NFB Gems
The Lake Winnipeg Project
A four-part documentary on how different communities along Lake Winnipeg have adapted to modern environmental challenges.
- Canada • 2021
- Creator Kevin Settee
- Cast
- Genre
- Available on Nfb
Borealis
Cycles of life, destruction, and rebirth in one of the most remote corners of the world.
- Canada • 2020
- Director Kevin McMahon
- Cast Diana Beresford-Kroeger, Stan Boutin
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Martha
A documentary portrait of the filmmaker’s grandmother, Martha Katz, a Holocaust survivor.
- Canada • 2020
- Director Daniel Schubert
- Cast Mila Bursac, Shaun Morse, Orsolya Szabo
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Nfb
Old Dog
After losing his best friend, an elderly pug named Henry must depend on his owner for help and companionship.
- Canada • 2020
- Director Ann Marie Fleming
- Cast
- Genre Animation
- Available on Nfb
Assholes: A Theory
A documentary investigating contemporary “asshole culture” — and what we can do about it.
- ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2019
- Director John Walker
- Cast John Cleese, Vladimir Luxuria, Geoffrey Nunberg, Mary Sarnataro, Edoardo Albinati, Bill Emmott
- Genre Documentary
- Available on IndieFlix, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Filmzie, Redbox, Plex
Because We Are Girls
Three sisters share a dark secret that they're finally ready to tell.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2019
- Director Baljit Sangra
- Cast
- Genre
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV
Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger
The true story of a fight for equitable access for First Nations children to government services.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2019
- Director Alanis Obomsawin
- Cast Alanis Obomsawin
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV
Luben & Elena: The Love of Art and the Art of Love
(Luben and Elena: The Love of Art and the Art of Love)
Some people give up everything for art and love.
- Canada • 2019
- Director Ellie Yonova
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video
nîpawistamâsowin : We Will Stand Up
The most difficult stories to tell are the ones we need to hear most.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2019
- Director Tasha Hubbard
- Cast Tasha Hubbard
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV
The Whale and the Raven
The struggles of people in the Tshiman Territory to stop oil tankers which destroy the environment and the people’s traditions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2019
- Director Mirjam Leuze
- Cast Helen Clifton, Spencer Greening, Nicole Robinson, Archie Dundas, Roy Henry Vickers
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Curiosity Stream, fuboTV, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV
Bone Mother
What would you do for eternal youth?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2018
- Director Sylvie Trouvé
- Cast Rafael Petardi
- Genre
- Available on Amazon Video, Nfb
Love, Scott
A profile of musician Scott Jones and his recovery, left paralyzed following a homophobic attack outside a nightclub.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2018
- Director Laura Marie Wayne
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, IndieFlix, Apple TV
Metamorphosis
An examination of the scale of the current climate crisis and our opportunities to change it.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2018
- Director Nova Ami, Velcrow Ripper
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Shout! Factory TV, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Tubi TV, YouTube, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel
That Higher Level
A close look at the musicians of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada as they train and tour.
- Canada • 2018
- Director John Bolton
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video
The Girls of Meru
A multinational team helps 11 young survivors of sexual violence to pursue justice.
- Canada • 2018
- Director Andrea Dorfman
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, IndieFlix, Apple TV, Nfb
What Is Democracy?
A vast, timely, and often chilling investigation into the idea and practice of democracy
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2018
- Director Astra Taylor
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on DocAlliance Films, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kino Now, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
Holy Angels
A short documentary about the imprisonment of thousands of First Nations children in 1963.
- Canada • 2017
- Director Jay Cardinal Villeneuve
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on IndieFlix, Apple TV, Amazon Video
NCR: Not Criminally Responsible
An in-depth look at the ethical issues raised when crimes are committed by those with mental illness.
- Canada • 2017
- Director John Kastner
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Apple TV, Nfb
Threads
An animated short film about the threads that tie a mother and daughter together as the daughter grows up.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, Norway • 2017
- Director Torill Kove
- Cast
- Genre Animation, Drama
- Available on OVID
19 Days
A documentary depiction of several families and their first 19 days in a new country at a Calgary resettlement center.
- Canada • 2016
- Director Roda Siad
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Filmzie, Kanopy, IndieFlix, Apple TV
As the Crow Flies
The top young Royal Canadian Air Cadets undergo seven weeks of intense training at an elite flight camp.
- Canada • 2016
- Director Tess Girard
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Apple TV
Birth of a Family
When is a family reunion not a reunion? When your family has never met.
- Canada • 2016
- Director Tasha Hubbard
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, IndieFlix, Apple TV
Gun Runners
Kenyan gangsters trade in their rifles for sneakers—in the hopes of making it big as professional marathon runners.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2016
- Director Anjali Nayar
- Cast Julius Arile, Robert Matanda
- Genre Documentary
- Available on DIRECTV, Sundance Now, Spectrum On Demand, Filmzie, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Nfb
Oscar
Mixing animated sequences and archival footage, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre paints a touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2016
- Director Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
- Cast Oscar Peterson, Mark Camacho
- Genre Animation, Documentary
- Available on OVID
Black Fly
Seeking refuge from his abusive uncle, Jake moves in with his estranged brother but finds it no better than his last situation.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2014
- Director Jason Bourque
- Cast Matthew MacCaull, Christie Burke, Peter Benson, Victoria Bidewell
- Genre Thriller
- Available on Amazon Video, Crackle, Vudu, Plex, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, FlixFling, Darkmatter TV, Apple TV
Everything Will Be
Everything is going to be alright, but for whom?
