Advertising & The End of the World (1997, 40:00 min)
Extensively illustrated with graphics and examples from commercial imagery, it presents a compelling and accessible argument about consumerism and its impact on the earth's future. A renowned undergraduate teacher, Jhally's provocative presentation challenges students to re-evaluate their own everyday practices and invites us to re-examine our commitment to future generations.

African-Americans: Marching to Freedom (2000, 54:00 min)
"The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line." These prophetic words of W.E.B. DuBois in 1900 were to echo through a century of Jim Crow segregation, denial of voting rights, public lynching, KKK rallies, lunch counter sit-ins, police brutality, Black Panther militancy, urban riots, forced busing, and brave marches in the streets of Selma and Washington, D.C. This ABC News program anchored by Peter Jennings traces the rise of the Civil Rights movement B and of a black political consciousness, born on the tenant farms of the old South, that resulted in 1995's Million-Man March.

After the Montreal Massacre (1990, 27:14 min)
December 6, 1989. Sylvie Gagnon was attending her last day of classes at École Polytechnique, an engineering school in Montreal, when Marc Lepine entered the building. Systematically separating the women from the men, he opened fire on women students, yelling "you're all a bunch of feminists." Sylvie survived a bullet wound to the head while fourteen other women were murdered. This video makes the connection between the massacre and male violence against women, setting the stage for an exploration of misogyny and sexism.

All We Worked For (16:05 min)

Ancient Mysteries: Secrets of the Aztec Empire (1996, 50:00 min.)
Reviews nature of Aztec society and thought including origins, religion, architecture and construction of Tenochtitlan.  Cosmology and sacrifice.  Conquest by Spanish. Illustrates many images from codices and contemporary art and sculpture (especially from Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City).

Ape Man (1994, 4 tapes)
The Human Puzzle (50:00 min): How do scientists learn about human evolution -- through tools, fossils, genetic testing (chimp DNA). Where did humans evolve? Africa and Taung skull. Origins of bipedalism. Lucy and Laetoli footprints. Oldowan tools and homo habilis. Origins of adaptation through culture.
Giant Strides (50:00 min): Do all humans share common evolution? Spread of homo erectus vs. mitochondrial Eve. What came first - bipedalism or brain? Lucy and Hadar. Consequences of bipedalism. Evolutionary forces. Acheulean hand axe and meat-eating. Homo erectus and first use of fire.
All in the Mind (50:00 min): What is unique about the human brain. Origins of language. Extinction of hominid species including Neanderthal. Modern homo (Klassies River and Cro-Magnon). Cave art and symbolism.
Science and Fiction (50:00 min): How do we conceptualize evolution? Biblical theories, Darwin. Leakey/Johanssen debate. Development of scientific theories, including changing images of Neanderthals. Piltdown forgery and missing links. Raymond Dart and killer-ape theories. Future of human evolution.

Aristide and the Endless Revolution (2005, 83 min)

Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former president of Haiti, was twice removed from office with the complicity of the international community.  An investigation into the events that led to his most recent ouster exposes the geopolitical intrigue, the economic alliances between the Haitian and U.S. elite, the armed criminals posing as freedom fighters and other factors that have consistently threatened this young democracy.

As Long As The Rivers Flow (1991, 5 tapes)
Time Immemorial (59:04 min)
For over a century, the Nisga'a people of north-western B.C. have fought for title over their traditional lands. While this goal has yet to be achieved, the Nisga'a have gained valuable ground - their determined and persistent lobbying has propelled the issue of native land claims into the mainstream political arena. This film takes us to the disputed territory - the Nass River valley - where the Nisga'a bear witness to their current struggle and that of their ancestors. Archival material and interviews recount the clash of cultures over four generations and retrace the steps that carried the Nisga's case to the Supreme Court of Canada. The film also documents an historic event of enormous significance; the arrival, 119 years after B.C. joined Canada, of the first provincial delegation to negotiate land rights with the Nisga'a. The film is a powerful reminder that native land claims are not a recent phenomenon but rather they have finally gained the voice with which they may be heard.
Tikinagan (58:51 min)
The path toward self-government took an unexpected turn for the first Nations of north-western Ontario when, in 1987, the provincial government closed the region's privately operated Children's Aid Society. Of an estimated 400 children then in the Society's care, four of every five were native. To fill the sudden void in child welfare services and provide an alternative to the old, non-native controlled system, the First Nations formed Tikinagan Child and Family Services. Today, Tikinagan is responsible for providing 28 native communities with on-reserve counselling and planned foster care.
Flooding Job's Garden (59:20 min)
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975 is considered Canada's first "modern Treaty". It cleared the way for construction of the massive James Bay hydroelectric project and gave the region's Cree hunting and fishing rights, control over health, education and local government, and financial compensation for relocation and development. The deal was hailed by governments as a model for land claims and self-government. 15 years later, the Quebec government's dream of northern power has become a nightmare for the Cree of James Bay. In the film, past and present are juxtaposed as filmmaker B. Richardson revisits communities he first filmed in the 1970s, before Hydro-Quebec began its work. We learn of the sweeping, detrimental effects the project has had on the environment and how the Cree are struggling to find a balance between assimilation and the preservation of their traditional values and way of life. Now, with Hydro-Quebec preparing for Phase 2, this struggle has acquired new meaning as the Cree mount an international campaign to protect their land and ensure responsible development.
Starting Fire with Gunpowder (59:04 min)
In the early 1970s, improved satellite technology made tv available to remote Arctic communities. Its arrival marked a new and potentially dangerous era of contact for the Inuit people - the new medium brought increased exposure to a language and culture vastly different and threatening tot heir own. That threat still exists today, but it has been lessened. The Inuit have ingeniously turned tv into an instrument for preserving their language, values and traditions, and a voice with which to address their social and political concerns. This film chronicles the origins and achievements of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, a model for aboriginal broadcasters the world over. That the IBC has helped keep the Inuit culture and language alive is irrefutable: documentary, drama, animation and children's programs record traditional practices and techniques, recreate legends, re-enact problems that afflict the stability of Inuit family life, and create Inuit role models, all in the native Inuktitut language. That the IBC is assisting in the formation of a broader political identity is also beyond doubt - the film explores how Inuit tv has become a critical element in the creation f a modern Inuit nation in Canada's Arctic.
The Learning Path (59:02 min)
Generations of native children were taught in schools that to be native was somehow wrong. Exposed to racism, ridicule and overt disdain for native culture and traditions, they were made to feel inferior, even criminal. For today's generation of native students, these painful experiences need not be repeated. Native Canadians now have control over their own system of formal education and, to help restore what for many was lost, the classroom curricula includes studies that will ensure the continued survival of the native identity. In the film, we meet three remarkable educators. In their own unique ways, Edmonton elders Ann Anderson, Eva Cardinal and Olive Dickason are leading younger natives along the path of enlightenment. Documentary footage, dramatic re-enactments and archival film inter-weave the three women's stories, and Anderson and Cardinal recount their own harrowing experiences at residential schools; memories which have fueled their determination to preserve their native languages and identities. Along their paths we learn not just of the legacy that still plagues native education; we also learn of the strength with which it has been overcome.

Asylum (1998, 78:12 min)
The first feature documentary to take us inside the Canadian refugee process. It follows three people from their arrival in Canada to the final decision of the Refugee Board, and beyond. Tatiana Linco claims to have been persecuted in Kazakhstan because she is Russian. Marnush Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi human rights activist who fled when his life was threatened by the police. Cristian Ghitescu came to Canada as a stowaway; he says he faces imprisonment for speaking out against the Romanian government. Film maker Garry Beitel accompanies all three as they adapt to a new country, find a place within their respective communities, and deal with lawyers and officials. In an unprecedented move, the Refugee Board allows cameras into the all-important hearings which determine the status of claimants. As we follow Tatiana, Marnush and Cristian, we become increasingly sympathetic, but we also begin to question the certainty of their claims. Who is telling the truth? Who is really a refugee? And how do we decide.

At the Service of the State: Archaeology as a Political Tool (2000, 51 min)

In 1940, Hitler’s archaeologists excavated sites in Poland to try to prove that Germans had lived there before the Poles—an anthropological justification for political aggression and military invasion. This program explores the use of archaeology as a tool for propaganda and diplomatic machination by focusing on the long-standing connections between Germany and Greece. The program also looks at how Mussolini, like Hitler, used Greek motifs and Roman regalia to package the image of his party and, by so doing, align the destiny of fascist Italy with ancient traditions.

The Autumn Rain: Crime in Japan (1991, 29:40 min)
Although about Japan, the concerns expressed in this film are universal: the rising incidence of crimes perpetrated by and on ordinary citizens, the role of the police in society, the growth of organized crime. "Our traditional values are fading. Our code of honor is breaking down," laments one Japanese man, himself a member of one of Japan's organized crime "families". Japanese police, who carry no weapons, are seen as they patrol on bicycles and work out of street-level storefront offices. Access and integration into the local neighborhood seems to be their strategy. Still, crime in Japan in on the rise.

The Ax Fight (1975, 30 min)

Behind the Veil: Nuns (1984, 130:4 min)
This film records from a global perspective the turbulent history and remarkable achievements of women in religion, from the pre-Christian Celtic communities to the radical sisters of the 1980s. Filmed in Ireland, Canada, the U.S. and Italy, the film contrast the experiences of contemporary active nuns, living and working amidst poverty and crime, with the story of a young woman whose search for spirituality led her to a monastery near Rome. The film also explores some of the roots of the paternalistic attitudes that have dominated the Catholic Church almost since its inception, and the resultant denigration and sometimes persecution of religious women. Today, women are openly questioning the Church's male hierarchy and seeking some measure of influence in Church decisions. Active nuns speak about their convictions and the need to redefine the Church to combine spirituality with global politics.

bell hooks: Cultural Criticism and Transformation (1997, Part One 26 min; Part Two 40 min)

In this, her first feature video presentation, extensively illustrated with many of the images she critiques, bell hooks makes a compelling argument for the transformative power of cultural criticism.  She demonstrates how learning to think critically was central to her own self-transformation and how it can play a role in students' quest for a sense of agency and identity.  In Part One, On Cultural Criticism, hooks talks about the theoretical foundations that inform her work.  In Part Two, Doing Cultural Criticism, hooks demonstrates the value of culture studies in concrete analysis.

Best Boy by Ira Wohl
Filmmaker and psychotherapist Ira Wohl visits his developmentally disabled cousin, Philly. The two collaborated on this Oscar-winning film, Best Boy. Best Boy charted Philly's move out of his parent's home into a group residence and followed him as he achieved greater independence. This film did not simply record Philly's story, but actually contributed to his development.

