Native foremothers in spite of the reluctance to speak about Native roots on the part of her relatives. The film articulates Métis women's experience with racism in both current and historical context, and examines the forces that pushed them into the shadows.

The Rocket

October 2005 •French

The story of Quebec's most beloved hockey player, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, focusing on the struggles of a French Canadian in the National Hockey League dominated by Anglophones.

Nose and Tina

January 1980 •English

Nose and Tina are a couple in love. The film captures the domestic details of their life together and documents their hassles with work, money and the law. The unusual bit: He is employed as a brakeman, and she as a sex worker.