Let’s face it, our favourite classes are the ones with movies. If you’re around my age, you remember being excited by the sound of squeaky wheels and rattling, since it usually meant you were watching a movie in class. The same is still true in university, whether you are a student, a TA, or a professor. However, it can be hard to find good films to show in classrooms that are engaging for students, but also historically accurate. A couple of months ago, there was a fascinating discussion on Eryk Martin’s Facebook timeline about recommended films for teaching pre-Confederation Canadian history. So, inspired by that discussion, and with his permission, I have put together a list of recommended films for teaching Canadian history.
This list is broken down into two parts: my personal recommendations, and recommendations from fellow history professors. I would especially like to thank Stephanie Pettigrew, Donica Belisle, Carmen Nielson, Matthew Hayday, Ian Mosby, Adele Perry, Jenny Ellison, Janis Thiessen, Kesia Kvill, Sarah Dowling, and Liz Huntingford for their fantastic suggestions. Also, I have roughly organized the films and videos chronologically. In my recommendations, I have further divided the films and videos from each other, and included some additional ones I would like to show in class, but haven’t yet.
A couple of important notes or warnings: please make sure that when you are showing a feature film in a classroom that you have the appropriate license to do so. In other words, make sure the copy of the film you are screening has been approved for classroom or public screenings. If you are using the film through your institution’s library, you should be fine, but it’s always good to check. Second, as a recent discussion on Twitter initiated by Tina Adcock has shown, content/trigger warnings are important. I have listed the ones that I think are relevant below, but always use caution when screening films to avoid doing harm to your students.
Also, my husband wanted to name this blog post “Class-y” films, but my better sense vetoed. 😉
My Recommendations:
Feature Films
Black Hands: Trial of an Arsonist Slave
Link: http://www.blackhandsfilm.com
Access: This film is a bit more difficult to find, since it came out in 2010 on DVD. The website is still up, and you can try emailing the production company (info here: http://www.blackhandsfilm.com/buythefilm.html) about getting a copy. However, all of the institutions where I have taught have a copy of this film in their library, so I would suggest checking that out first.
Language: Available in both English and French.
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This film, which came out several years after Afua Cooper’s The Hanging of Angelique, also focuses on the story of Marie-Joseph Angélique, the Black woman who was accused of setting a fire that burned half of Montreal to the ground in 1734. I do find it a bit strange that Cooper was not interviewed for the film, though it does feature interviews with several historians. This movie combines those interviews with theatrical re-enactments of Angélique’s life and her trial to create a really dynamic, but scholarly film.
Length: 52 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: racism, discussions of slavery.
Themes: slavery, enslaved peoples, New France, Marie-Joseph Angélique, women, legal history
Best for teaching: This is a great film for teaching students about the history of slavery in Canada, and how it differed from slavery in other parts of the world. It is also a really great look at social stratification and race in New France.
Why I love this: This is one of the few historical documentaries that I’ve ever encountered that actually takes the time to talk about the historical sources that they use. The theatrical re-enactments are also particularly good. They are done in a very minimalist style that allows the audience to focus particularly on the emotions of the characters. And I think the cast, especially the director and actor who plays Angélique, Tetchena Bellange, does a really good job of embodying those emotions and the conflicts that were felt by the enslaved peoples in the film through gestures and facial expressions.
The War of 1812: Been There Won That
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/the-war-of-1812-been-there-won-that
Access: Available for free from the link above. However, links to videos from the CBC are not stable (ask me how I know this…), so if the above link no longer works, the film is also available through CBC’s educational website, Curio here (https://curio.ca/en/video/war-of-1812-been-there-won-that-1496/), though you will need to be logged into the service from your institution to access it.
Language: English
Accessibility: Closed captioning
Summary: Animated by comedian Peter Keleghan, this documentary is a rather dynamic and hilarious look at what can sometimes be a very over-discussed topic — The War of 1812 — and how it shaped Canadian history. Not only does the film discuss how the war itself shaped our southern border, but it also unpacks some of the myths that have grown up around The War of 1812 and why it is commemorated. They also poke fun at the fact that this film was commissioned by the federal government, and do their best to disrupt that narrative.
Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: war, violence, racist portrayals of Indigenous figures, American attitudes about the War of 1812.
Themes: The War of 1812, commemoration, history, myths, transnationalism, the border, Canada-US relations, colonialism.