Bill Cosby on Prejudice (24 min)

In one long, jolting monologue, Bill Cosby, portraying America's composite bigot, tells us there's nothing funny about prejudice.  Produced early in his career, this best-selling film continues to drive home the absurdity of racial and ethnic hatred. 

Bitter Medicine, Part One: The Birth of Medicare  (1983, 28:15 min)

Part one of a two-part documentary examining Canada's national health insurance system from its conception on the Canadian Prairies in the early part of the century to its present state of crisis.  This first part traces the events leading to July 2, 1962, the day on which Medicare was launched in Saskatchewan.  The doctors reacted to the plan by declaring a general strike.  The film recreates this stormy chapter of Canadian history through film and television archives and personal testimonials, particularly those of former Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas and Chief Justice Emmett Hall.

Bitter Medicine, Part Two: Medicare in Crisis (1983, 28:01 min)

Part two of a two-part documentary examining Canada's national health insurance system from its conception on the Canadian Prairies in the early part of the century to its present state of crisis.  This second part examines national Medicare twenty years after its inception and the bitter struggle among various authorities as they jockey to attain a position of power in a new scheme of things.

Black Is...Black Ain't (1995, 86 min -- comes with facilitator's guide)
When Marlon Riggs died of AIDS at the age of 37, he was completing a film which summed up a lifetime's work exploring African American identity. This video weaves together the testimony of those whose complexion, class, gender, speech or sexuality has made them feel "'too black" or "'not black enough". Scholars and artists, including Bill T. Jones, Essex Hemphill, Angela Davis and bell hooks, as well as ordinary African Americans, movingly recall their own struggles to discover a more inclusive definition of "blackness". Threading the film together is Riggs' own deeply personal quest for meaning and self-affirmation as his health deteriorates. In the end Riggs locates the essence of "blackness" in African Americans' courage from slavery down to the present to improvise a positive meaning for their lives in the face of overwhelming discrimination and suffering. The video is an important contribution towards building a black community based on profound empathy for the struggle for self-affirmation fought by each African American.

Black Mother Black Daughter (1989, 28:59 min)
Explores the lives and experiences of black women in N.S., their contributions to the home, the church and the community and the strengths they passed on to their daughters. Building upon a tradition of oral history which has always been fundamental to the survival of black culture throughout the world, this film is the first formal record of the history and life experiences of black women in N.S.

Bowling for Columbine (2002, 120 min)

Acclaimed filmmaker Michael Moore (Roger & Me) takes aim at America's love affair with guns and violence, mixing riveting footage, hilarious animation and candid interviews with everyone from the NRA's Charlton Heston to shock-rocker Marilyn Manson.

A Brief History of Time (1993, 84 min)
This film explores the exciting mysteries we've all wondered about in a remarkable feature film set against the backdrop of Stephen Hawking's life story. Paralyzed and confined to the narrowest of worlds by ALS (frequently called "Lou Gehrig's disease"), Hawking has nevertheless conducted research into the farthest reaches of time and the universe.

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2002, 83 min)

One of the most controversial figures of the Civil Rights Movement, Bayard Rustin was one of the first "freedom riders", an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King and A. Philip Randolph, and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Intelligent, gregarious and charismatic, Rustin was denied his placed in the limelight for one reason - he was gay.  His homosexuality forced him to play a background role in landmark events in the Black struggle.  This is a fascinating biography dealing with the interplay of personal and political in the life of a complex, multi-talented essential figure in the history of American radicalism.  It contributes a riveting new chapter to our understanding of both progressive movements and gay life in 20th century America.

Bruised and Afraid: The Battered Wife

The Burning Times (1990, 56:13 min)
This film takes an in-depth look at the witch persecutions that swept through Europe just a few hundred years ago. False accusations and trials led to extensive torture and burnings at the stake, and ultimately, to the destruction of a way of life that had endured for thousands of years. Of those killed, 85 percent were women. Widespread violence against women, still prevalent today, can be traced back to those times. The film explores the process whereby the old pagan communities, founded on spirituality and co-operation, were transformed into the misogynist capitalist societies of our own century.

Cashing in on Culture: Indigenous Communities and Tourism (2002, 29 min)

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, and one of the most important forms of contemporary contact between different cultures. Eco-tourism and "ethnic" tourism, designed specifically to bring affluent and adventurous tourists into remote indigenous communities, are among the fastest-growing types of tourism worldwide.This insightful documentary, filmed in the small tropical forest community of Capirona, in Ecuador, serves as an incisive case study of the many issues and potential problems surrounding eco- and ethnic tourism. Those issues are shown to be simultaneously cultural, economic, and environmental, and are complexly intertwined for both indigenous communities and tourists.

Caught in the Net (1997, 13:37 min)
This film provokes people to explore the risks of getting too personal on the Internet.

The Champagne Safari (1995, 94 min)
A biography of Charles E. Bedaux, millionaire, inventor, explorer. A world powerbroker until the charge of treason. The culmination of a 16-year quest for the truth by filmmaker George Ungar, the film recounts the previously untold story of this mysterious millionaire's expedition through the Canadian Rocky Mountain wilderness. Using archival footage and eyewitness testimony, it is a fascinating journey into the backrooms of power and secret service files.

Charting A New Course (1990, 21 min)
An introduction to community economic development on the island of Cape Breton, N.S. The activities of four community organizations on Cape Breton illustrate the main elements of the community-based economic development strategy. This innovative strategy is presented as an alternative to reliance upon government or upon conventional market forces to revitalize a depressed local economy. The successes of each of the organizations are seen but so too are their struggles.

Children are not the Problem (29:40 min)

Chronicle of a Summer (1961, 85 min)

Paris. The summer of 1960. While war rages in Algeria and the Congo struggles for independence, ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar Morin send two women out into the streets of the city to interview passersby. "Are you happy, sir?" From this simple starting question, the inner lives of the characters are revealed. As the film progresses, the light opening scenes give way to intimate revelations and hotly contested political arguments. Coining the term cinéma vérité to describe their approach to filmmaking, Rouch and Morin's groundbreaking cinematography and use of the urban landscape deeply affected the French New Wave and subsequent documentary filmmaking.

A Class Divided (1985, 58 min)
Produced by Yale University Films. In 1970, to evaluate how racial stereotypes affect children, Jane Elliott divided her elementary school class between blue eyes and brown and gave blue-eyed children preferential treatment. This classic program presents the long-term effects of racial stereotyping in schools and suggests new approaches to make positive differences with students and teachers. Includes the companion book A Class Divided: Then and Now by William Peters and a discussion guide prepared by Jane Elliott.

Collapse (60 min)
The decline and fall of civilization captures our interest. Could we be next, going the way of the Sumerians, the Romans, the Maya? The collapse of Copán, brought on by overpopulation and overexploitation of resources, is explored along with other ancient cultures that have faced the problems we confront today.

Communities and the Challenge of Conflict: Perspectives on Restorative Justice (33:50 min)
Restorative justice is a creative approach to conflict that brings victims, offenders and the community together to try to arrive at a resolution that is just for all.  Restorative justice provides victims with an opportunity to receive what they need in order to heal.  It encourages offenders to take responsibility for their actions.  It provides community members the opportunity to become actively involved in the process of resolving conflict.  This video explores how restorative justice projects can build relationships in communities and increase their capacity to address conflict, including crimes of violence, in a manner that is respectful of each person's dignity.

Creating Alternative Futures:
East Meets West/Two Views of the Future (28:50 min)
Post Industrial Futures (28:50 min)
Restructuring the Global Economy (28:50 min)
Science and Society (28:50 min)

A Cree Healer (23:30 min)

Cree Hunters of Mistassini (1974, 57:53 min)
During the winter since times predating agriculture, the Cree of Mistassini have gone to the bush of the James and Ungava Bay area to hunt. Three hunting families agreed to meet an NFB crew, who filmed the building of the winter camp, the hunting, the relationship to the land, and the rhythms of Cree family life. This sensitive film expresses Cree beliefs and the ecological principles that are the foundation of their lives.

Crimes and Punishments: A History (1999, 30 min)
This controversial documentary traces the often brutal history of criminal punishment from the medieval era through today. Early lithographs show in shocking detail the excessive punishments applied in pre-modern times for minor crimes. We see how more humane attitudes toward punishment led to the construction of prisons, such as the South Carolina penitentiary presented in the program. There, prison officials discuss the difficulties involved in running a large penal institution. Prisoners and correction officers provide insights into daily life at the prison and talk about the over-all failure of current rehabilitation efforts. This is an excellent portrait of criminal punishment as it was, and where it stands today.

Criminal Justice in Canada, 2nd edition
Chapters 1-7
Chapters 8-14
A compilation of CTV videos.

Current Issues: Views of American Futurists (120 min)

Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk (2005, 120 min)

American higher education is, in many ways, "declining by degrees."  The national commitment to provide every qualified student, regardless of economic status, an opportunity to go to college has weakened.  In many college classrooms, an unspoken "understanding" allows as many as 20% of students to coast their way to a diploma without really learning much at all.  This decline is occurring at the same time other countries are investing heavily in higher education, recognizing its critical role in the future. Veteran correspondent John Merrow takes viewers behind the scenes of American higher education to experience college through the eyes of students, professors, and college administrators.  Set on four different college campuses across the country, Declining by Degrees examines both the promise and the peril in higher education today.

D.E.S.: An Uncertain Legacy (1985, 54:47 min)
Focusing on Harriet Simand, a young outspoken Montreal woman and D.E.S. victim, who together with her mother began the first D.E.S. Action Group in Canada, the film warns of the tragic legacy of D.E.S. -- a legacy of reproductive and genital abnormalities, possible sterility, and cancer among the daughters and sons of women who took the drug. The film encourages possible D.E.S. mothers and children to verify the use of the drug, and to seek early treatment if it is necessary. It also offers a challenging template for discussion on many important issues relating to health care: women in the health care sector; the responsibilities of drug companies, the medical profession and governments regarding consumer protection; patient's rights, etc.

Desperately Seeking Baby

Destination Tourism (2007, 20:08 min)

Bodh Gaya, the world's most popular destination of Buddhist pilgrimage, is located in one of India's poorest states. Visitors to this UNESCO World Heritage site are typically shocked by the extreme poverty there, and the Buddhist tradition of alms-giving motivates them to donate money. As a result, Bodh Gaya has developed a sophisticated charity "industry" which caters to and depends on tourists and tourism. This thought-provoking documentary explores the complex, interconnected effects of tourism, globalization, culture, philanthropy, and religion in Bodh Gaya. Destination: Tourism provides a deeply perceptive and incisive ethnographic case study as well as a poignant illustration of the overwhelming challenges facing many of the world's poor as they struggle to eke out a living in a seasonal economy almost completely dependent on foreign tourists.

