Julie O'Brien (1981)

Labrador North

This short documentary looks at the government relocation of the Labrador Inuit and the effects on their culture and social structures.

The Power Of Music - Darrell's Story

Ben Power interviews his father, Darrell Power of Great Big Sea, and asks what it was like on the road, being away from his family, and how being in one of the most memorable Newfoundland bands shaped his life.

The Little Church That Could

Amidst a mostly Catholic community, a small tiny Anglican church offers more to the community of Placentia than people may think, and holds many connections and history to the rest of the world.

Vistas: Red Ochre

Combining archival photos with new and found footage, this short film presents a personal, impressionistic rendering of what it's like growing up Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland, while living in a culture of denial. Vistas is a series of 13 short films on nationhood from 13 Indigenous filmmakers from Halifax to Vancouver. It was a collaborative project between the NFB and APTN to bring Indigenous perspectives and stories to an international audience.

Handcrafted Hopedale

If you want to find world-class artisans, the small northern Labrador community of Hopedale offers you some of the best. Created through the St. John's International Women's Film Festival's FRAMED film education series, in partnership with the Nunatsiavut government, this film focuses on three prominent local craftspeople- two carvers and one traditional sewist.

Taking Stock

It was a way of life. It was the backbone of a society. And then the cod fishery off the east coast of Newfoundland collapsed. Taking Stock traces the history leading up to the crisis and the calling for a moratorium of the northwest Atlantic cod fishery. It presents the key players in this complex and tragic story, focusing on those who are now trying to come to grips with an uncertain future. How did the calamity happen? What signals did we ignore? Did we chose the right model in setting up an industry? Ultimately, Taking Stock holds a message for the Canadian as well as the global community: In trying to attain economic success, we must recognize that there are limits to how far we can exploit nature's delicate ecosystems.

It's Just Better

In a farmhouse on Cape Breton Island where Shawn Peter Dwyer, age 10, lives with his mother and nine brothers and sisters, children's pockets are usually empty and their lives well filled.

Tous Les Jours

In rocky Newfoundland, renowned French artist Jean Claude Roy gathers his paints and sets off to face the day. Whether it be freezing snow, violent wind, or pouring rain, he commits vibrant colors to canvas and conquers the day by weaving crooked beauty out of difficulties.

Gander International: The Airport in the Middle of Nowhere

In 1938 an airfield was built at the northeastern-most end of America, the descent went slowly but incessantly through the Cold War. This is the story of how its inhabitants gradually moved away from the great world stage and had to reinvent themselves as well as their home town.

Child of the Andes

Ten-year-old Sébastiana recounts the history and legends and explains the local customs of Andahuaylillas, Peru, a small village located high in the Andes. Their simpler way of life has persisted for over three centuries, undisturbed by modern society's technology and materialism.

Lady at Number 16

Based on the tale by Dale Jarvis, "Lady at Number 16" tells the story of two sailors in the 1800s that help a young lady back into her mansion. They return a few hours later to realize that their night was not all that it had seemed, and it may have had a more sinister twist than expected.

A Fire in the Cold Season

A whisper among the sprawling forests and mill towns of central Newfoundland. A body found on the side of a river brings together a reclusive fur trapper and a heartsick mother-to-be. Scott is lonely and desperate to give himself meaning. Mona is strong-willed, but frustrated by her fragility. As a reluctant dependence blossoms the pair find themselves wading into violence, answering for the debts of a dead man. Stalked by outlaws, they plan an exit.

The Shipping News

An emotionally-beaten man with his young daughter moves to his ancestral home in Newfoundland to reclaim his life.

Orca

After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist, and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.

A Whale for the Killing

A conservationst, stranded with his family at a Newfoundland coastal resort, flies in the face of custom and fights an entire community to prevent a trapped whale's slaughter with only the support of his wife and one of the locals.

The Boys of St. Vincent

The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.

Grown Up Movie Star

The story of Ruby, 13, determined to grow up fast after her mother runs away to become a movie star, leaving Ruby with her hopelessly rural father.

Diverted

On September 11th, 2001, 38 planes headed to New York City were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. A town of 9,000 took in 7,000 passengers for 4 days until American airspace reopened.

Closet Monster

A creative and driven teenager is desperate to escape his hometown and the haunting memories of his turbulent childhood.

The Viking

Originally called White Thunder, American producer Varick Frissell's 1931 film was inspired by his love for the Canadian Arctic Circle. Set in a beautifully black-and-white filmed Newfoundland, it is the story of a rivalry between two seal hunters that plays out on the ice floes during a hunt. Unsatisfied with the first cut, Frissell arranged for the crew to accompany an actual Newfoundland seal hunt on The SS Viking, on which an explosion of dynamite (carried regularly at the time on Arctic ships to combat ice jams) killed many members of the crew, including Frissell. The film was renamed in honor of the dead.

Rare Birds

A down-and-out restaurateur and his neighbor hatch a plan to lure bird watchers to their small Newfoundland town and increase tourism by announcing the presence of a rare duck.

The Boys of St. Vincent: 15 Years Later

Fifteen years after the events of The Boys of St. Vincent took place, the various boys involved are brought in to testify against the brothers, now finally standing trial, who assaulted them when they were children.

