Portrait
Individuals. Beings made of flesh and blood who transcend the world and are transcended by it! Men, women, children, the elderly; people who dream, fulminate, provoke or contemplate, scrabble around and invent. All these individual consciousnesses, these unique and flamboyant destinies; this is the ideal material of the documentary genre.
693 products
Regretters
Subscription access
Two Swedish men in their 60s meet for the first time to reflect on their experiences of gender transition and detransition, sharing their personal journeys and the choices that shaped their lives.
Guidelines
Subscription access
_Guidelines_ explores the world of adolescence through a series of tableaux that illustrate the occasionally trying existence of young people at a rural secondary school. Emphasizing the contrasts between the regulated environment of the classroom and the beckoning freedom of the great outdoors, the film is structured around the teens’ meetings with various authority figures in the institution ...
First Stripes
Subscription access
Over the course of a 12-week intensive training program, young adults are gradually transformed into members of the Canadian Armed Forces. For these future soldiers, the group is now more important than the individual, and the country comes before oneself. Without judgment, _First Stripes_ offers an immersion into the singular world of the military through their basic training. A mandatory step...
The Day to Come Is a Bright New Day
The Day to Come Is a Bright New Day
New product!Duration: 1h30
Subscription access
Early morning in a Montreal diner: filter coffee, bacon, French toast. Stories and solitudes are shared. Silences, glances, a chance encounter, and the promise of a brand-new day. A restaurant that feels like a refuge, where the chaos of the world nonetheless finds its way in, captured with tenderness and love for its characters.
Adolescents
Subscription access
Over five years, _Adolescentes_ follows Emma and Anaïs, two inseparable friends from different backgrounds and with very different personalities, through their journey from adolescence to adulthood. First loves, doubts, discoveries and profound transformations punctuate their lives, offering a rare portrait of a generation and a changing France.
Time Indefinite
Subscription access
Forty-year-old documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee has a penchant for filming everything around him. Following the announcement of his impending marriage, he turns on his camera to capture life as it unfolds during this new phase of his life. Both in personal and philosophical terms, McElwee reflects through self-narration on life, death, love, family, and parenthood.
Diary
Subscription access
Larissa faces the many hardships of post-Soviet life: poverty, an alcoholic husband, and an uncertain future. By chance, she discovers her grandmother’s diary, in which she had recorded a dream that seems strangely connected to her own life. A poetic film about memory, family, and the traces of the past.
Out-Takes From the Life of a Happy Man
Out-Takes From the Life of a Happy Man
Duration: 2h16Subscription access
"A motion picture composed of brief diaristic scenes not used in completed films from the years 1960-2000; and self-referential video footage taped during the editing. Brief glimpses of family, friends, girl-friends, the City, seasons of the year, travels. Occasionally I talk, reminisce, or play music I taped during those earlier years, plus more recent piano improvisations by Auguste Varkalis....
Gods of Stone
Subscription access
Filmed over fifteen years, _Deuses de pedra_ (_Gods of Stone_) paints a portrait of a rural community along the historic border between Galicia and Portugal. Through the eyes of Mariana, a young girl growing up immersed in local stories, legends, and folklore, the film explores the ties between past and present, belonging and change. As the story unfolds, the magic of tradition is confronted wi...
A Portrait of Ga
Subscription access
"My mother seemed a good subject for a portrait, (she was there), and I thought it offered a chance to do a sort of 'abstract film', in the sense that it didn’t have what you might call 'the grammar of film'. It’s mostly discontinuous shots linked just by subject, in one case by colour, only rarely by movement." – Margaret Tait
Baisanos
Subscription access
Through an intimate portrayal of the activities of the Club Deportivo Palestino fan group, _Baisanos_ builds a dialogue between two narrators representing Chile and Palestine. Together, they reflect on identity, the meaning of returning to Palestine, and the different ways of going back. In this way, the connection between two distant territories emerges within a space of celebration, where dre...
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection
Duration: 1h35Subscription access
An immersive film essay on tennis legend John McEnroe at the height of his career as the world champion, documenting his strive for perfection, frustrations, and the hardest loss of his career at the 1984 Roland-Garros French Open.
Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships and Intersections
Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships and Intersections
Duration: 37 minutesSubscription access
Jonas Mekas, a pioneer of the film diary, portrays his friend Andy Warhol and his inner circle from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, offering an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the artist’s life and career.
Amsterdam Global Village
Subscription access
After travelling the world from north to south and east to west, Johan van der Keuken turns his camera to his hometown, a welcoming city open to the world, creating a sweeping portrait of Amsterdam and its inhabitants. The peaceful circles formed by the canals of the old city inspire a structure built around lateral movements through the seasons and through time, movements interrupted by a seri...
Ten Minutes Older
Subscription access
During a puppet show, a camera captures in a single ten-minute shot the various emotions reflected on the children's faces.
A Sound Of My Own
Subscription access
After the death of her father, Marja Burchard followed in his footsteps and became the leader of the legendary krautrock collective Embryo. While carrying on his musical legacy, she also strives to forge her own path in a male-dominated industry. _A Sound of My Own_ immerses viewers in Marja's sonic world, where images and sounds from the past and present merge into a composition of her life—un...
Upstairs With David Amram
Subscription access
Before her illustrious career as one of Canada’s foremost documentary filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin was an acclaimed singer and musician at the forefront of the Indigenous rights movement in North America. During this unprecedented time, she befriended fellow musician and activist David Amram, often described as the “Renaissance man of American music.” A legendary talent and multi-instrumentalis...
Le roi du drum
Subscription access
_Le roi du drum_ tells the story of a beloved folk hero from Montreal's East End: Guy Nadon, a gifted self-taught jazz musician whose only misfortune was being born in Quebec in the 1930s. A marginalized artist—often misunderstood and seldom supported—Nadon never stopped nurturing his boundless imagination as a percussionist and performer, all while remaining deeply rooted in his neighbourhood....
Christmas at Moose Factory
Subscription access
Filmed at Christmastime in a residential school in Northern Ontario, this first short film by Alanis Obomsawin is composed entirely of drawings and stories told by young Cree children. The film gives voice to the many children forced to attend this residential school, revealing their beauty and resilience.
Regretters
Subscription access
Two Swedish men in their 60s meet for the first time to reflect on their experiences of gender transition and detransition, sharing their personal journeys and the choices that shaped their lives.
Guidelines
Subscription access
_Guidelines_ explores the world of adolescence through a series of tableaux that illustrate the occasionally trying existence of young people at a rural secondary school. Emphasizing the contrasts between the regulated environment of the classroom and the beckoning freedom of the great outdoors, the film is structured around the teens’ meetings with various authority figures in the institution ...
First Stripes
Subscription access
Over the course of a 12-week intensive training program, young adults are gradually transformed into members of the Canadian Armed Forces. For these future soldiers, the group is now more important than the individual, and the country comes before oneself. Without judgment, _First Stripes_ offers an immersion into the singular world of the military through their basic training. A mandatory step...
The Day to Come Is a Bright New Day
The Day to Come Is a Bright New Day
New product!Duration: 1h30
Subscription access
Early morning in a Montreal diner: filter coffee, bacon, French toast. Stories and solitudes are shared. Silences, glances, a chance encounter, and the promise of a brand-new day. A restaurant that feels like a refuge, where the chaos of the world nonetheless finds its way in, captured with tenderness and love for its characters.
Adolescents
Subscription access
Over five years, _Adolescentes_ follows Emma and Anaïs, two inseparable friends from different backgrounds and with very different personalities, through their journey from adolescence to adulthood. First loves, doubts, discoveries and profound transformations punctuate their lives, offering a rare portrait of a generation and a changing France.
Time Indefinite
Subscription access
Forty-year-old documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee has a penchant for filming everything around him. Following the announcement of his impending marriage, he turns on his camera to capture life as it unfolds during this new phase of his life. Both in personal and philosophical terms, McElwee reflects through self-narration on life, death, love, family, and parenthood.
