Arts

A selection of films on the arts, including biographies of artists.
  • film

    Poet: Irving Layton Observed

    A portrait of a great Canadian poet
    Watch as an artist who long masked himself in controversy unexpectedly agrees to be unmasked in front of the camera.
  • film

    On the Road With La Mouette

    Have play, will travel
    Follow a family that has crossed Canada from east to west, and north to the Yukon, taking their amusing play (with a serious ecological message) to remote towns and villages.
  • film

    Ballet Adagio

    A slow motion study
    Enjoy a ballet originally choreographed by Russian ballet master Asaf Messerer and performed for this film by the internationally known Canadian pair David and Anna Marie Holmes.

Films

Poet: Irving Layton Observed  

Poet: Irving Layton Observed

  • This feature documentary is a portrait of the life and work of ...
  • 1986,
  • 52 min 3 s
Horse Drawn Magic  

Horse Drawn Magic

  • This documentary short introduces us to the Caravan Stage Company, the world ...
  • by Dorothy Todd Hénaut,
  • 1979,
  • 27 min 47 s
OK ... Camera  

OK ... Camera

  • This documentary film is an exploration of Québec’s feature film industry ...
  • 1972,
  • 27 min 37 s
Available for download
Notman's World  

Notman's World

  • This documentary short is a portrait of Canadian photographer William Notman. Photography ...
  • 1989,
  • 29 min 7 s
Available for download
Narcissus  
Available in 3d stereoscopy

Narcissus

  • In this short film by Norman McLaren, dancers enact the Greek tragedy ...
  • 1983,
  • 21 min 47 s
Ballet Adagio  

Ballet Adagio

  • This short film by Norman McLaren is a slow-motion study of the ...
  • by Norman McLaren,
  • 1972,
  • 9 min 50 s
On the Road with La Mouette  

On the Road with La Mouette

Remembering Arthur  

Remembering Arthur

  • In this feature length documentary, filmmaker Arthur Lipsett's close friend Martin ...
  • by Martin Lavut,
  • 2006,
  • 89 min 54 s
Available for download CAMPUS
I Can Make Art ... Like Ron Noganosh  
Available with closed captioning

I Can Make Art ... Like Ron Noganosh

  • This short film introduces kids to sculptor Ron Noganosh, who transforms items ...
  • by Jane Churchill,
  • 2005,
  • 15 min 43 s
  • more options
    • What do you want to do?
    • Play the film
    • Download the film
    • Add to your playlist
Available for download CAMPUS
I Can Make Art ... Like Andrew Qappik  
Available with closed captioning

I Can Make Art ... Like Andrew Qappik

  • This short documentary is a portrait of Andrew Qappik, a world-renowned Inuit ...
  • by Jane Churchill,
  • 2005,
  • 11 min 24 s
  • more options
    • What do you want to do?
    • Play the film
    • Download the film
    • Add to your playlist
Available for download
I Can Make Art . . . Like Kai Chan  
Available with closed captioning Available in 3d stereoscopy

I Can Make Art . . . Like Kai Chan

  • In this short film, sculptor and textile artist Kai Chan shares his ...
  • by Jane Churchill,
  • 2005,
  • 11 min 24 s
Available for download
Walking  
Available in 3d stereoscopy

Walking

  • Animator Ryan Larkin uses an artist's sensibility to illustrate the way ...
  • by Ryan Larkin,
  • 1968,
  • 5 min 6 s
Available for download
RiP! A Remix Manifesto  
Available with closed captioning Available in 3d stereoscopy

RiP! A Remix Manifesto

Available for download
Ryan  
Available with closed captioning Available in 3d stereoscopy

Ryan

  • This Oscar®-winning animated short from Chris Landreth is based on the ...
  • by Chris Landreth,
  • 2004,
  • 13 min 57 s
Available for download
Lodela  
Available in 3d stereoscopy

Lodela

  • Inspired by the myths of the afterlife, this allegorical dance piece illuminates ...
  • by Philippe Baylaucq,
  • 1996,
  • 26 min 24 s
Bryan Adams: Bare Bones  
Available in 3d stereoscopy

Bryan Adams: Bare Bones

  • Bryan Adams is one of world’s most enduringly popular singer/songwriters ...
  • by David Battistella,
  • 2010,
  • 5 min 16 s
Available for download
Mindscape  

Mindscape

  • A particularly creative example of the pinscreen animation technique, this film is ...
  • by Jacques Drouin,
  • 1976,
  • 7 min 31 s
Congratulations, Mr. Levy  