Restless Spirits

A young girl, who struggles with her pilot father's death in a plane crash years before, visits her grandmother in Newfoundland. While there, she encounters the ghosts of two pilots, who are condemned to Earth to constantly re-live their own crash that occurred in 1927. The girl decides to help the pair by helping them re-build their airplane and complete their flight so they may be released and, in turn, deal with her own emotional bondage.

Riverhead

A blood feud divides a small town in rural Newfoundland.

Hard Tickets

In 1930s Labrador, a war veteran lumberjack engages in an arm wrestle which lasts a ridiculously long amount of time.

Sealed Cargo

A Newfoundland fishingboat comes to the aid of a wrecked Danish sailing ship and tows it to a small village, but eventually the captain of the fishingboat realises that it's a U-boat supply ship in disguise, loaded with torpedoes. So, together with his crew and a group of villagers he sets about a plan to blow the ship as well as any U-boats that approach it. Based on the novel "The Gaunt Woman" by Edmund Gilligan.

An Audience of Chairs

Maura Mackenzie believes the world is hers to conquer. With her career as a concert pianist gaining momentum, it seems her beauty and talent will be strong enough to mask the demons that threaten to engulf her. But with an absent husband and two young daughters at home, her precarious sanity begins to unravel until one summer day, burning with manic energy, she makes a terrible mistake — a mistake that will change her life forever. The consequences for Maura are catastrophic: her ambitious husband runs for his life, taking the children with him, leaving Maura to lapse into a full-scale breakdown. Life as she knew it is now over. With the help of her father, Ian, Maura works to reclaim her life and waits for a miracle to bring her daughters home. But when the fates align, can the past be forgiven?

The Grand Seduction

A small fishing village must procure a local doctor to secure a lucrative business contract. When unlikely candidate and big city doctor Paul Lewis lands in their lap for a trial residence, the townsfolk rally together to charm him into staying. As the doctor’s time in the village winds to a close, acting mayor Murray French has no choice but to pull out all the stops and begin The Grand Seduction.

The Webber

An independent investigative journalist is on a mission to solve a string of strange deaths occurring in the forests of Western Newfoundland. What was once thought to be animal attacks is now being studied a little closer and just may be murders carried out by the mythical creature of provincial folklore, the Webber.

Garage Sale

As his parent’s marriage disintegrates, Patrick is dragged along to a Saturday morning garage sale by his father, Wayne. The hidden conflict between his parents can’t be avoided when a concerned neighbour enquires after Patrick’s mum, causing tension between father and son. Only then does Patrick seek refuge from his father’s manipulations.

The Meerkats

A coming of age story following a young meerkat pup, Kolo, growing up in the Kalahari desert; and an inspiring look at how one family's connection to each other and their surroundings is a model of resilience and fortitude for us all. Shot using ground-breaking techniques, this dramatised documentary is a one-of-a-kind presentation from The Weinstein Company and the BBC, featuring narration by Paul Newman.

Michael Jackson: Number Ones

Pop king Michael Jackson solidifies his title with this release of fifteen past number one hits. Songs include "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Thriller," "Black or White," and "Blood on the Dancefloor."

Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith brings his famous and "infamous" Q&A back to his hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey for his 37th birthday.

American Swing

Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.

40 år med Oluf

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9/11: Cleared for Chaos

On September 11, 2001, the unimaginable transpired when devastating attacks on the World Trade Center forced the shutdown of the entire U.S. airspace. Thousands of kilometres away in Gander, Newfoundland, a group of Nav Canada air traffic controllers suddenly had the lives of 33,000 people in their hands and had to think fast to find a place for them to go. Discovery uncovers how these unsung heroes managed to safely land 224 planes in four hours, without incident.

Class Action Park

Class Action Park explores the legend, legacy, and truth behind the 1980s water park in Vernon, New Jersey that long ago entered the realm of myth. Known for its dangerous, unsupervised rides and lack of regulation, guests of Action Park expected to walk away with injuries and were lucky if they made it out alive. Shirking the trappings of nostalgia, the film uses investigative journalism, original animations, recordings, and interviews with the people who lived it to reveal the true story of Action Park.

Churchill and the Movie Mogul

Winston Churchill understood the power of films, but the true extent of his use of cinema as a propaganda tool is rarely explored. In 1934, one of Britain's most celebrated film producers, Alexander Korda, signed Churchill up as a screenwriter and historical advisor. It was the start of a unique collaboration. Churchill provided script notes for Korda's productions and penned an epic screenplay. When war broke out, their collaboration took on national importance. Korda was sent on a mission to Hollywood to help bring America into the war, with positive results. With access to previously undiscovered documents, this film documentary examines that mission and a friendship that underpinned a unique, creative partnership.

Private Fiction

Over several days and nights, an actor and an actress read the correspondence between Torcuato and Kamala, the film director's parents, he from Argentina, and she from India. The letters, encompassing the decades from the 50s to the 70s, refer to love and idealism, record world travels, talk about socialism and psychoanalysis, about pain and broken dreams. Their reading reveals a relationship between the actors, with similarities and differences. Meanwhile, with his own daughter, the director sets about solving the puzzle of the family memory, an intimate twentieth-century tale.

But Beautiful

In his new film, Erwin Wagenhofer is looking for the good and beautiful in this world.