Developing Stories: Life & Debt-Brazil (47:25 min)
Directed by Octavio Bezerra. Topic: A shocking documentary exploring the tortuous links between Brazil's external debt and the killing of street children (subtitled). Dist: The International Development Research Centre

Development Challenges (1991, 26 min)
An analysis of the role of development over the past 50 years since the founding the International Development Association at the Bretton Woods conference in 1947 and the challenges that will face these organizations and developing countries in the future. Produced by International Commentary Services for PBS/World Bank.

The Dig (1989, 23:26 min)
A film that profiles an exceptional teacher, Richard Edwardson, who brings excitement to the social studies curriculum by creating an unforgettable learning experience for his students. The film follows the teacher and his students as they prepare for and complete a field study at a simulated archaeological excavation. Students apply the background knowledge and archaeological skills they have learned in the classroom to interpret their discoveries and reconstruct a scene from ancient Greek history.

Distress Signals (1991, 54:33 min)
The film probes the frontiers of television's brave new globalized world. From the world's largest television show marketplace on the French Riviera to a penetrating behind-the-scenes look at CNN, the film explores the forces at work shaping what audiences around the world see on their television sets.

Divine Carcasse (1998,  59 min)
A half fictional, half ethnographic film. It is a study in cultural contrast, between a desacralized European view of reality and an animist African one. This film shows the literal metamorphosis of one of the most prosaic artifacts of Western industry (automobile) into a revered fetish of the coastal people of Benin. In so doing, it provides a concise lesson about the uneasy encounter between European technology and African tradition which can offer insight into some of our most deep-seated ideas about economics, art, anthropology, and religion.

Domino (1998, 44:34 min.)
Portrays the poignant stories of six interracial people's quest to forge their own identity. Although there is only one human "race", interracial people's experience underlines society's practice of categorizing its members by 'race" - which inherently challenges the embracing of both parents, both cultures. Interracial people are often asked, "What do you consider yourself?" - which knocks over the first of many dominoes. Domino explores the kinds of issues which are triggered by this question - issues of identity, cultural isolation and the search for community. Film maker Shanti Thakur explores her own interracial identity by listening to the similarities and differences of interracial people. Some identify as one culture; others as both or neither. Through intensely personal stories, each person recounts how their identity was affected by the experience of their parents history, family politics, the hierarchies of race, gender roles and class. Their outspoken views demonstrate how living intimately with two cultures can be a source of strength and enrichment.

Dream Worlds II: Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Video (1997, 55:00 min.)
How do the images of popular culture influence how young women and men understand themselves and each other? By focusing on one of the most important aspects of popular culture - music video - Dream Worlds II raises critical questions, and suggests new answers about the effect of music video. Dream Worlds II powerfully illustrates the systematic representations of women in music video, and how these representations tell a dangerous and narrow set of stories about what it means to be female or male; stories which impact how women think about themselves sexually, and how men think sexually about women. Shocking and often disturbing, Dream Worlds II gives us a critical distance from images which have become so ubiquitous, and normal, they are almost invisible. So powerful, MTV attempted to halt its distribution with the threat of legal action.

W.E.B. Du Bois (1995, 116 min)
1996 MacArthur "Genius" Award winner Louis Massiah enlisted four leading African American writers (Wesley Brown, Thulani Davis, Toni Cade Bambara and Amiri Baraka) to guide us through W.E.B. Du Bois' (1868-1963) long and multi-faceted life and to discuss its impact on their own work. In the process, this ambitious documentary offers an overview of nearly one hundred yeas of Black history: Du Bois' debates with Booker T. Washington over accommodation to segregation; his role in founding the Niagara movement, the NAACP and the first Pan-Africans Congress; and his championing of African anti-colonial movements and radical movements at home, which resulted in his eventual exile in Ghana where he died in 1963. Du Bois' life, liking scholarship with activism, makes him an inspiring figure for today's students as they enter academic life.

El Contrato (2006, 51:00 min)

El Contrato (The Contract) follows Teodoro Bello Martinez, a father of four living in Central Mexico, and several of his countrymen as they make an annual migration to southern Ontario.  For eight months of the year, the town's population absorbs 4000 migrant labourers who pick tomatoes for conditions and wages no local will accept.  Under a well-meaning government program that allows growers to monitor themselves, the opportunity to exploit workers is as ripe as the fruit they pick.  Only men with families to support and no more than an elementary school education need apply.  Grievances - among them abusive bosses, unhealthy conditions and paying for benefits they do not receive - are deflected by a long line of others "back home" who are willing to take their place.  Despite a fear of repercussions, the workers voice their desire for dignity and respect, as much as for better working conditions.

The Emperor's New Clothes (1995, 53:05)
Filmed in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico over a three-year period, this film immerses itself in the stark reality of life before, during and after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It takes an incisive look at the profound effects that economic agreements between big business and government can have on human lives, including increased cuts to social programs, massive unemployment, environmental damage, and demoralisation.

Empty Harbours, Empty Dreams (1979, 58:03 min)
The film explores how the three British colonies of N.B., N.S. and P.E.I., became provinces of Canada, and it charts the subsequent decline of their economies after Confederation. Photographs, archival drawings, cartoons, and interviews with Maritime historians are used to document the case.

Escape to Nova Scotia (58:00 min)

The Ethics of Research Involving Indigenous Peoples (2004)

Report of the the Indigenous Peoples' Health Research Centre to the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement (7 DVDs, 1986, approx 120 min each)

Vol 1. Awakenings (1954-1956); Fighting Back (1957-1962)

Vol 2. Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961); No Easy Walk (1961-1963)

Vol 3. Mississippi: Is this America? (1962-1964); Bridge to Freedom (1965)

Vol 4. The Time Has Come (1964-1966); Two Societies (1965-1968)

Vol 5. Power! (1966-1968); The Promised Land (1967-1968)

Vol 6. Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972); A Nation of Law? (1968-1971)

Vol 7. The Keys to the Kingdom (1974-1980); Back to the Movement (1979-1985)

Faces of Culture (20 tapes) Vols. 1,2,7,8,10,14,15,18,21,22,205,207,208,211,212,214,215,220,224,226
Vol 1. The Nature of Anthropology (29 min)
Vol 2. The Nature of Culture (29 min)
Vol 7. Psychology: The Study of Human Behavior
Vol 8. Alejandro Mamani: A Case Study
Vol 10. The Yucatec Maya: A Case Study
Vol 14. The Aymara: A Case Study
Vol 15. Economic Anthropology
Vol 18. Social Control
Vol 21. The Arts
Vol 22. New Orleans' Black Indians
Vol 205. Psychological Anthropology
Vol 207. Patterns of Subsistence: Food Foragers & Pastoralists
Vol 208. Patterns of Subsistence: The Food Producers
Vol 211. Sex and Marriage
Vol 212. Family and Household
Vol 214 & Vol 215 Kinship and Descent I & Kinship and Descent II
Vol 220. Religion and Magic
Vol 224. Culture Change
Vol 226. The Future of Humanity

Fidel: The Untold Story (2001, 91 min)

This film offers a unique opportunity to view one of the most influential and controversial figures of our time, Fidel Castro, through exclusive interviews with Castro himself, historians, public figures and close friends.  Juxtaposing the personal anecdotal with the history of the Cuban revolution and the fight to survive the post-Soviet period, this film tells a previously untold story and presents a new view of this powerful and compelling figure.

Field of Endless Day (1993, 58:14 min)
This film outlines the presence of black people in Canada, from the 17th century to the wartime participation and activist groups of the first half of the 20th century. The film seeks to uncover the "roots" of Canada's black population, tracing the history of their struggles and triumphs over a period of almost three hundred and seventy-five years.

First Contact
When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of their first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea in search of gold, they carried a movie camera. Thus they captured on film their unexpected confrontation with thousands of stone age people who had no concept of human life beyond their valleys. This amazing footage forms the basis of First Contact. Yet there is more to this extraordinary film than the newly recovered footage. Fifty years later some of the participants are still alive and vividly recall their unique experience. The Papuans tell how they thought the white men were their ancestors, bleached by the sun and returned from the dead. They were amazed at the artifacts of 20th century life such as tin cans, phonographs and airplanes. As they see their younger, innocent selves on screen, they speak of the darker side of their relationship with these mysterious beings with devastating weapons.

First Nations: The Circle Unbroken (Videos 1-4)
Video 1 Cree Hunters, Quebec Dams (23 min)
In 1974, a Cree family winters on the land. Twenty years later, the Cree are still fighting the James Bay hydro projects.
Standing Alone (20 min)
Pete Standing Alone, at age 50, reflects on his life an the life of the Blood, members of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
The Last Mooseskin Boat (17 min)
A Shotah Dene family builds an extraordinary thirty-foot-long boat and travels downriver to Fort Norman.
KWA'NU'TE' (19 min)
Three Micmac and Maliseet artists work with wood, pencil, paper, stone, and quills.

Video 2 Hunters and Bombers (22 min)
The Innu of Labrador fight NATO to end training flights by bombers that disrupt their hunting camps.
Magic in the Sky (20 min)
The Inuit resist the violence and materialism of southern "TV culture" by making their own programs.
Voyage of Rediscovery (25 min)
An angry young man is tried for assault. On a suggestion from his family, he is banished to an island to discover himself, a traditional Heiltsuk response to offenders.

Video 3 Potlatch (22 min)
The Canadian government suppressed the Potlatch. The Kwag'ulh people resisted. Today the Potlatch is part of self-government.
Time Immemorial (22 min)
The Nisga'a have been resisting the seizure of their lands in the Nass Valley for 130 years. In 1972 they won a Supreme Court decision confirming their unextinguished title to the land.
Uranium (23 min)
First nations communities near uranium mines feel the impact of sixty years of radioactive pollution. Departmental also has the full length original video (48 min)

Video 4 Education, As We See It (20 min)
The alienation experienced by many students in residential schools is compared with life in contemporary schools run by First Nations communities.
Last Days of Okak (26 min)
An influenza epidemic, brought to Labrador aboard a missionary supply ship, devastates the Inuit community of Okak in 1918.
Commandos for Christ (20 min)
The Ayoreo of Paraguay, sought out by missionaries, fall prey to poverty and death.

