All Films

Mparntwe Sacred Sites

2004 • 25 min • Australia

This documentary focuses on the sacred sites in and around Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in central Australia, and the struggle of the Arrernte people to identify, document and preserve these sites in the face of rapid urban expansion and property development.

The Grinding Machine

2004 • 22 min • India

After her husband died, a mother buys a grinding-machine in order to make a living. Initially fascinated by the machine, her son starts getting irritated by its noise. He tries to destroy the machine to regain his childhood.

The Crawl

2004 • 26 min • Finland

A visual and delicately poetic story about the relationship between a swimmer and water. A young competitive swimmer meets the world's fastest woman swimmer in her dreams and races her.

Le compteur d'oiseaux

2004 • 52 min

Five hours from Montreal, at the end of an endless road, is a lake, a favorite haunt of northern ospreys. The Lac Villiers Foundation, managed by a small family whose destiny is punctuated by the peace of the immensity of the boreal and by the demands of a life on the fringes of civilization, has set up its quarters there. This film plunges into his world and shares his way of life which, like ospreys, is on the verge of extinction.

Rivers of Danger

2004 • 50 min • South Africa

The rivers of Africa bring life and abundance to their inhabitants, but they can also be the arena for some of nature's greatest challenges and dramas. Harsh seasonal cycles dictate the course of life - and death - along the rivers. Only the fittest survive crossing the crocodile-infested Mara, the extreme drought of the Luangwa Valley or any of the many other perils harbored by rivers all over the continent. With cunning and opportunistic hunters of all sizes lurking in the waters or prowling the banks, "Rivers of Danger" is a predator's world.

Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive

2004 • 57 min • Canada

In this feature-length documentary, 8 Inuit teens with cameras offer a vibrant and contemporary view of life in Canada's North. They also use their newly acquired film skills to confront a broad range of issues, from the widening communication gap between youth and their elders to the loss of their peers to suicide. In Inuktitut with English subtitles.

Ice Ages

2004 • 2 min • Canada

Seeking shelter from a thunderstorm, a man sits in a pub watching the ice in his glass melt away. Howie Shia marries his graphic illustration style with subtle animation and a haunting soundtrack to conjure up anxiety and foreboding. He used pen and ink on tracing paper and later composited and coloured digitally. This film was made as part of the second edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Schlimmer

2004 • 8 min • United States of America

Sebastian is eager to show off his latest acquisition to a cadre of eccentric — and soon-to-be-jealous — art collectors, even hiring his photographer nephew to capture the unveiling for posterity. But when the “Schlimmer” turns up missing, accusations of theft begin flying, and long-simmering resentments begin to undermine the group’s cohesion.

Late Bloomer

2004 • 13 min • United States of America

Loosely based on the dark tales of HP Lovecraft, "Late Bloomer" is a compelling and humorous journey through a young boy's first sexual education class.

Auschwitz: The Forgotten Evidence

2004 • 49 min

The Nazi extermination camps at Auschwitz in Poland were photographed in extraordinary detail from the air. By combining emotional memories of those who experienced the camp and an almost forensic analysis of the shocking process of genocide, this film evokes details of the horror of Europe's darkest hour in a uniquely compelling way.

Dear Mr. Tzabar,

2004 • 27 min

A short film about the late, celebrated Israeli journalist, poet, artist and satirist SHIMON TZABAR, and his last public protest against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, made shortly before his death in 2007 after forty years of self-imposed exile in London.

Barnavännen

2004 • 28 min • Finland, Sweden

"The Childhood Friend." - Tomas lives with her parents. One day, his father's cousin Serkuu comes to visit. At first Serkuu wins Tomas's trust but later he brutally let's him down. Fifteen years later, Tomas has become a police officer and takes his service revolver when calls on Serkuu to retaliate.

Demon of Temptation

2004 • 30 min

A young woman (Debbie D) is haunted by a demon mermaid (Laura Giglio) and driven to the brink of madness and suicide. What does the mysterious Dr. Alexander (Isabelle Stephen) have to do with it? And what do those pills she prescribes really do?

Honto Ni Atta! Noroi No Video 14

2004 • 59 min • Japan

14th entry in the popular "Honto ni Atta. Noroi no Video" series.

The Runaway

2004 • 23 min • Germany

Walter is an unemployed architect, who is getting ready to go for an interview. But just as he is about to leave his flat, an eight-year-old boy, Yuri, approaches him at the door, claiming to be his son.

Little Russia

2004 • 16 min • Italy

The story he has been told by his grandfather was about people's dream to go out of their small town to Russia. For them, the greatest pleasure on the earth was taking a prostitute.

Ydessa, the Bears and etc.

2004 • 44 min • France

Ydessa Hendeles' exhibition entitled "The living and the Artificial" (consisting of works of art all comprising a photograph of living persons in the company of one or several teddy bears) had puzzled Agnès Varda so much that she decided to go to Toronto where the artist lives and interview her. In front of Agnes Varda's DV camera, Ydessa tells about the singularity of her artistic approach. She also expresses herself about the Holocaust, which both her parents survived.

All That You Love Will Be Carried Away

2004 • 26 min

A traveling frozen-food salesman checks into a motel to kill himself. Only his notebook, his traveling companion over the years, can save his life.

Coldplay Diary 2002-03

2004 • 41 min • United Kingdom, United States of America

Tour diary of Coldplay during their 2002-2003 tour.

Ma Mere l'Oye

2004 • 29 min

A dance set to Pierre Boulez's recording of Ravel's Ma Mere l'Oye

Tin Soldiers

2004 • 48 min • Lebanon, Norway

A group of young UN soldiers in Lebanon enters service with pro-Israeli views and a naive outlook on war. They go through a radical change of heart as they witness and film the Qana massacre. They secure video evidence indicating that Israel deliberately bombed a UN camp killing 106 refugees.

A Present for Sanja

2004 • 56 min • Croatia

Having been ditched by his girlfriend Sanja for a Turk called Murat, a Bosnian refugee who lives in Germany reaches a decision to commit suicide on the New Year's Eve. To cheer him up, his boss sends him a prostitute called Jovanka, not knowing that Jovanka is a Serb. In consequence, Jovanka and the suicidal Bosnian are forced to spend the New Year's Eve together.

Opium for the People

2004 • 4 min • Brazil

"Acid" (1997) is an experiment with color saturation on an analog editing table. It was filmed, edited and manipulated on VHS. "Opium for the People" (2004) is an extension of these experiences.

Cancrena

2004 • 7 min • Italy

A dying person continues their experimentation with radical treatments for their disease.