- Canada • 2014
- Director Julia Kwan
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on DocAlliance Films, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Apple TV
Guidelines
(La marche à suivre)
This documentary presents the lives of young adolescent students in a rural Quebec high school.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2014
- Director Jean-François Caissy
- Cast Claude Leblanc
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV
Out of Mind, Out of Sight
4 prisonsers at Brockville Mental Health Center navigate the struggles of rehabilitation coupled with mental illness stigma.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2014
- Director John Kastner
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
Song for Cuba
A young Cuban couple charts a new course for their lives on an island in the North Atlantic.
- Canada • 2014
- Director Tamara Segura
- Cast Tamara Segura
- Genre Drama, Experimental
- Available on Nfb
Island Green
This short documentary examines the changing nature of Prince Edward Island's agricultural industry.
- Canada • 2013
- Director Millefiore Clarkes
- Cast Tanya Davis
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Nfb
My Prairie Home
Transgender indie musician Rae Spoon journeys through Alberta to confront their difficult past.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2013
- Director Chelsea McMullan
- Cast Rae Spoon
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on Filmzie, Apple TV, Nfb
Last Chance
The story of 5 asylum seekers struggling to find a new country after fleeing their home country due to homophobic violence.
- Canada • 2012
- Director Paul Émile d'Entremont
- Cast Michael Battista
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy, Apple TV, Nfb
Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada
A documentary exploring the progress made on Canadian feminist issues such as universal childcare, violence against women, and abortion access.
- Canada • 2012
- Director Karen Cho
- Cast
- Genre
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV
The Fruit Hunters
A fascinating portrait of the little-known history of the subculture of rare fruit hunters who obsessively travel the globe.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2012
- Director Yung Chang
- Cast Bill Pullman
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hoopla, Vudu, VUDU Free, Tubi TV, YouTube, Pluto TV, IndieFlix, Apple TV
We Were Children
The true story of two Indigenous children forced into the mandatory Canadian residential school system.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2012
- Director Tim Wolochatiuk
- Cast Lyna Hart, Ross McMillan
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Filmzie, Kanopy, Tubi TV, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors
An animated adaptation of the autobiographical graphic novel by Bernice Eisenstein, about herself and her parents, both survivors of Auschwitz.
- ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2010
- Director Ann Marie Fleming
- Cast Bernice Eisenstein
- Genre Animation
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy, IndieFlix
Mighty Jerome
The story of Harry Jerome, a track and field star who persevered through unparalleled political turbulence, personal challenge and racial conflict.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2010
- Director Charles Officer
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Apple TV
The 'Socalled' Movie
A kaleidoscopic portrait of a demented Renaissance man and multi-cultural mixmaster.
- ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2010
- Director Garry Beitel
- Cast Josh Dolgin
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Chai Flicks
Finding Farley
A husband and wife duo set out to explore the places mentioned in the writing of Farley Mowat.
- Canada • 2009
- Director Leanne Allison
- Cast Leanne Allison, Karsten Heuer, Farley Mowat
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video
Land of the Heads
(Au pays des têtes)
Who knew a head could have multiple owners?
- ✭ ✭
- Switzerland • 2009
- Director Cédric Louis, Claude Barras
- Cast
- Genre Animation, Fantasy, Horror
- Available on Nfb
Never Lose Sight
A stirring examination of the daunting environmental challenges of remote Northern Canada.
- Canada • 2009
- Director Sarah McNair-Landry
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Nfb
Paris 1919: Un traité pour la paix
A look inside the peace talks that changed the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Canada • 2009
- Director Paul Cowan
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Filmzie, Kanopy, Apple TV
The Coca-Cola Case
Two lawyers set out to hold Coca-Cola legally accountable for the mistreatment of workers across the globe.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2009
- Director Carmen Garcia, German Gutierrez
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Filmzie, Kanopy, Tubi TV, IndieFlix, Apple TV
Baghdad Twist
A visual family history that shows how one family lived in Baghdad's Jewish community before leaving for Canada in 1970.
- Canada • 2008
- Director Joe Balass
- Cast
- Genre
- Available on Nfb
Cure for Love
Young followers of a controversial evangelical conversion therapy movement reflect on their struggles between faith and the desire to love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2008
- Director Christina Willings, Francine Pelletier
- Cast Mel White
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV
Passage
Part drama, part documentary, Passage illustrates an ill-fated expedition to the Northwest Passage.
- Canada • 2008
- Director John Walker
- Cast Rick Roberts, Geraldine Alexander, David Acton, Andrew Alston, Nigel Bennett
- Genre Documentary, Drama, History
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV
The Memories of Angels
(La mémoire des anges)
A film about Montreal in the 50s and 60s, made using footage from older movies.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2008
- Director Luc Bourdon
- Cast Paul Anka, Geneviève Bujold, Oscar Peterson, Igor Stravinsky, Carol-Lynne Traynor
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy, Nfb
Qallunaat! Why White People Are Funny
A satirical study of white Western culture from Inuit perspectives.
- ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2007
- Director Mark Sandiford
- Cast John Amagoalik, Lori Idlout, Alexina Kublu, Zebedee Nungak, Jeff Tabvahtah
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy, Tubi TV, Nfb
Up the Yangtze
A dramatic feature documentary on life inside modern China.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2007
- Director Yung Chang
- Cast Campbell Ping He, Jerry Bo Yu Chen, Cindy Shui Yu
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Filmzie, Kanopy, Apple TV
Becoming 13
Three 12-year-old girls find their voice as they navigate the emerging hopes and fears of becoming 13.
- Canada • 2006
- Director Victoria King
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy
The Danish Poet
A woman narrates the story of her parent’s relationship, a Danish poet and a farmer’s daughter falling in love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Norway, Canada • 2006
- Director Torill Kove
- Cast Liv Ullmann
- Genre Animation, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video, OVID, Kanopy
Hardwood
A short film examining the relationship between father and son.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2005
- Director Hubert Davis
- Cast
- Genre
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, IndieFlix, Apple TV