Fish or Cut Bait (45 min)

500 Nations (8 part video series)
The Ancestors (49 min)
Explores three stunning early cultures of North America. The Anasazi transform the arid Southwest and construct the imposing 800-room Pueblo Bonito, depicted inside and out via computer animation. At Mesa Verde, Cliff Palace provides a glimpse into a prospering society. Near present-day St. Louis is bustling Cahokia, the largest city in the U.S. before 1800 - yet few have ever heard of this fascinating realm.
Mexico (49 min)
A series of conflicts solidifies the power of the Toltecs for centuries in the Valley of Mexico. By 1300 AD, a conquering nomadic people - who would become the Aztecs - arrive in the area. Their majestic city Tenochtitlan becomes the center of an empire and the objective of Cortez, who sins his ships in the harbor so his men cannot turn back from the fight.
Clash of Cultures (49 min)
On Hispaniola, Indian overtures of friendship and commerce run aground against the outsiders' belief that wealth belongs to those strong enough to take it. Conflict erupts, and the names of Guacanagari, Enrique, and the female leader Anacauna are emblazoned across a tapestry of heroics and tragedy. Inhabitants in Florida and the Mississippi Valley also confront an intractable force: the conquistadors of Hernando De Soto. Timicua, Coosa and more nations defy a plundering advance that subjects them to two unconquerable weapons: muskets...and disease.
Invasion of the Coast (49 min)
The program opens in the Arctic, where the search for a Northwest Passage direly impacts the Inuit people. At Jamestown, the story of the Powhatan princess, Pocahontas, unfolds. Did Pocahontas really save Captain John Smith? The evidence says otherwise. At Plymouth, Wampanoagas introduce Pilgrims to a harvest celebration: Thanksgiving. But harmony ultimately turns to hostility. Enraged by colonial expansion and Puritan intolerance, Massasoit's son leads the bloodiest of all colonial Indians wars in 1675.
Cauldron of War (49 min)
Many indigenous nations side with the trade-oriented French rather than the land-claiming English in the fierce French and Indian War. When the defeated French withdraw from the Ohio Valley and leave their Indian allies vulnerable, a determined leader rises to prominence: Pontiac. A decade after Pontiac's war, the colonies assert their right to form a democracy in a revolution that, ironically, splinters the democratic Iroquois nation.
Removal (49 min)
Shawnee leader Tecumseh challenges the tide of history, sparking a return to traditional ways and seizing upon the War of 1812 as the means to restore Indian sovereignty. In 1830 the Indian Removal Act becomes law. Many tribes stoically accept its decree. Others resist. In a dramatic showdown, Tsali bargains his life for the fate of his Cherokee people - and for a Smoky Mountains homeland that exist to this day.
Roads Across the Plains (49 min)
"Horse culture" nations increasingly face subjugation or annihilation in Roads Across the Plains. Black Kettle and White Antelope, honored by President Lincoln, pursue a path of peace that meets with tragedy at Sand Creek. The treacherous massacre there by Col. Chivington's militia has repercussions across the plains, and Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and other leaders head fierce pockets of resistance to resettlement.
Attack on Culture (49 min)
Explores the legislative attack on native ways, including the disbanding of communal land. Reservations are divided into 160-acre parcels that are offered to individual Indians; the remaining vast expanses are sold. In 1889, the Oklahoma Land rush grabs up remnant land that decades before was given to the "civilized tribes" as a perpetual home. Today, the renewal of native cultures provides a vital reminder of the glory of America's original people and the hardships they endured.

Focusing the Dialogue - Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

Folk Devils and Moral Panics: Deviance, the Media and Popular Culture (1999, 25 min)

This program presents Stanley Cohen's analysis of the media response to an incident in which groups of young people grew bored and rowdy after being refused service in the cafés of a seaside resort.  Cohen explains how a few fights and the crack of a starting pistol were deemed a dangerous riot.

For Generations to Come (1994, 82:11 min)
This film shows us the social, cultural and economic pressures on the modern family. It challenges our views about what a family is and what it will be in generations to come. Beyond the issues and the debates, the people who make up the seven families share their warmth, their humour, their honest, their strength and their love, revealing a compelling picture of the Canadian family persevering amidst the changing times of the late 20th century. (Dept. also has accompanying Canadian Families booklet.)

For Jackson: A Time Capsule from His Two Grandmothers (2003, 49 min)

Documents the journeys of two women moving through ordinary and extraordinary moments. They share the stories of their remarkable lives as a record for their grandson, Jackson. As a young woman, Rosemary Brown left Jamaica for Canada, where she would develop a notable record of public service and political engagement.  Among other accomplishments, in 1972, she became the first Black woman elected to public office in Canada. Ruth Horricks-Sujir traveled to India in the 1950s, where she married Raghu Sujir and started a family.  Back in Canada, she faced conservative attitudes toward her mixed marriage, widowhood and life as a single working mother.

Forgotten Warriors (1996, 51 min)
Although they could not be conscripted, when WWII was declared, thousands of Canadian Aboriginal men and women enlisted and fought alongside their non-Native countrymen. While they fought for freedom for others, ironically the Aboriginal soldiers were not allowed equality in their own country. As a reward for fighting, the Canadian Soldier Veteran's Settlement Act allowed returning soldiers to buy land at a cheap price. However, many of the Aboriginal soldiers were never offered nor told about the land entitlement. Some returned home to find the government had seized parts of their own reserve land to compensate non-Native war veterans. Whole First Nations communities still mourn the loss of the thousands of acres of prime land they were forced to surrender. With narrator Gordon Tootoosis providing an historical overview, Aboriginal veterans poignantly share their unforgettable war memories and t heir healing process. We join them as they travel back to Europe to perform a sacred circle for friends left behind, but not forgotten, in foreign grave sites.

Framing the Issues - Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

Frantz Franon: Black Skin, White Mask (1995, 50 min)
Explores for the first time on film one of the most influential theorists of the anti-colonial movements of our century. The film follows Fanon from his birth in 1925 on the French island of Martinique, through his medical training in France and subsequent disillusionment which resulted in Black Sin, White Mask. Leaving France, Fanon worked at a psychiatric hospital in Algeria where he joined the turbulent liberation struggle then underway and wrote The Wretched of the Earth, recognized as "the bible of the decolonization movement". Fanon died of leukemia in 1961 as nations across Africa were winning the independence for which he fought.

Franz Boas: 1852-1942 (58 min)
German physicist Franz Boas was responsible for shaping the methods of American anthropology. He brought discipline and order to a field that had previously dealt in subjective "race classification". Archival photographs and film footage, excerpts from Boas' journals, letters and writings, and the reflections and anecdotes of scholars and students combine to create this in-depth film portrait. Interwoven with the history of Boas' life and work is the study of the Kwakiutl native Americans of the Northwest coast-the principal subjects of Boas' field work.

Generous Fog & Hope for a Better Tomorrow (1993, 17:07 min)
Topic: A description of IDRC's fog - water collection technology and its impact on a remote, and previously desolate village in Chile. Dist: The International Development Research Centre

The Gift of Diabetes (2005, 58 min)

Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions among Aboriginal peoples in Canada.  Add to this the ever-increasing costs of drugs and treatments for a disease that has no cure and, clearly a health crisis is close at hand.  Filmmaker Brion Whitford, an Ojibway living with the pain of advanced diabetes, follows his struggle to regain his health by learning about The Medicine Wheel, a holistic tool grounded in an Aboriginal understanding of the interconnectedness of all dimensions of life: the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.  Brion also explores the historical trauma of colonization and how it continues to affect Aboriginal people's psychological and physical well-being. 

Guysborough County (60 min) -- dubbed
How successful are development strategies? What causes unemployment in Nova Scotia industries?

Half the Kingdom (1989, 58:45 min)
Seven noted women engage in a struggle to encompass their Jewish heritage with a feminist perspective. Bringing radically different approaches to this process, the women share a profound respect for each others' endeavors. The film shows women re-claiming a role for themselves in Jewish life, rediscovering rituals and stories that have been forgotten through the centuries, and creating new ones.

Hear What We Are Saying (53 min)
A documentary about systemic racism in mental health. It exposes the shortcomings of Western psychiatric practices which neglect to integrate the many layers of racism and sexism that women of colour encounter as well as the sexual harassment they experience. Through interviews and case studies, this documentary analyses the current situation and proposes some solutions. (Dept. also has accompanying question/answer booklet).

Herbicide Trials (1984, 48:16 min)
In 1982, 15 Cape Breton landowners went to court to stop spraying of herbicides by the local subsidiary of a Swedish multinational on forests adjacent to their properties. Testimony of scientists and support of public opinion, both here and abroad, were not enough to win their case. The film shows their ordeal and the landmark Sydney trial. Concerns raised included potential conflict-of-interest situations where a govt. must protect citizens' health while supporting certain kinds of industry; the relative value of the political and judicial processes in mediating social problems; and the need for a public forum for debating environmental issues. The film contains outstanding footage from chemical-industry films of the 1950s and recent material about Vietnam veterans affected by Agent Orange.

History Book -- Parts 1-6 (90 min)
Part 1: A Flickering Light in the Darkness (15 min)
Describes the life of the people under feudalism. The merchant, a new force in European history, appears. He accumulates money and power by "buying cheap and selling dear".
Part 2: At Dawn, Overcoming All Difficulties (15 min)
Describes Vasco da Gama voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to the rich trading centres of the East. On his return to Portugal, militarily fleets are sent to conquer the rich nations he discovered on his first voyage.
Part 3: A Bright Future...For Some (15 min)
The return of the merchant who is finding the old system of feudalism a great handicap in his pursuit of wealth. An ally is found in the King of England, and the breakdown of the feudal system occurs through war. The rise of the nation state follows.
Part 4-6: No write-up.

History of the 20^th Century: Business and Commerce (1996, 48:00 min)
Examines the huge changes and upheavals that have occurred in the way trade is conducted and money made in the 20^th century. At the end of the 19^th century, a global free trade market existed between the countries with overseas empires. The program explores how the Great Depression and World War II destroyed this structure, and how a newer and bigger global market has since emerged. The current global market is significantly different from its predecessor due to the role of multinational corporations and modern communications and transportation systems. The program examines the effect that a global market has on issues such as employment, and how politicians can no longer control local economies due to the effects in the international market.

Ho! Kanada (1995, 50 min)

Tourism is the world's biggest industrial activity. It employs hundreds of millions of people. It's a 3.5 trillion dollar a year business — a figure second only to the Gross National Product of the U.S.A. Japanese tourism is leading the planet.  Ho! Kanada (CBC broadcast version entitled, international version is called Fast Forward) is a zany documentary that chronicles the experiences and adventures of a group of Japanese tourists, their souvenir video-maker and the filmmakers themselves. Literally joining them 'on the bus', we set out upon a lightning-quick journey. Along the way we take a funny and warm-hearted insider's look at national stereotypes, recording the way the Japanese see us, how we see them, and ourselves.
 

Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community (1983, 57:35 min)
The Jane-Finch "Corridor" is an area of six square blocks in Toronto's North York. The residents of Metro Toronto, the Corridor evokes images of vandalism, high-density subsidized housing, racial tension, despair and crime. By focusing intimately on the lives of several of the residents, many of them blacks or members of other visible minorities, and their relationship with police, social service agencies, and other major institutions that affect their lives, the film provides a powerful view of a community that, contrary to its popular image, is working toward a more positive future.

Hominid Evolution I: The Early Stages (2001, 38 min)

Begins with a survey of anatomically important concepts and landmarks in the analysis of primate skulls and teeth so that the fossils can be discussed accurately. The discussion of fossils begins with Aegyptopithecus from the Oligocene and continues through the Miocene and Pliocene using casts for a sample of the fossil forms and some slides for the newer Ardipithecus and Australopithecus anamensis. The video then discusses the anatomy of the femur and pelvis in terms of the development of bipedalism, using cast material from the Australopithecus afarensis called Lucy. Some time is devoted to a discussion of afarensis dentition and the development of modern dental characteristics. The differences between the gracile and robust forms of Australopithecines are then demonstrated. The presentation ends with a brief introduction of the habilis form as the next stage of development of modern Humans. All this material is shot in the setting of a university physical anthropology lab.

Hominid Evolution II: The Genus Homo (2001, 50 min)

Picks up the account of Human evolution with Homo habilis, the earliest currently accepted member of our genus and describes the similarities and differences between this form and the Australopithecines. It then continues with discussion and demonstration of the features of the African Homo erectus and the Asian forms including the material from Java and from China. In terms of hominid development in Europe, maps and slides are used to discuss the possible new very early hominids from Spain at Orche and the material from Atapuerca. Several different theoretical positions about what to call the European material are presented and the casts of several are discussed in detail. As we move on to the Neandertals the Out of African and Multiregional theories are presented with supporting data and criticisms of each. A cast of the new Solo skull from Polowayo in Java is discussed The Near Eastern material on neandertals and early modern Homo sapiens is covered and the spread of early moderns across Europe and Asia. The video ends not with conclusions, but with questions about interpretation of fossils and the differing theories about the development of modern forms.

Hughes' Dream Harlem (2002, 61 min)

Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance and is often referred to as Harlem's poet laureate.  This film shows how Hughes successfully fused jazz, blues and common speech to celebrate the beauty of Black life.  Hughes' Dream Harlem presents a vision of the esteemed poet in present-day Harlem among the hip-hop and spoken-word scenes, and makes an important case for Hughes' impact on the spoken-word community.

The Human Race 1994, (4 part series)
The Bomb Under the World (Part 1: 51:27 min)
An ornately decorated elephant leads a parade through an Indian village. A religious holiday? No, a promotional campaign for soap. Consumer society is coming, and India's growing population is looking westward, demanding the same goods and a similar living standard. Andy why shouldn't they? But what are the broader consequences of Western-style consumerism taking hold in large developing countries?
The Tribal Mind (Part 2: 51:20 min)
South Africa isn't the only society where racial and tribal identity have profoundly marked the way people live together - it's just one very striking example. Against a backdrop f ongoing violence, a new breed of South Africans are rising above old tribal reflexes as they struggle towards real democracy. Initiatives in South Africa may well provide models to the larger world where old tribal politics of narrow self-interest continue to wreak havoc. But is the rest of the world prepared to relinquish its own tribes? Is there enough time?
The Gods of Our Fathers (Part 3: 50:52 min)
"Human Nature" is not fixed. We can, and do, reshape ourselves every time we change our culture. Nor is there anything natural or innate in male domination. In ancient Egyptian villages along the Nile, the film explores the evolution of patriarchy as one effective way of organizing mass societies. The patriarchal order was not inevitable - it was merely functional. But the world is different now, and it's time to find alternatives to hierarchies and militarization.
Escaping from History (Part 4: 52:58 min)
Mexico City - the most polluted and fastest growing city on the planet - is a sobering foretaste of what may await us all. Looking at the effects of industrialization on Mexico, and the impact of its development on the rest of the world, this film finds reasons for optimism. But it's a tough equation: for the Third World to have more, the First World will have to get used to having less.

Hungry for Profit

The Hutterites (1991, 27:56 min)
The followers of Jacob Hutter live in farm communities, devoutly holding to the rules their founder laid down. Through the kindness of a Hutterite colony in Alberta, this film, in black and white, was made inside the community and shows all aspects of the Hutterites' daily life.

In Search of the Hamat'sa: A Tale of Headhunting (2004, 33 min)

In the Shadow of Gold Mountain (2004, 43:04 min, DVD format)

Karen Cho, a fifth-generation Canadian of mixed heritage, discovered that half her family wasn't welcome in the country they called home.  While Canada encouraged and rewarded immigration from Europe, it imposed laws that singled out the Chinese as unwanted and unwelcome.  Cho's film, In the Shadow of Gold Mountain, takes her from Montreal to Vancouver to uncover stories from the last living survivors of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act.  From 1885 until 1947 the Chinese community in Canada was plunged into decades of debt and family separation.  At the centre of the film are personal accounts of extraordinary Chinese Canadians who survived an era that threatened to eradicate their entire community. 

The Incas (1980, 59 min)

In just 100 years, the Incas created an empire that stretched over some of the world's highest mountains. This remarkable 16th century South American civilization, in less than 100 years, had unified several cultures spread over 350,000 square miles of some of the worlds highest mountains without the benefit of written communication or the wheel.

An Inconvenient Truth: A Global Warning (2006, 96 min)

Former Vice President Al Gore presents a compelling view of the future of our planet - and our civilization.  This is a wake-up call that cuts through myths and misconceptions to deliver a message that global warming is a real and present danger.  An Inconvenient Truth brings home Gore's persuasive argument that we must act now to save the earth.  Each and every one of us can make changes in the way in which we live our lives and become part of the solution.

Inequity in the Classroom (1991, 26:41 min)
Examines the often subtle and inadvertent sexual and racial biases that women students frequently encounter in colleges, universities and adult education settings. (Comes with training & reference manual.)

Intersection of Civil Rights and Social Movements: Putting Disability in its Place
Tape 1    (118 min)
    Part 1 - The Geneology of a Movement
    Part 2 - Civil Rights Historians
Tape 2    (90 min)
    Part 1 - The Curator Looks at Icons of History
    Part 2 - A Presentation on Jacobus tenBroek
Tape 3    (110 min)
    Part 1 - Movement Organizers Look Back
    Part 2 - The Academic Field of Disability Studies in 2000
Tape 4    (71 min)  Inauguration of the Bancroft Library's New Collection Documenting the Disability Rights...

Is the Crown at war with us? (2002, 96 min)

During the summer of 2000, federal fishery officers appeared to wage war on the Mi'gmaq fishermen of Esgenoopetitj (Burnt Church), New Brunswick.  Why would officials of the Canadian government attack citizens for exercising rights that had been affirmed by the highest court in the land?  What happened at Burnt Church?  Director, writer and producer, Alanis Obomsawin, provides a context for the events on the Miramichi Bay, delineating the roots of the conflict and offering compelling insight into the complex relationship between Canada and its First Nations.

Journey of Man: The Story of the Human Species (2003, 120 min)

Journey of Man answers the question, "Where do we all come from?"  Today, some six billion people are spread across the planet.  But there was a time - not so long ago - when the human species numbered only a few thousand and their world was a single continent: Africa.  Then something happened.  A small group left their African homeland on a journey into an unknown, hostile world.  Against impossible odds, these extraordinary explorers not only survived but went on to conquer the earth.  Their story can finally be told through the science of genetics.  Dr. Spencer Wells, geneticist, is part of a team that has been re-writing history.  He has been disentangling this epic story from evidence all people carry within them - in their DNA - inherited from those ancient travelers.  Wells travels to every continent in search of the people whose DNA holds humanity's secret history: the Namibian Bushmen, the Chukchi reindeer herders of the Russian Arctic, Native Americans and Australian Aborigines.

The Justice System and Aboriginal People (1991, 45 min)
A video summary of Volume 1 of the Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry. In this video presentation the Commissioners summarize their findings and recommendations.

A Kalahari Family: Part 5: Death by Myth (2002, 84 min)

Documents the shift in policy from farming to wildlife management and cultural tourism in Namibia.  The "Bushman myth" that Ju/'hoansi are born to hunt and uniquely capable of living in harmony with nature denies Ju/'hoansi the humanity to challenge their economy and survive on their own.

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993, 119 min)

In 1990, a historic confrontation propelled Native issues in Kanehsatake and the village of Oka, Quebec into the international spotlight and into the Canadian conscience.  Behind Mohawk lines, producer and director, Alanis Obomsawin, herself an Abenaki Indian, endured 78 days filming an armed standoff between the Kanehsatake Mohawk people of First Nations, the Quebec police and the Canadian army.  The result is a portrait of the people behind the barricade, providing insight into the Mohawks' spiritual beliefs and fierce pride in their ancestry that governs their unyielding determination to protect their land.  Obomsawin's portrayal of the Mohawk community places the Oka crisis within the larger context of Mohawk land rights, disregarded by white authorities for centuries and destined to culminate in the 1990 standoff.

Kathy Reichs' Lecture
Dr. Kathy Reichs, forensic anthropologist and professor of anthropology, University of North Carolina and Laboratoire de Sciences, Quebec, and best-selling author of Déja Dead, Death du Jour, Deadly Decisions and Fatal Voyage, makes a presentation entitled "Forensic Anthropology: Science Into Fiction" on the StFX campus in September 2001.

Knowledge without Borders (1994, 16:32 min)
Topic: An introduction to Canada's International Development Research Centre highlighting some of its many development success stories. Dist: The International Development Research Centre

Liebe Perla (2000, 53 min)

The fascinating story of a special friendship forged between two very short women: Perla, the last remnant of a family of dwarfs that survived Dr. Mengele's cruel experiments in Auschwitz and Hannelore, a German Christian, born after the war.  In this film Hannelore attempts to fulfill Perla's dream by obtaining a lost Nazi film in which Perla's entire family is displayed naked by Dr. Mengele at a gathering of the SS hierarchy.