Best for teaching: I think this is pretty self-explanatory, but I do usually show the film when talking about the relationship between Canada and the US after the American Revolution.
Why I love this: There is an underwater battle for timbits. Need I say more?
Forbidden Love
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/forbidden_love/
Access: Available for free at the NFB website. You can get the home and classroom license for $9.95 (you can also get it in HD for $14.95!) Like most NFB films, this one also comes with an institutional license, so it’s probably worth a search of your library if you need to save the $10.
Language: English
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: This documentary focuses on the experiences of lesbian and queer women in Canada during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. It features a fictional story as a through-line, accompanied by interviews with a number of women from all across the country as well as archival footage.
Length: 1 hour, 24 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: violence against women, homophobia, racism, nudity, sexual activity.
Themes: History of gender and sexuality, queer history, feminist history, postwar gender norms, policing and regulation, leisure, pulp fiction.
Best for teaching: the alternate history of women in the 20th century; those that were not necessarily represented by the “women’s liberation movement” of the 60s and 70s but found themselves on the fringes of society even within women’s movements.
Why I Love It: This is seriously one of my all-time favourite documentaries. I first heard about it from Lynne Marks, who also regularly uses it in her classes as well. The stories are in turn heartbreaking, hilarious, and empowering. Seriously, I would recommend just watching this one for its own sake.
We Were Children
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/we_were_children/trailer/we_were_children_trailer/
Access: This film is available for rent ($2.95) or individual purchase ($19.95 for download, $17.95 for the DVD). However, I can virtually guarantee that your institution has an NFB license and/or the DVD of this film, so you should be able to get it for free. The entire NFB catalogue, including this film, can usually be found listed among your institutional library’s databases.
Language: The film is available in both English and French.
Accessibility: Closed captioning available.
Summary: This film focuses on the history of residential schools, as experienced by two survivors, Lyna Hart (Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation) and Glen Anaquod (Muscowpetung First Nation). Their testimony is showcased alongside dramatic recreations of particular incidents in their lives. While the film does not shy away from the horrors of the residential school system, it is also emphasizes the resilience of Indigenous peoples.
Length: 1 hour, 23 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: domestic abuse, sexual assault, violence against Indigenous peoples, residential schools.
Themes: Residential schools, Indigenous history, colonialism, Indigenous resilience.
Best for teaching: This film is my go-to resource for teaching about residential schools.
Why I love this: I’ve already talked at length about my deep appreciation for this film in an Active History blog post (accessible here). But in essence, what I love most about this film is its ability to facilitate an emotional connection between residential school survivors and my students, as well as its emphasis on Indigenous resilience. I also highly recommend the accompanying educational guide (more info on that in the Active History post), though it is only available to NFB Campus subscribers. Again, your institution likely has a membership, though you will probably need to email your librarian to get access to it. This film is also recommended by Ian Mosby:
We Were Children is also a really powerful film and works well alongside a class on residential schools or the TRC https://t.co/RIEM3eKZQ3
— Ian Mosbγ (@Ian_Mosby) August 5, 2017
Action
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/action_the_october_crisis_of_1970/
Access: Available to watch for free from the NFB Website, or can be purchased for $19.95.
Language: English, with some clips in French that are not translated.
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This film is a black and white documentary that looks at the lead up to and the events of the FLQ Crisis, with a particular focus on its impact on the city of Montreal. The film is based entirely on radio and television broadcasts of the events, accompanied by a narrator who ties the narrative together.
Length: 1 hour, 27 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: Crime-scene photographs, terrorism, violence.
Themes: FLQ Crisis, October Crisis, Quiet Revolution, Quebec Nationalism, social activism, Montreal, politics
Best for teaching: FLQ Crisis, Quebec Nationalism
Why I love this: I almost always show this film when I teach about the Quiet Revolution and the FLQ Crisis. It does a good job of looking at the socio-cultural changes happening in Quebec in the period just before the FLQ Crisis, and also handles the Crisis itself well, capturing the uncertainty of the time and the immediacy of the danger. The fact that it was produced in in 1973, so soon after the Crisis, contributes to this. Also, it has Pierre Trudeau’s “Just Watch Me” speech, which is always fun to show students.
Clips
On All Fronts: WW2 and the NFB/Propaganda: The Battle for Hearts and Minds
Link: http://floraweb.nfb.ca/ww2/for-teachers/?lesson=704062
Access: Free through the NFB website.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This is a collection of videos combined with a lesson plan all about propaganda during WW2. The videos were largely produced by the NFB during the war itself, and intended for the Canadian home front. The videos cover the theatres of war, war industries, as well as issues on the home front itself.
