Black, Bold and Beautiful

Afros, braids or corn-rows--hairstyles have always carried a social message, and few issues cause as many battles between Black parents and their daughters. To "relax" one's hair into straight tresses or to leave it "natural" inevitably raises questions of conformity and rebellion, pride and identity. Today trend-setting teens proudly reinvent themselves on a daily basis, while career women strive for the right "professional" image, and other women go "natural" as a symbol of comfort in their Blackness. Filmmaker Nadine Valcin meets a range of women as they reveal how their hairstyles relate to their lives and life choices.

Refuge

John is a Haitian migrant who fled his country due to political instability and death threats. After a long journey, he managed to be recognized as a refugee in Mexico, allowing him to start a new chapter in a new land. However, for John, this story is far from over as his wife and baby remain stranded in Chile. Every day, John takes steps towards family reunification, longing to embrace those who are his true refuge.

Black Ice

This incisive, urgent documentary examines the history of anti-Black racism in hockey, from the segregated leagues of the 19th century to today’s NHL, where Black athletes continue to struggle against bigotry.

Bending the Arc

About the extraordinary doctors and activists—including Paul Farmer, Jim Yong Kim, and Ophelia Dahl—whose work 30 years ago to save lives in a rural Haitian village grew into a global battle in the halls of power for the right to health for all.

Ghosts of Cité Soleil

In the slum of Cité Soleil, President Aristide's most loyal supporters were ruling as kings. The five major gang leaders were controlling heavily armed young men; the Chiméres. The Secret army of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "Ghosts of Cité Soleil" is a film about Billy and Haitian 2pac. Two brothers. Gang Leaders of the Chiméres.

Le Fils

Disaster Capitalism

A documentary that reveals the underbelly of the global aid and investment industry. It's a complex web of interests that span the earth from powerful nations and multinational corporations to tribal and village leaders. This documentary offers unique insights into a multi-billion dollar world by investigating how aid dollars are spent.

1804: The Hidden History of Haiti

1804 is a feature length documentary film about the untold history of the Haitian revolution

Maria Casarès and Albert Camus, you, my life

Maria Casarès, a theatre actress and Albert Camus, one of the most important modern french writer, keep a long correspondence (more than 900 letters) about their love and the emotions they feel for each other for 15 years.

Sweet Micky for President

Music and politics collide when international music star, Pras Michel of the Fugees, returns to his homeland of Haiti following the devastating earthquake of 2010 to mobilize a presidential campaign for Haiti's most controversial musician: Michel Martelly aka Sweet Micky. The politically inexperienced pair set out against a corrupted government, civil unrest, and a fixed election. When Pras's former bandmate, superstar Wyclef Jean, also enters the presidential race, their chances seem further doomed. But with the help of a few friends, including Ben Stiller and former president Bill Clinton, they never give up on their honest dream of changing the course of Haiti's future forever

Sunny Boy

Arthur Guérin-Boëri is suffocating in his local swimming pool. His swim lane has become a dead end. The French athlete, multiple world champion in dynamic apnea, decides to leave the warmth of his pool and plunge into the frozen waters of a Finnish lake to set a new record. His journey then led him to immerse himself almost naked under a block of ice, in an attempt to set a new record in the icy waters of a Canadian lake. In his quest for legitimacy, which brings him close to death on several occasions, Arthur ends up finding himself.

Arcade Fire - The Reflektor Tapes

Arcade Fire’s first feature film is called 'The Reflektor Tapes'. The project is “a unique cinematic experience, meeting at the crossroads of documentary, music, art and personal history.”

Baseball in the Time of Cholera

As a Cholera epidemic rages in Haiti, the United Nations denies it is responsible for introducing the disease despite glaring evidence suggesting Nepalese peacekeepers are to blame. Baseball in the Time of Cholera is the story of a young Haitian boy who plays in Haiti's first little league baseball team and the Haitian Lawyer seeking justice against the UN. As the epidemic spreads, the two stories intersect in the struggle for survival and justice.

The Road Taken

This 1996 documentary takes a nostalgic ride through history to present the experiences of Black sleeping-car porters who worked on Canada's railways from the early 1900s through the 1960s. There was a strong sense of pride among these men and they were well-respected by their community. Yet, harsh working conditions prevented them from being promoted to other railway jobs until finally, in 1955, porter Lee Williams took his fight to the union.

Kasunyatan

Abdul Rohman is a student and one of the caretakers in the Kaliopak Cultural Islamic Boarding School. He has spent these last two years there. Process of finding true self, peace, and knowledge, he found in this place. Kaliopak Cultural Islamic Boarding School has become a ‘savannah’ of knowledge and art for him. This space has helped him in the process of channeling his idealism in his ideology of thought and views on life.

Haiti: 'Land of Dark Majesty'

In this FitzPatrick's Traveltalk short, a trip to Haiti serves as a portal into its history, mainly under 19th century ruler Henri Christophe.

Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes

Newly discovered interviews with Elizabeth Taylor and unprecedented access to the star’s personal archive reveal the complex inner life and vulnerability of the groundbreaking icon.

Bloom

Three groups of adolescent girl friends from Quebec are going through tough changes. The process of inventing their own bodies and identity are being recorded on the move by their smartphones and shared with their peers from other parts of the networked world. Due to their strong need of external confirmation, they alter their lives into a series of retouched pictures and videos. The film camera, however, captures their feelings of void, loneliness and deep inner insecurities that are not so attractive for Periscope, TikTok or Instagram. An intimate portrait of adolescence is made with full comprehension of experiencing and self-presentation in a generation growing up on the brink of the real and virtual worlds.

My Missing Screw

After a failed suicide attempt and time in a psychiatric hospital, Raffael, a young father, decides that he must create his own “missing screw.” Over the next six months, with the help of a sculptor friend, he meticulously crafts a 10-foot screw sculpture while documenting the process with a found video camera. Raffael leaves the psychiatric hospital, curious to see if art and creativity could help him survive in the outside world. With no money and only a vague plan, he says goodbye to his family and embarks on an epic, poignant, often hilarious journey around the globe. He travels with the screw to the Dachau concentration camp, Van Gogh’s grave, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Ganges River in India. Along the way Raffael finds patrons, lovers, and friends - but his son feels abandoned. Can Rafael reinvent himself, his art, and his family?

Older, Stronger, Wiser

In this short documentary, five black women talk about their lives in rural and urban Canada between the 1920s and 1950s. What emerges is a unique history of Canada’s black people and the legacy of their community elders. Produced by the NFB’s iconic Studio D.