Life + Debt (2001, 86 min, DVD format)

With twenty-five years of "help" from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank intended to bring Third World nations such as Jamaica into the fold of free market economies, these "restructuring" policies have crippled Jamaica's efforts toward self-reliant development while enriching the lenders.  This scathing film is an unapologetic look at the "new world order" from the point of view of Jamaican workers and farmers, as well as government and policy officials.  It portrays the relationship between Jamaican poverty and the practices of international lending agencies while driving home the devastating consequences of globalization.

Living Stones: Where Archaeology Begins

Mesoamerica: The Rise and Fall of the City-States (2001, 26 min)

Filmed on location in central and southern Mexico, this program touches on the Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec cultures—and a civilization that preceded them all at a city dubbed Teotihuacán by Nahuatl-speakers centuries after its fall. Expert commentary and 3-D computer images shed light on the complex societies that emerged, grew strong, and disappeared in the highlands and lowlands of Mesoamerica.

Teotihuacán: The City of the Gods (2001, 27 min)

Reputedly the first great city of the Western hemisphere, Teotihuacán, the City of the Gods, is also one of the most mysterious. Who lived there? What were its inhabitants like? And why did their culture collapse? In this program, archaeologist Ruben Cabrera Castro, leads the way down the Avenue of the Dead—and inside both the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, normally closed to the public. The city’s political, religious, commercial, and artistic influences on subsequent societies are considered.

The Long Walk (1998, 49:03 min)

Ken Ward was the first Native Canadian to go public with his HIV diagnosis.  Seven years later, he has developed AIDS and remains a passionate advocate for HIV prevention and treatment.  Ward works primarily with First Nations populations, where the epidemic is often compounded by isolation and poverty.  He also takes his message into prisons, where the infection rate among Native inmates is 17 times the nationals average.  Filmmaker Alan Bibby accompanies Ward as he travels the back roads of the Canadian West, nurturing tolerance and understanding within fearful communities, and bringing hope and guidance to people living with HIV or AIDS.

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya (1993, 60:00 min)
Long before Columbus, the Maya established one of the most highly developed civilizations of their time in the jungles of Mexico and Central America. Yet this advanced society of priests, astronomers, artisans, and farmers suddenly and mysteriously collapsed more than a thousand years ago. Accompany archaeologists to Copan, Dos Pilas, and other spectacular Classic Maya ruins as they unearth artifacts and huge temples of incredible beauty. Recently deciphered hieroglyphics and other new discoveries offer astounding clues to the lives of these ancient people. You'll hear the startling story of one kingdom's downfall and its final desperate hours of violent warfare. Through spine-tingling recreations, witness ancient rituals reenacted on sites where they originally occurred. And meet the enduring Maya who still maintain many of their ancestor's traditions.

The Lost Pharoah: The Search for Akhenaten (1980, 56:35 min)

This documentary tell the fascinating story of an ancient pharaoh who was almost lost to history, and the archaeological sleuthing that went into piecing together information about him.  An accidental discovery in 1975 by Canadian archaeologist, Dr. Donald Redford, and his team led to the uncovering of the foundations of one of Akhenaten's temples.  The film follows Redford in his attempt to solve the mystery of this enigmatic ruler.

The Made-for-TV Election (1988, 90 min)
Shows how the media manipulated stories etc. during the 1988 U.S. election.

Making Babies: Part One (1992, 50:45 min)
This movie takes a critical look at reproductive technology and provides a chilling account of its development and use. Through interviews with doctors, drug salesmen, infertile women, surrogates, and feminist critics like Gena Corea, the film explores the origins & application of the technology & the dangers it may pose to women and to society as a whole.

Making Perfect Babies: Part Two (1992, 50:49 min)
Filmed in clinics and research centres where genetic manipulation of human embryos has already begun, the film offers a critical examination of the new genetic technology and its potential applications. Through interviews with people like scientist and feminist, Ruth Hubbard, and disability activist, Marsha Saxton, the film raises important questions about why the technology is being developed and how it may affect the lives of women and society as a whole. It warns that we may be heading toward a future in which "quality control" is an acceptable part of human procreation.

Managing A Diverse Workplace: Understanding Different Cultural Values and Styles (1990, 56 min)
This program refutes the melting pot theory, explaining that employees do not, and should not be expected to, set aside their particular cultural values when they come to work. The most successful organizations and managers are those who understand diversity and seek to profit from it; this program presents the views of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans who share their work experiences and demonstrate that what minorities want from coworkers and management is no more than an open mind and chance to make good.

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky (1992, Two Tapes) (165 min)
Highlighting Chomsky's analysis of the media, these films focus on democratic societies where populations not disciplined by force are subjected to more subtle forms of ideological control. Shocking examples of media deception permeate Chomsky's critique of the forces at work behind the daily news. Chomsky encourages his listeners to extricate themselves from this "web of deceit" by undertaking a course of "intellectual self-defense".

Maude Barlow: StFX Talk (120 min)

Maya Lords of the Jungle (58 min)
Maya Lords of the Jungle takes you to the jungles of Central America and the majestic remains of the Mayan civilization that thrived for thousands of years. How did the Mayas develop, and flourish? Why did the Mayan civilization suddenly decline? To understand the ancient Mayan civilization, join with archaeologists as they study the remains of their temples and tombs, searching for the clues to their mysterious decline.

McLibel: Two Worlds Collide (1997, 53 min)
The inside story of the single father and the part-time bar worker who took on the McDonald's Corporation.  The film follows Helen Steel and Dave Morris as the anonymous campaigners turn into unlikely global heroes. Struggling to defend themselves in the longest trial in English history, they face infiltration by spies, secret meetings with corporate executives, 40,000 pages of background reading and a visit from Ronald McDonald. Using interviews with witnesses and reconstruction of key moments in court, the film examines the main issues in the trial B nutrition, animals, advertising, employment, the environment B and the implications for freedom of speech. McLibel is not about hamburgers. It's about the remorseless power of multinational corporations.

Meeting Place (1990, 52:07 min)
Insightful, human look at Toronto's experiment in multiculturalism, a bold social idea that so far appears to be working. The film examines the virtues and risks of the program, taking the viewer to an airport immigration desk where a Tamil woman throws herself at an officer's mercy, and to the class-rooms of Westview Centennial High, whose student body originates from fifty different countries.

Mercy (Med-Dah) (2002, 50 min)

Filmed over two years at a community hospice in Klong Toey, Thailand, the story unfolds as a thirteen-year-old girl, Luk Nam, recalls the loss of her family to AIDS. MERCY is an unsettling document of another side to the growing AIDS crisis – the future of the children whose parents are HIV-positive or have died from AIDS-related illnesses. Surrounded by orphaned children who have inherited the disease, the filmmakers witness both Luk Nam’s sister and her best friend gradually fade away. Despite the horror of their circumstances, young Luk Nam and the hospice patients and workers show incredible compassion, strength, and hope. Luk Nam’s brave composure is as admirable as it is distressing, as when she assures the viewer: “Right now, I’m alive.”

The Michelin Bill (28 min)

Mi'kmaw Traditional Knowledge: A Colloquium (1998)

Moses Coady (1991, 57:30 min)
Moses Coady is a largely unsung Canadian hero, a priest from the Maritimes who was both a progressive social thinker and social activist. Through his involvement in adult education and the cooperative movement, he helped free many maritimers from the semi-feudal conditions in which they lived. Coady's work poses alternatives to traditional ideas about forms of economic organization as well as suggesting the potential power of adult education to influence the political process.

Mother Earth (1992, 10:34 min)
A short evocative, poetic firm that celebrates life on our planet. This documentary film looks at the reality of human beings; the earth is our home and we are profoundly connected to all other beings. Powerful reference to the forces that threaten the earth and all its in habitants offer us points for reflection. Haunting visual images selected from 50 years of NFB productions, accompanied by stirring music composed by Loreena McKennitt, speak without words to all people.

Motherland: Tales of Wonder (1991, 89:50 min)
Director Klodawsky embarks on a journey beyond our society's myths and misconceptions of mother-hood; beyond the gleaming images of mothering & homemaking depicted in North American media. Wry, humorous, provocative, this feature-length documentary spans two generations of women of different backgrounds and cultures: those who raised children in the 50s and 60s, and those who are just beginning; each trying to find a place for herself amid a barrage of mixed messages and unforgiving expectations.

Mothers of Courage (2003, 48 min)

It's ten-year-old Bethany's school concert, and her parents are watching anxiously. Bethany may live with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, hydrocephalus and visual impairment, but as she takes to the stage with her peers, she shines. An intimate glimpse into the struggles and joys of a family with a special-needs child, "Mothers of Courage" explores how a person with disabilities can thrive if given adequate support. Unfolding from the perspective of Bethany's mother, Marlene, who fights to secure her daughter's future. Marlene must navigate complex layers of health care, education and government bureaucracies that often prove frustrating and unyielding. Footage of the family's daily life is interwoven with candid commentary from health professionals, teachers and the other mothers of disabled children whom Marlene encourages through her advocacy.

My Ancestors Were Rogues and Murderers (2002, 55 min)

In a thoughtful contribution to the debate on Canada's seal hunt, artist Anne Troake celebrates the unique culture of Newfoundland's outports.  She explores the notions of ecology and conservation through the story of her extended family, descendants of 18th century settlers from the English West Country.  In a society shaped by the environment and seasons, sealing became one of the many activities that sustained them.  Blending poetic ethnography with politics, Troake weaves her argument into a meditation on a resilient people and their special place in the world.

The Myth of  'The Clash of Civilization': Edward Said in Lecture (1998, 40 min + 15 Q&A)
One of the century's leading cultural analysts examines the dangerous myths guiding American foreign policy in the post-cold war era. In this important lecture delivered at the University of Massachusetts, Said takes aim at one of the central tenets of recent foreign policy thinking - that conflicts between different and clashing "civilizations" (Western, Islamic, Confucian) characterize the contemporary world. Said argues that collapsing complex, diverse and contradictory groups of people into vast, simplistic abstractions has disastrous consequences. Presenting instead a vision of the "coexistence" of difference, Said concludes with the fundamental challenge that faces humanity at the turn of the millennium.

The Myths of Mental Illness (1993, 56:15 min)
The film tells the story of one man's breakdown -- more and more drinking, increasingly bizarre behavior, and finally, social and professional suicide. The film also traces his courageous battle to regain meaning in his life. Real-life interviews with psychiatrists who hold opposing views of mental illness are intercut with the powerful drama. The film raises questions about coping with stressful life and work situations; mental health and illness; psychiatry, drug therapy, and psychotherapy; the healing potential in human relationships; human freedom and dignity; technology and the invasion of privacy; and media integrity. The film raises key questions about humanity and out times.