Length: variable
Trigger Warnings: war, militaristic attitudes.
Themes: WW2, propaganda, media, citizenship, conscientious objectors
Best for teaching: the efforts of the government to influence the behaviours and actions of the public during WW2.
Why I love this: This is a great way of teaching students about critical thinking with respect to media and the news, particularly with respect to the meaning of propaganda, which is increasingly important, for reasons that I don’t need to get into. However, I usually only complete the Introductory Exercise and Activity 1, since I feel they are more effective.
A Woman’s Place: The Happy Homemaker
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/a-womans-place-programming-for-the-modern-homemaker
Access: Free through CBC Digital Archives.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This is a collection of clips from the CBC Digital Archives showing programming specifically created for female viewers. The clips range in dates from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Length: variable.
Trigger Warnings: postwar gender norms.
Themes: food history, gender history, history of sexuality
Best for teaching: postwar gender norms, particularly as they relate to women.
Why I love this: The “For Teachers” section of the CBC Digital Archives has a fantastic lesson plan (http://www.cbc.ca/archives/lesson-plan/for-teachers-vignettes-womens-programming-through-the-decades) that is based on these videos, which asks students to consider how the portrayal of women in Canadian media has evolved since the 1940s. I don’t follow the lesson plan directly, and instead have my students participate in a jigsaw exercise and have students compare the changes by decade. Nonetheless, this is a classroom activity is always effective and popular, and is very easy for students to relate to. Just make sure you leave enough time for it!
The Birth Control Pill Meant Women Could and Vancouverites Comment on The Birth Control Pill
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/birth-control-the-pill-meant-women-could and http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/birth-control-vancouverites-comment-on-the-pill
Access: Available for free from the CBC Digital Archives, at the links above.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: I’ve included both of these clips together because they are essentially the same thing: a CBC reporter interviews people on the street about their thoughts on the birth control pill.
Length: 2 minutes, 9 seconds and 2 minutes, 15 seconds
Trigger Warnings: Sexuality, intolerant remarks about sexuality.
Themes: the birth control pill, contraception, gender norms, sexuality
Best for teaching: about the sexual revolution, second-wave feminism, postwar gender norms.
Why I love this: What’s especially interesting about these clips is their dates: 1964 and 1968 respectively. While the pill was legally available in Canada from 1957 onwards, it was only available by prescription for women wanting to treat “menstrual disorders.” The pill wouldn’t be legalized for use as a contraceptive until 1969. But these clips show how widespread their use was even before then. It also illustrates different attitudes towards the issue of contraception, and some of the comments about the pill always get a laugh out of the students. Also recommended by Matthew Hayday:
I mine the CBC archives for clips. There’s a great “person-on-the-street” one about the Pill from the 60s. Also B&B Commission testimonies.
— Matthew Hayday (@mhayday) August 5, 2017
Indian Momento
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/indian_memento/
Access: Free through the NFB.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This film is a walk-through of the Indians of Canada Pavilion from Expo 67
Length: 18 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: residential schools, colonialism
Themes: Expo 67, Indigenous Peoples, activism, art
Best for teaching: about the history of Indigenous activism in the 1960s, as well as the history of Indigenous peoples in the postwar period.
Why I love this: I think this clip does a great job of showing both Indigenous resistance to colonialism and colonial narratives, as well as Indigenous resilience. The Indians of Canada Pavilion, I think, deserves far more attention for being the groundbreaking achievement that it was. This clip is also fantastic for showing how Indigenous peoples are both modern and dynamic.
Other films that I want to show in class (but haven’t yet)
Atarnajuat (The Fast Runner)
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/atanarjuat_the_fast_runner/
Access: This film is available for rent ($1.99) at the link above. Again, your institution likely has an NFB license and/or the DVD of this film, so you should be able to get it for free.
Language: Inuktitut, with English subtitles.
Accessibility: Subtitles.
Summary: The film is set in the ancient past and tells one of the oldest Inuit legends, told and retold from generation to generation, in the Innu language. It’s the story of how a community deals with evil – both spiritual and manifest within an individual, and is a beautiful and complicated drama that can’t be distilled into a simple fable or a few quick paragraphs.
Length: 2 hours, 41 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: sexuality, nudity, violence
Best for teaching: the history of Indigenous peoples in North America prior to the arrival of Europeans.