Congratulations, Mr. Levy

The Whirlwind of Your Passion: A Philanthropist's Dream  
Available with closed captioning

The Whirlwind of Your Passion: A Philanthropist's Dream

Boogie-Doodle  

Boogie-Doodle

  • In this short animation film, the "boogie" is played by Albert Ammons ...
  • by Norman McLaren,
  • 1941,
  • 3 min 28 s
Available for download
Pas de deux  

Pas de deux

  • Norman McLaren's short film is a cinematic study of the choreography ...
  • by Norman McLaren,
  • 1968,
  • 13 min 22 s
Available for download
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry  

Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry

Available for download
The Stratford Adventure  
Available in 3d stereoscopy

The Stratford Adventure

  • This short film depicts how a small Canadian city, bearing the name ...
  • by Morten Parker,
  • 1954,
  • 39 min 24 s
High Grass Circus  

High Grass Circus

Dashan - Ambassador to China's Funny Bone  
Available with closed captioning

Dashan - Ambassador to China's Funny Bone

  • This documentary introduces us to Mark Rowswell, a Canadian comedian virtually unknown ...
  • by Guy Nantel,
  • 1996,
  • 50 min
Available for download
Krzysztof Wodiczko: Projections  
Available with closed captioning

Krzysztof Wodiczko: Projections

  • This full-length documentary examines the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko, an artist who ...
  • by Derek May,
  • 1991,
  • 53 min 2 s
Pierrot in Montreal  

Pierrot in Montreal

  • In this documentary short, Canadian mime Guy Hoffman, acting as Pierrot, introduces ...
  • by Donald Ginsberg,
  • 1957,
  • 30 min
Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows  

Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows

  • Set against a background of her paintings and the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia ...
  • by Diane Beaudry,
  • 1976,
  • 10 min 1 s
Shameless: The ART of Disability  
Available with closed captioning Available with described video

Shameless: The ART of Disability

  • Art and activism are the starting point for a funny and intimate ...
  • by Bonnie Sherr Klein,
  • 2006,
  • 71 min 30 s
Available for download
From Baghdad to Peace Country  

From Baghdad to Peace Country

  • This documentary is about Canadian artist Deryk Houston, who in 1999, had ...
  • by Sherry LePage,
  • 2003,
  • 28 min 32 s
Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak  

Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak

  • This documentary shows how an Inuit artist's drawings are transferred to ...
  • by John Feeney,
  • 1963,
  • 19 min 49 s
Lismer  

Lismer

  • This short documentary looks at the work of artist Arthur Lismer, a ...
  • by Allan Wargon,
  • 1951,
  • 19 min 10 s
Available for download
Varley  

Varley

  • A portrait of Frederick Varley, Canadian painter and member of the Group ...
  • by Allan Wargon,
  • 1953,
  • 16 min 23 s
I Don't Have to Work that Big  

I Don't Have to Work that Big

  • A short documentary about sculptor Joe Fafard. Joe knows cows. He knows ...
  • by Michael McKennirey,
  • 1973,
  • 27 min 20 s
Bill Reid  

Bill Reid

  • This documentary follows Haida artist Bill Reid, from British Columbia. A jeweller ...
  • by Jack Long,
  • 1979,
  • 27 min 54 s
Available for download
Finding Farley  
Available with closed captioning Available in 3d stereoscopy

Finding Farley

  • In this full-length documentary husband-and-wife team Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison (Being ...
  • by Leanne Allison,
  • 2009,
  • 62 min 49 s
Available for download
Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen  

Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen

Available for download
Flamenco at 5:15  

Flamenco at 5:15

  • This Oscar®-winning short film is an impressionistic record of a flamenco ...
  • by Cynthia Scott,
  • 1983,
  • 29 min 22 s
Available for download
Ten Million Books: An Introduction to Farley Mowat  

Ten Million Books: An Introduction to Farley Mowat

  • Farley Mowat has sold more books than any other Canadian writer – 10 ...
  • by Andy Thomson,
  • 1981,
  • 25 min 15 s
Available for download
Begone Dull Care  

Begone Dull Care

Available for download
Margaret Atwood: Once in August  

Margaret Atwood: Once in August

  • In Margaret Atwood: Once in August, filmmaker Michael Rubbo attempts to discover ...
  • by Michael Rubbo,
  • 1984,
  • 57 min 25 s