Natives of the Narrowland (1994, 35 min)

The Native Americans of New England were among the first to come into contact with European sailing vessels, and hence, among the first to disappear. The Wampanoag natives of Cape Cod (the legendary Narrowland) called themselves "the People of the First Light". Their arrival in New England reaches back to the last ice age, over 12,000 years ago. This documentary is the first to explore their unwritten history via an anthropological analysis of the culture's sparse archaeological remains. The only surviving Cape Cod Wampanoag tribe located in Mashpee provides a current Native perspective on the survival of their culture. We are introduced to the preservation efforts of archaeological sites in New England against erosion, development, and pot-hunting.

Nature of Things: Cree of Paint Hill (1986, 60 min)

Nature of Things: The Club of Rome (1986, 60 min)

Nature of Things: Monkey Business (45:30)
Dr. Shirley Stru, an anthropologist who has made a very long study of olive baboon societies in East Africa, takes viewers in to the lives of a troop known as the "Pumphouse Gang". This program looks at the social behaviour of this primate, which in many ways resembles human behaviour.

N!ai, The Story f a !Kung Woman (1980, 59:00 min)
This film provides a broad overview of !Kung life, both past and present, and an intimate portrait of N!ai, a !Kung woman in her mid-thirties in 1978. N!ai tells her own story, and in so doing the story of change in !Kung life during the past thirty years. Footage shot throughout the 1950s as well as footage from 1978 is used to complement the narrative.

No More Secrets (1999,  Videos 1 & 2)
"No More Secrets: The Talking Circle and Understanding Violence Against Women" is a two part video examining violence against women within the Black community.
Part 1:  The Talking Circle (37:38 min)
Part one, The Talking Circle, breaks this silence.  It profiles an intimate gathering of a multi-generational group of     African Nova Scotian women who, for the first time, speak publicly about the issue of violence against women in the Black community.  Sharing personal stories and  experiences, these brave women uncover the complexity of this profound problem with honesty and care.  They offer ever hopeful perspectives on the possibility that through cooperative work among women and men, changes will come.
Part 2: Understanding Violence Against Women (28:27 min)
Part two, Understanding Violence Against Women, presents a framework for understanding this problem.  It establishes the role the African United Baptist Women's Institute has played in launching a public discussion on violence against women and profiles the very personal stories of women who have suffered violence and who have begun to heal.  They hope to help others by sharing their experiences.   Black professionals who work in the field and African Baptist leaders who are raising this issue within the church community, issue a call for common action and transformation.

Norway's Lofoten Cod Fishery (1996, 21:15 min)
Around the world, the fisheries are in trouble. Among the new, suggested solutions is co-management: a system in which governments devolve some of the authority for managing fish stocks to local communities. One of the best-known and most successful examples of co-management is found in Norway's Lofoten Islands, where a tradition of self-regulation is backed up by a national commitment to supporting scientific fisheries research. What lessons can be drawn from the Lofoten experience? This film will encourage fishing communities to see that there are alternatives, however imperfect, to the current global fisheries crisis.

Nunavit: Changing the Map of Canada (24:30 min)
A documentary which traces the forging of an historic constitutional partnership between the Inuit people of the Eastern Arctic and the Government of Canada. The map of Canada will be redrawn for the first time since Newfoundland entered confederation in recognition of the new territory of Nunavut. The Inuit land claims agreement which will proceed with Nunavut is a treaty between the Inuit and Canada which defines Inuit rights to lands. It is the biggest claims settlement ever negotiated by the government and an aboriginal people. The new partnership provides the framework for the environmental management and economic development of one fifth of the land mass of Canada. (Dept. also has French version).

Oak Park Stories (2005)

Oak Park Stories are reflexive ethnographic explorations of a Chicago suburb - one of the most successfully integrated places in the US.  An anthropological perspective of this "social experiment" is presented through written and video portraits of the families living there and an institutional portrait of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, the core of the community integration maintenance policies.

The Taylor Family Portrait - An Oak Park Story

Portrays a middle-class African American family who appear to exemplify values and aspirations that make possible the success of the village's long term hope that Oak Park will continue to be a welcoming place for everyone.

Rebekah & Sophie - A Lesbian Family

Portrays people living in one of the most "gay-friendly" suburbs in the US.  The family lived through the gay civil rights battles of the 1980s and 1990s and have settled into raising a family and being part of the middle-class life of the village.  Like the Taylors, they present another aspect of Oak Park's desire to accommodate and accept difference.

Of Men and Gods (2002, 52 min)

A frank look at a largely unexplored area, Of Men And Gods examines the daily existence of several Haitian men who are openly gay.

Prevalent, yet still taboo, homosexuality and gay culture are allowed to flourish within the context of Haiti's Vodou religion. As "children of the gods," the men find an explanation for homosexuality as well as divine protection. They also find an outlet for theatrical expression through exhilarating performances in which they embody the gods. Meanwhile, the AIDS epidemic looms as a continual threat and adds a disquieting degree of nihilism to their relatively optimistic attitudes toward life and happiness in Port-au-Prince.

One Drop Rule (2001, 45 min)

One Drop Rule asks what makes someone Black?  Is it "one drop of blood"?  A way of dressing?  Is being Black really a matter of attitude and worldview?  The film tactfully explores skin color consciousness with Africa Americans and interracial adults of Black and white parents.  Participants discuss the stresses of interracial dating.  The children of interracial marriages explore feelings of being pressured by others to choose between two cultural identities.  They explain the added burden of not being readily accepted by either racial group.

The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson's Bay Company (1972, 42:22 min)
The Hudson's Bay Company's 300th anniversary celebration was no occasion for joy among the people whose lives were tied to the trading stores. This film, narrated by George Manuel, president of the National Indian Brotherhood, presents the view of spokesmen for Canadian Indian and Métis groups. There is a sharp contrast between the official celebrations, with Queen Elizabeth II among the guests, and what Indians have to say about their lot in the Company's operations.

Our Brand is Crisis (2005, 87 min)

For decades, U.S. strategists-for-hire have been quietly molding the opinions of voters and the messages of candidates in elections from the Middle East to the South American jungle.  Our Brand is Crisis follows James Carville, Jeremy Rosner and a team of political consultants as they launch a media-savvy campaign for Bolivian presidential candidate Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.  With unprecedented access to think sessions, media training and the making of smear campaigns, witness a shocking example of America "spreading democracy" overseas and its earth-shattering aftermath.

Out of the Fiery Furnace: The Revolution of Necessity (60 min)

Out of the Past (1993, 8 part video series)

Part 1: New Worlds (60:00 min)

Cultural evolution is proven to be a global process.

Part 2: The Hearth (60:00 min)

Family life is reconstructed by examining household remains.

Part 3: Artisans and Trade (60:00 min)

Occupational specialization links individuals and cultures.

Part 4: Signs and Symbols (60:00 min)

Symbolic communication is examined as the hallmark of human cultures.

Part 5: Power, Prestige, and Wealth (60:00 min)

Ancient political systems are compared with today's.

Part 6: Realms (60:00 min)

Ancient kingdoms are traced through remnants of social and state relationships.

Part 7: The Spirit World (60:00 min)

Sacred places and objects help archaeologists interpret religious meanings.

Part 8: Collapse (60:00 min)

Ancient civilizations send a warning to modern society.

Pelts: Politics of the Fur Trade (1989, 56:20 min)
The fur trade is Canada's oldest industry but, in recent years, some people have been questioning the morality of killing animals for fur. Pelts examines the emotional public relations war that has been raging between the fur industry and its opponents, and takes a look at some of the ethical, environmental, and economic issues raised by the debate. The film presents the arguments of the opposing sides, as well as the methods they use to win public support, providing the viewer with a unique opportunity to consider all aspects of a very complex and highly charged issue.

Playing for Keeps (1990, 44:11 min)
What's it like being a teenage single mother? Three young women -- Karen, Debbie, Tracy -- describe in their own words what having a baby means. The picture they paint in this powerful, gritty documentary is far from the rosy vision they might have dreamed of, when they first found out about their pregnancies.

Pornography and Censorship, Parts 1 & 2

A Proud Past -- A Promising Future
History of Blacks in Ontario

The Psoriasis Research Project (35:00 min)
How does a traditional healer treat a medical disorder? This film documents how Russell Willier, a Cree Healer, treats Psoriasis patients in an experimental clinic. Documented by David Young of the Dept. of Anthropology, University of Alberta.

Race Is a Four-Letter Word (2006, 55:19 min)

Biologically speaking, "race" is a spectral concept: black, brown, red, white and yellow, considered purely as skin colours, merit no more significance than a tattoo.  Scientists remind us that we all have the same genetic ancestor.  Nevertheless, history, politics, sociology and economics transform skin colour - "race"- into either a golden sheath or a leaden prison of shame.  In Race Is a Four-Letter Word, director Sobaz Benjamin highlights Canadian conflicts around race.  Heroically, he exposes himself, too: a black man who grew up trying to bleach his skin with chemicals, and then struggled to appreciate the meaning of his heritage as an "Afro-Saxon" Briton, then Grenadian and now Haligonian-Nova Scotian-Canadian.  We also meet a white man who is culturally and psychologically black, a black woman who wants to be considered iconically Canadian, another black woman who retreats to England rather than continue to face Canada's racial cold war.  In the the end, Race Is a Four-Letter Word teaches us that the soul has no colour.  Yet we also learn that race is a marathon we are all forced to run.

A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom (1996, 86 min)
Today most Americans don't realize that the man who led the 1963 March on Washington wasn't Martin Luther King, Jr. but a 74 year old African American labour leader. This video begins to restore a brilliant civil rights activist to his place as a key figure in 20th century American history. Born in 1889 in the Jim Crow South, Randolph moved North and became a prominent radical journalist. He was approached by the Pullman porters and helped them organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. After a bitter 12 year battle, Randolph won the first national labour agreement for a black union. Randolph always stressed that civil rights need to be backed up by economic rights. As the nation mobilized for WWII, Randolph's threat of an embarrassing protest march on Washington forced President Roosevelt to ban segregation in the federal government and defense industries. After the war, Randolph again called for resistance to the first peace-time draft unless the military were desegregated. President Truman was outraged but in 1948 singed the pathbreaking executive order integrating the military. Finally, with the 1963 March on Washington, Randolph succeeded in placing civil rights at the forefront of the nation's moral and legislative agenda.

Remember Africville (1991, 34:30 min)
Africville, a small black settlement, lay within the city limits of Halifax, N.S. In the 1960s, the families who lived there were uprooted and their homes demolished in the name of urban renewal and integration. Now, more than twenty years later, the site of the community of Africville is a stark, under-utilized park. Former residents, their descendants and some of the decision-makers speak out and with the help of archival photographs and films tell the story of that painful relocation.