Angry Inuk
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/angry_inuk/
Access: Available for purchase for in a digital version ($12.99), or on DVD ($24.95). This film is also likely available from your institution.
Language: English, with clips in French and Inuktitut
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: The film, by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, focuses on the role that seal hunting has played in the lives of the Inuit, and the damage that international campaigns against seal hunting has done to Inuit communities.
Length: 1 hours, 22 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: scenes of hunting and butchering.
Best for teaching: the history of colonization in the North.
Colonization Road
Link: https://www.colonizationroad.com
Access: Currently streaming for free on the CBC website (http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/colonization-road).
Language: English
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: This film, by Ryan McMahon, takes a critical look at the many “Colonization Roads” that can be found in Ontario. He focuses on the government efforts to colonize and settle these areas, and the impact that these roads have had on Indigenous communities.
Length: 45 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: Stephen Harper talking.
Best for teaching: about the history of colonization in Canada, and the impact of colonization, both past and present, on Indigenous peoples and communities.
Recommendations from Other Historians!
The Notorious Mrs. Armstrong
Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1076837/
Access: Not available for purchase, but might be available through your institution.
Language: English
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: This film focuses on the history of Helen Armstrong, who was a central figure in the Winnipeg labour movement in the first half of the twentieth century. Armstrong was particularly noted for leading women workers during the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.
Length: 44 minutes
Trigger Warnings: n/a
Best for teaching: about the Winnipeg General Strike and working-class history in Canada.
Recommendation:
The Sterilization of Leilani Muir – on Alberta eugenics; The Notorious Mrs. Armstrong – on Wpg General Strike
— Donica Belisle (@DonicaLBelisle) August 5, 2017
1919
Link: https://vimeo.com/9522224
Access: Available for free on Vimeo.
Language: English
Accessibility:
Summary: This is an experimental film by Noam Gonick about the Winnipeg General Strike.
Length: 8 minutes, 25 seconds.
Trigger Warnings:
Best for teaching: about the Winnipeg General Strike.
Recommendation:
Haven’t used it yet, but Noam Gonick’s experimental short 1919. General strike seen thru Sammy Wong’s steam bath! https://t.co/gBga7freko
— Sarah Dowling (@sarahmdowling) August 5, 2017
Her Own Fault
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfLirbpOD-w
Access: Available for free on Youtube.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: The Ontario Board of Industrial Hygiene of 1921 would be horrified with the women of today. Produced to warn women of “poor hygiene choices,” warnings include hurrying through breakfast, wearing clothes that are inappropriate for the weather, poor posture, wearing heels, buying cheap clothing…. basically if you’re not the paragon of female virtue, everything is your fault. I guess few things have changed, eh?
Length: 15 minutes, 30 seconds.
Trigger Warnings: sexism
Best for teaching: gender history, early 20th century gender norms, body history, hygiene, leisure
Recommendation:
“Her Own Fault” (1921), educational film on the dangers of poor hygiene and the wrong kinds of leisure: https://t.co/B1dHJztMbC
— Jenny Ellison (@thejennye) August 5, 2017
Rose Marie (1954)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVwpCZZhPOs
Access: Available for rent from Youtube for $3.99.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This film is based off of a 1924 operetta of the same name, and is essentially a romance between a French-Canadian girl and a miner. Make sure you get the 1954 version, and not the better-known 1936 version, since this one is closer to the original operetta.
Length: 1 hour, 44 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: Mounties, police, racism.
Best for teaching: about perceptions of mounties in the mid-twentieth century.
Recommendation:
I would love to show the Howard Keel version of “Rose Marie” & “Gunless”. B/c perceptions of Mounties and Canada are great to talk about
— Kesia Kvill (@kesiatk) August 5, 2017
49th Parallel
Link: https://archive.org/details/49thParallelVideoQualityUpgrade
Access: Available for free from Archive.org, and also from some institutions.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: In this 1942 movie, Nazi submariners are stranded in the Arctic and must try to make their way to the still-neutral US by walking across Canada. This is one of the few films that was actually produced during the war, and was also specifically designed to serve as Allied propaganda.
Length: 2 hours, 2 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: Canadian stereotypes, Laurence Olivier doing a very bad French Canadian accent.
