Army of One

Nineteen-year-old Nelson is a Puerto Rican high school dropout from the South Bronx looking for a ticket out of the ghetto. Thaddeus, 22, gives up a cushy stockbroker job to pursue fantasies of killing Osama Bin Laden. Sara, 22, a dancer from North Carolina fails to make it in New York and leaves her best girlfriend to return home. Swept up in the patriotic fervour that followed 9/11, these young Americans dream of fighting for their country, of being the heroes that star in the slick ad campaigns broadcast by the military. Canadian director Sarah Goodman, living in New York at the time, saw long line-ups at recruitment centres as the country prepared for war. Gaining incredible access to the US army bases, Goodman follows the three new recruits for the next two years, starting with the harshness of basic training. Army of One is a heartbreaking film that exposes what happens to each of them as their dreams of heroism clash with the realities of army life.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.

The Dog Walker

Retired actor Lars-Gunnar Persson spends his days with his neighbor's dog, sharing memories of failed relationships and questioning what life might have been. It's a friendship that suits Lars-Gunnar because the dog, Zeb, is an excellent listener.

Of Love & Law

Fumi and Kazu have a lot to teach us about love. When they decide to stick their necks out and create the first LGBTQ+ law firm in Japan, they are drawn into the lives of people searching for protection and support. Despite their own relationship having no legal status, they work pro-bono for long hours, all the while foster-parenting a teenager. We meet with a colourful cast of misfits, dissidents and artists – from a delightful eccentric being prosecuted for her kitschy vagina sculptures, to a troubled outsider who, as the child of an ‘immoral woman’, has no legal identity. A saying is repeated throughout the film, that one must ‘read the air’ – conform to the tacit conservatism that forbids sexual diversity. With love, humour and serious legal chops, Fumi and Kazu do exactly the opposite.

40 Days at Base Camp

At 18,000 feet above sea level and over the course of 40 days last Spring, documentary filmmaker Dianne Whelan immersed herself in the challenging and captivating world of base camp at Mt. Everest. With spectacular footage of the mountains’ landscape as a backdrop, 40 DAYS AT BASE CAMP is an intriguing and intimate portrayal of three climbing teams and their journey to the peak.

This Land

This short documentary recounts a 2000-km expedition undertaken by 7 rangers (both Inuit and non-Native) and a female filmmaker to raise a flag on the northernmost tip of Canadian soil, 412 km from the North Pole. With a mesmerizing soundtrack by Nunavut-born singer Tanya Tagaq and spectacular footage of the Arctic landscape, This Land captures the epic adventure with raw immediacy.

RACING TAHOE

Sally McRae took on her second 200 mile race with the goal to get the best out of herself, and to put herself out there for a podium position. This film follows the whole story of what it means to commit to finishing what you set out to do, and refusing to give up too early.

Beautiful Births

An informational documentary that invites you to explore another side of pregnancy and childbirth which is not often shown in the mainstream media. In this documentary we take a look at the Midwifery Model of Care, show and tell what a birth center is and what one can expect with an out of hospital birth experience. We answer the most common questions and address the concerns most people have about out of hospital births. We also discuss C-section, VBAC, ICAN, Interventions, the importance of a proper diet during pregnancy and more. We hear three women share their personal birth stories; In and out of hospital experiences. This documentary is full of good information and is a must see for all women of childbearing age interested in pregnancy and childbirth, regardless of where they choose to give birth.

My Heart Belongs to Daddy

Sofia, a young director fresh out of film school, reunites with her father who has spent most of his life in prison. He lives a life marked by addiction and criminality, and Sofia's biggest hope is that she can help him on his feet and repair broken bonds.

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

The film bears witness to German artist Anselm Kiefer's alchemical creative processes and renders in film, as a cinematic journey, the personal universe he has built at his hill-studio estate in the South of France.

Desire Inc.

Four "seduction ads" placed on cable TV stations invite unexpected responses. This short film is about fantasy and desire in a mediated world.

The Electronic Diaries

A woman's personal life unfolds over twelve years in a video diary that simultaneously parallels and reflects global history. Personal fears and obsession dissolve into a story of triumph and empowerment as the protagonist eventually finds her voice.

Ray's Birds

Ray Lowden keeps seventy-two large birds of prey, five deer and some wallabies at his place in Northumberland, England. He has had ten days off in twelve years and loves what he does. The film is a little homage to his variously coy, imperious, curious, stubborn and comic raptor menagerie.

Les moissons du futur

Seven Songs from the Tundra

An anthology of stories about the indigenous nomadic people of the Russian tundra under modern Communist rule. Finland's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000

The Queen and I

Filmmaker and Iranian exile Nahid Persson talks with Queeen Farah, the widow of the late Shah of Iran, who also has been an Iranian exile since the Shah was overthrown in 1979. A meeting of two women who once belonged to opposite sides in Iran.