Diary
Subscription access
Larissa faces the many hardships of post-Soviet life: poverty, an alcoholic husband, and an uncertain future. By chance, she discovers her grandmother’s diary, in which she had recorded a dream that seems strangely connected to her own life. A poetic film about memory, family, and the traces of the past.
Out-Takes From the Life of a Happy Man
Out-Takes From the Life of a Happy Man
Duration: 2h16Subscription access
"A motion picture composed of brief diaristic scenes not used in completed films from the years 1960-2000; and self-referential video footage taped during the editing. Brief glimpses of family, friends, girl-friends, the City, seasons of the year, travels. Occasionally I talk, reminisce, or play music I taped during those earlier years, plus more recent piano improvisations by Auguste Varkalis....
Gods of Stone
Subscription access
Filmed over fifteen years, _Deuses de pedra_ (_Gods of Stone_) paints a portrait of a rural community along the historic border between Galicia and Portugal. Through the eyes of Mariana, a young girl growing up immersed in local stories, legends, and folklore, the film explores the ties between past and present, belonging and change. As the story unfolds, the magic of tradition is confronted wi...
A Portrait of Ga
Subscription access
"My mother seemed a good subject for a portrait, (she was there), and I thought it offered a chance to do a sort of 'abstract film', in the sense that it didn’t have what you might call 'the grammar of film'. It’s mostly discontinuous shots linked just by subject, in one case by colour, only rarely by movement." – Margaret Tait
Baisanos
Subscription access
Through an intimate portrayal of the activities of the Club Deportivo Palestino fan group, _Baisanos_ builds a dialogue between two narrators representing Chile and Palestine. Together, they reflect on identity, the meaning of returning to Palestine, and the different ways of going back. In this way, the connection between two distant territories emerges within a space of celebration, where dre...
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection
Duration: 1h35Subscription access
An immersive film essay on tennis legend John McEnroe at the height of his career as the world champion, documenting his strive for perfection, frustrations, and the hardest loss of his career at the 1984 Roland-Garros French Open.
Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships and Intersections
Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships and Intersections
Duration: 37 minutesSubscription access
Jonas Mekas, a pioneer of the film diary, portrays his friend Andy Warhol and his inner circle from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, offering an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the artist’s life and career.
Amsterdam Global Village
Subscription access
After travelling the world from north to south and east to west, Johan van der Keuken turns his camera to his hometown, a welcoming city open to the world, creating a sweeping portrait of Amsterdam and its inhabitants. The peaceful circles formed by the canals of the old city inspire a structure built around lateral movements through the seasons and through time, movements interrupted by a seri...
Ten Minutes Older
Subscription access
During a puppet show, a camera captures in a single ten-minute shot the various emotions reflected on the children's faces.
A Sound Of My Own
Subscription access
After the death of her father, Marja Burchard followed in his footsteps and became the leader of the legendary krautrock collective Embryo. While carrying on his musical legacy, she also strives to forge her own path in a male-dominated industry. _A Sound of My Own_ immerses viewers in Marja's sonic world, where images and sounds from the past and present merge into a composition of her life—un...
Upstairs With David Amram
Subscription access
Before her illustrious career as one of Canada’s foremost documentary filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin was an acclaimed singer and musician at the forefront of the Indigenous rights movement in North America. During this unprecedented time, she befriended fellow musician and activist David Amram, often described as the “Renaissance man of American music.” A legendary talent and multi-instrumentalis...
Le roi du drum
Subscription access
_Le roi du drum_ tells the story of a beloved folk hero from Montreal's East End: Guy Nadon, a gifted self-taught jazz musician whose only misfortune was being born in Quebec in the 1930s. A marginalized artist—often misunderstood and seldom supported—Nadon never stopped nurturing his boundless imagination as a percussionist and performer, all while remaining deeply rooted in his neighbourhood....
Christmas at Moose Factory
Subscription access
Filmed at Christmastime in a residential school in Northern Ontario, this first short film by Alanis Obomsawin is composed entirely of drawings and stories told by young Cree children. The film gives voice to the many children forced to attend this residential school, revealing their beauty and resilience.