Best for teaching: WW2, Canadian stereotypes, propaganda
Recommendations:
I’d love to show 49th Parallel someday, because of the bad geography & bad stereotypes. https://t.co/KfQudVTxAI
— Janis Thiessen (@JanisThiessen) August 5, 2017
How They Saw Us
Link: http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=17228
Access: Not available for purchase, might be available through your institution.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This is a collection of eight videos that were produced between 1942 and 1958 on the evolution of women’s role in Canadian society.
Length: 1 hour, 53 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: sexism, war.
Best for teaching: WW2, postwar gender norms, postwar culture and society.
Recommendation:
Finding Dawn on MMIW, Africville, and How they saw Us (women & WWII) are all useful imo.
— Carmen Nielson (@Carmen_nielson) August 5, 2017
Mystery in the Kitchen
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/mystery_in_kitchen/
Access: Available free on the NFB website, or available for purchase as a DVD for $19.95.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: What if you’re a 1950s housewife and nobody taught you how to avoid poisoning your husband and kids? Never fear, the NFB is here to save you! This film is a mostly satirical look at food sciences, and how to avoid killing your whole family.
Length: 22 minutes, 42 seconds.
Trigger Warnings: sexism.
Best for teaching: gender history, food history, 20th century history, postwar gender norms.
Recommendation:
And my favourite weird nutrition propaganda film: Mystery in the Kitchen https://t.co/26etloQisO
— Ian Mosbγ (@Ian_Mosby) August 5, 2017
The Sterilization of Leilani Muir
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/sterilization_of_leilani_muir/
Access: Available on the NFB website through NFB Campus, or on DVD for $34.95. Again, your institution likely has access to it.
Language: English
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: Leilani Muir was the child of an abusive mother, who forced her into the Alberta provincial institution for Mental Defectives without any medical diagnosis. A pre-condition for acceptance to this institution at the time was forced sterilization, which Muir underwent at the age of 14. This film tells her story, as well as her fight for justice. I highly recommend the film alongside the Eugenics Archive, which contains additional testimony from Leilani Muir that was assembled with her active participation.
Length: 46 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: violence against women, domestic abuse, sterilization
Best for Teaching: gender history, medical history, 20th century history
Recommendation: See Donica Belisle’s recommendation above.
Parlez-vous français?
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/parlez-vous-francais
Access: Available for free from the CBC Digital Archives.
Language: English and French.
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: In this 1967, a CBC reporter roams the streets of Toronto trying to find someone who can talk to him about the B&B Commission in French.
Length: 2 minutes, 6 seconds.
Trigger Warnings: Poor French.
Best for teaching: Bilingualism, multiculturalism, regionalism, Canadianization.
Recommendation: See Matthew Hayday’s recommendation above.
PowWow at Duck Lake
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/powwow_at_duck_lake/
Access: Available for free on the NFB website.
Language: English.
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This documentary features a discussion that took place in 1967 (?) between First Nations and Métis peoples and white community members at Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, largely around issues of education and opportunities for young Indigenous people.
Length: 14 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: racism.
Best for teaching: Indigenous history, 20th century history, Indigenous-Settler relations, Indigenous activism.
Recommendation:
Yes, &I also use Pow-Wow at Duck Lake (1967) & High Steel (1965). I usually end up buying the NFB classroom license for the wonky old stuff.
— Adele Perry (@AdelePerry) August 5, 2017
High Steel
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/high_steel/
Access: Available for free through the NFB website or for purchase as a DVD for $14.95.
Language:
Accessibility:
Summary: This documentary shows off the skills of the Kahnawake Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) steelworkers, and the role that they played in erecting the skyscrapers of Manhattan in the 1960s (however, while the film focuses on the 1960s, Kanien’kehá:ka steel workers were working there long before, and continue to build skyscrapers to this day).
Length: 13 minutes, 42 seconds.
Trigger Warnings: n/a
Best for teaching: Indigenous history, Indigenous peoples as modern and dynamic, labour
Recommendation: See above for Adele Perry’s recommendation.
You Are on Indian Land
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/you_are_on_indian_land/
Access: Available free on the NFB website, and available for purchase in DVD format for $19.95.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: A report of the Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) protest at the Canada-US bridge crossing at Cornwall, triggered by a refusal by Canadian authorities to recognize the right of the Kanien’kéhaka to make purchases in the United States without paying a Canadian duty, as guaranteed by the Jay Treaty of 1794. The blockade of the bridge drew international attention, and makes an excellent argument for the importance of treaty education.
Length: 36 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: violence.
Best for teaching: treaty history, Mohawk history, Indigenous history, US-Canadian indigenous history.
Recommendation:
I’ve shown You Are On Indian Land a few times. It’s a great film, the first Can. film by an Indigenous director https://t.co/hZjAzGBYrN
— Ian Mosbγ (@Ian_Mosby) August 5, 2017
The Other Sided of the Ledger
Link: http://www.nfb.ca/film/other_side_of_the_ledger/
Access: Available for free on the NFB website, or for purchase in DVD format for $19.95.
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: Narrated by the president of the National Indian Brotherhood (today known as the Assembly of First Nations), George Manuel, the film presents an indigenous view of the 300th anniversary of the Hudson’s Bay trading company. Widely celebrated throughout the company, and even celebrated by Queen Elizabeth II, it was viewed through a very different lens by the country’s indigenous people, who had a contentious relationship with the trading posts.
Length: 42 minutes, 22 seconds.
Trigger Warnings: n/a
Best for teaching: Indigenous activism, Indigenous history, history of the fur trade, HBC.
Recommendation:
I like to show The Other Side of the Ledger. Sad how little has changed since it was filmed. https://t.co/9fUA14v5VN
— Janis Thiessen (@JanisThiessen) August 5, 2017
Remember Africville
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/remember_africville/
Access: Available free on the NFB website or on DVD for $19.95.
Language: English
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: A short film which discusses the former community of Africville in Halifax, Nova Scotia – a black community which was leveled by city planners in the name of “progress” and “urban renewal.” Residents were scattered, and, for decades, the vibrant community was replaced with an industrial park. Reconstitution of the Africville community has only barely begun, with the recent rebuilding of the Africville church, which has been re-established as a community centre and museum (which you can read about here, as the film was created long before this project was though of.)
Length: 35 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: racism.
Best for teaching: Black history in Canada, urbanization, modernization
Recommendation: See Carmen Nielson’s recommendation above.
Gunless
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunless
Access: Available for rent from Youtube from $3.99 here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62TWY_sZPW4)
Language: English
Accessibility: n/a
Summary: This is a western that takes place in 1878 featuring an American gunslinger, played by Paul Gross, who arrives in a town in the foothills of the Rockies. Hilarity ensues.
Length: 1 hour, 28 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: Mounties.
Best for teaching: Unpacking stereotypes about Mounties.
Recommendation: See Kesia Kvill’s recommendation above.
Finding Dawn
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/finding_dawn/
Access: Available for free on the NFB website, and available for purchase as a DVD for $34.95. Again, check your institution.
Language: English and French (via subtitles)
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: Directed by Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh, this documentary examines the deep historical and colonial roots of the missing and murdered women stretching from Vancouver to Saskatchewan. It travels the Highway of Tears, Highway 16, and gives a human face to the tragedy of so many. While reminding people that the responsibility for such violence lies with everyone, there is hope for change.
Length: 1 hour, 14 minutes
Trigger Warnings: violence, violence against women, murder, abuse, alcoholism, drug use.
Best for teaching: about Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Recommendation: See Carmen Nielson’s recommendation above.
Qallunaat! White People are Funny!
Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/qallunaat_why_white_people_are_funny/
Access: Available for free on the NFB website, or for purchase as a DVD for $34.95.
Language: English
Accessibility: Closed captioning.
Summary: This is a humorous Inuit documentary about the mysterious people known as Qallunaat (white Canadians). And yes, it is as funny as it sounds.
Length: 52 minutes.
Trigger Warnings: n/a
Best for teaching: the history of colonization in the North.
Recommendation: See Carmen Nielson’s recommendation above.
Anti-Recommendation
I realize this is the opposite of your question but if I never see Black Robes again, it would be too soon. Was shown in 4 or 5 classes
— Liz Huntingford (@lizhuntingford) August 5, 2017
I’m sure you have lots of great additional recommendations, so be sure to leave them in the comments below! I hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you did, please considering sharing it on the social platform of your choice. And don’t forget to check back on Friday for our regular look at next month’s upcoming publications. See you then!
Readers may also be interested in this recent award-winning film: “We are the Roots: Black Settlers and their Experiences of Discrimination on the Canadian Prairies,” by Bailey and Soda Films (2018). It is currently available for viewing at http://www.baileyandsoda.com.
Thanks Donica!
My students and I are studying the history of families in Canada – can you recommend any historical films that focus on family life? Couples, nuclear families, extended families – anything.