The Road Taken (1996, 48:00 min)
Documents the experiences of Blacks who worked as sleeping-car porters on Canada's major railways from the early 1900s through the 1960s. The tradition of Blacks working exclusively as porters was established by the Pullman Palace Car Company in the US in 1867. Later, when sleeping cars were introduced in Canada, the railway companies continued hiring Black porters.

Roger & Me (1989, 91:00 min)
What would you do if hard times came to your hometown and made you mad as hell?  If you're Michael Moore, you'd hold bingo-game find -raisers every Tuesday night for three years.  Sell your  home and virtually everything in it.  And sink nearly every penny into making Roger & Me, the uproariously funny movie named to more than 80 film critics' 1989 10-Best lists.  It also won year's best awards from the New York, Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics and the National Board of Review.  Word of mouth about Roger & Me spread like wildfire.  Moore himself emerges a  modern folk hero.  All because he doggedly and hilariously tried to do what every working stiff dreams of: talk to the man at the top.  Moore's efforts to meet General Motors Chairman Roger Smith and persuade him to visit Moore's hometown of Flint, Michigan, provides the framework of a film that uses humor to devastating effect.  Roger & Me champions people over profits.  And it howlingly lampoons corporate America as it shows how the working men and women of Flint cope with economic setbacks.

Sahari's Choice: Arranged Marriages in India (1998, 27:00 min)
This program examines the custom of arranged marriages in India.  It follows the story of one girl and her family as they confront the reality of an impending marriage that was arranged when the girl was barely six years old.  An overview of the custom presents it as common among all castes, although many Indians view the practice in a negative light.  Education, family wealth, and astrological compatibility are examined as important in determining with whom the marriages are arranged.  In one case, the issue of dowry leads to the suicide of a young female marriage prospect.  Severe penalties for breaking engagements are discussed, along with divorce negotiations should the marriage fail.  This is a candid glimpse into contemporary Indian society.

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal (2000, 171 min)

The story of the extraordinary, controversial thirty-eight-year relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave mistress, Sally Hemings. The teenage Sally begins her unexpected relationship with widower Thomas Jefferson in Paris where he is serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. After escorting Jefferson's younger daughter on a trans-Atlantic journey to join him in Paris, Sally is soon exposed to a world quite unlike the one in which she has lived as an illiterate slave in Monticello. While Sally serves as a nanny of sorts, Jefferson provides her with an education, fine clothes and opportunities to experience cultural events. She and her brother, James, who works as Jefferson's chef and was also educated by him, delight in the fact that they are free in France-and are treated with respect. It is under these circumstances that Sally and Jefferson become acquainted with one another and begin an affair that will ultimately lead to scandal.

Searching for Hawa's Secret (2006, 46:50 min)

Frank Plummer is a Canadian scientist studying AIDS, and since 1983 the centre of his work has been a clinic for female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya.  Plummer discovered that a small percentage of the women who came to his clinic, like 37-year-old prostitute, Hawa Chelangat, did not become infected with HIV.  He believed a vaccine for the dreaded disease might come from duplicating whatever it was that made these women immune.  This film tells of a scientific quest, and also a human story of the unlikely partnership between a Canadian doctor and a Kenyan prostitute.

Seven Shades of Pale (1994, 28:37)
From a quiet, neglected corner of N.S., a meeting with the Black community that shows both the traditional attitudes of the older generation and the more alert, resolved stance of the young. The old still pin their hopes on the church and the preacher, while the young look more towards the Black United Front and its roving director. For both generations change is a challenge. The common hope is for a fuller life.

Sisters in Law (2005, 104 min)

The only documentary selected for the 2005 Directors' Fortnight at Cannes, co-directed by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi, Sisters in Law is a fascinating, often hilarious, look at the work of one small courthouse in Cameroon.  With fierce compassion, the tough-minded state prosecutor, Vera Ngassa, and court president, Beatrice Ntuba, dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure.

Sisters in the Struggle (1991, 49:23 min)
Features Black women who are active in community organizing, electoral politics, and labour and feminist organizing. They share their insights and personal testimonies on Canada's legacy of racism and sexism. The analyses they present link their struggles with the ongoing battle against pervasive racism and systemic violence against women of colour.

Slavery and the Making of America (2004, 4 part DVD series)

Vol. 1: The Downward Spiral (60 min)

Covering the period from 1619 through 1739, this first volume spotlights the origins of slavery in America. 

Vol. 2: Liberty in the Air (60 min)

Spanning from the 1740s through the 1830s, this second hour explores the continued expansion of slavery in the colonies.

Vol. 3: Seeds of Destruction (60 min)

The third hour looks at the period from 1800 through the start of the Civil War when slavery saw an enormous expansion and entered its final decades.

Vol. 4: The Challenge of Freedom (60 min)

The final volume of this series takes viewers through the Civil War, the Reconstruction and beyond as it follows the life of Robert Smalls.

The Smell of Burning Ants (21 min)
A haunting documentary on the pains of growing up male. It explores the inner and outer cruelties that boys perpetrate and endure. The film raises gender issues and provokes the viewer to reflect on how our society can deprive boys of wholeness.

So Who Lives Here Anyway

Sociology -- CBC/Prentice Hall Canada Video Library (1998, Videos 1-3: Marcionis/Clarke/Gerber)
Video 1 Hockey Deadlock (9:30); Teen Magazines (13:25); Cross Culture (5:55); The Come-Back Kids (13:00); 9 to 5 (12:52)
Video 2 Improv (7:38); School Violence (12:30); Ontario Turns Right (10:50); Portraits from a Project (4:30); Davis Inlet: Moving from Misery (10:30); Same Sex, Same Rights (5:25); Tonight's the Night (8:33); Bell Pak (9:43)
Video 3 What is Family, Anyway? (18:42); Toronto Blessing (13:07); Educating Girls (9:00); Techno Babies (25:05); Global Warming: A Progress Report (12:25)

Sociology -- Harcourt Brace Sociology Video Collection (1998, Videos 1-4)
Video 1 After the Montreal Massacre (17:26); Anybody's Son Will Do (20:30); Adbusters (5:40); Not a Love Story (22:30); Supermodel's Super Envy (7:36); Magic in the Sky (19:55)
Video 2 Watching TV (4:57); Searching (12:40); Precious Moments (5:10); Lessons (12:06); Voices from the Shadows (22:36); The Gods of Our Fathers (23:00); Service in the Sky (9:50); The Tribal Mind (18:07)
Video 3 Escaping from History (#1) (17:00); Before and NAFTA (4:45); Families (11:50); Community Alternatives Society (9:00); Clockwork (15:00); Education As We See It (20:06); The Air We Breathe (15:40); The Bomb Under the World (16:17)
Video 4 The Exxon Valdez and the GNP (7:24); Future in the Cradle (11:22); World Wide Web (6:25); Distress Signals (20:24); Street Kids (21:53); Gang Warfare (6:00); Escaping from History (#2) (17:27); E (6:32); The Quebec Referendum on CTV (15:00)

Sociology -- Harcourt Brace Sociology Video Collection (2001, Videos 5-6)
Video 5 Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky and the Media Case Study: Cambodia and East Timor (19:51); God's Dominion/Shephards to the Flock (17:25); The Evolution of Society/A History of Social Classes (27:02); A Place Called Chiapas (27:17)
Video 6 When Strangers Reunite (15:54); Ms. Conceptions (26:41); The Cola Conquest Part 3: The Cola-Colonization (24:05); Stopping Traffik: The War Against the War on Drugs (26:39)

Speak It: From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia (1993, 28:50 min.)
This film speaks to the essence of the experience of being young and Black today. Set in Halifax, the film follows students as they work to establish a Cultural Awareness Youth Group, a vehicle for building pride and self-esteem through educational and cultural programs. In the environment of their predominantly white high school the students face daily reminders of the presence of racism, ranging from abuse (crude racist graffiti on washroom walls), to exclusion (the seemingly more "innocent" omission of Black history from texts). Yet, they do not lose hope. With help from mentors, they discover the richness of their heritage and learn some of the ways they can begin to effect change.

Spirit Doctors (2005, 42 min)

Filmmaker Marie Burke journeys inward into the spiritual world of traditional Native medicine, the world of Mary and Ed Louie.  With a lifetime of experience in the ways of Native spirituality, Mary and Ed are steadfastly committed to the practices that keep them accountable to the spirit world, their people and Mother Earth.  Burke reveals a beautiful way of life rarely seen and explores the ongoing debate around the ethics of documenting such sacred ceremonial knowledge.

Street Kids  (1985, 22 min)
Graphic animation of black and white photographs provides a gritty, realistic look at juvenile prostitution and the young people, male and female, who are struggling to get off the streets. This documentary quickly dispels the images of glamour and big money usually associated with prostitution, and makes clear the continuum of being sexually abused as a child, loss of self-esteem, and turning to the streets. Street Kids shows the positive efforts of child-care workers to help juvenile prostitutes find a way out. A provocative discussion starter for teenage audiences, parents, social service agencies, and legal professionals.

Struggles in Steel: The Fight for Equal Opportunity (1996, 58 min + viewers guide)
This Peabody Award winner documents the shameful history of discrimination against Black workers and the heroic campaign which won them equality on the job. Black steelworker Ray Henderson and noted independent film maker Tony Buba collaborated in interviewing more than 70 Black steelworkers who narrate nearly a century of African American industrial history. They recount heart-rendering stories of how they had to fight their employers, their union and their fellow workers to gain access to better-paying, higher-skilled jobs, previously reserved for whites only.  In 1974 they finally won their struggle through a consent decree, a court order compelling both company and union to set hiring and promotion goals for women and minorities. But their success was short lived; with the "downsizing" of U.S. basic industry, African Americans again find themselves on the outside looking in at America's prosperity.

Stuart Hall: Representation and the Media (55:00 min.)
Unpacks one of the central ideas of cultural studies - that reality is not experienced directly, but always through the lens of culture, through the way that human beings represent and tell stories about the world in which they live. Using concrete examples, Hall shows how the media - and especially the visual media - have become key players in the process of modern story telling.

Taking Aim (1996, 41 min)
In 1985, Monic Frota, an independent Brazilian film/videomaker collaborated with the Kayapo of the Brazilian rainforest to develop Mekaro Opoi D'joi (he who creates images), the first Kayapo media project. Taking Aim is a documentary chronicling the Kayapo's appropriation of videotape technology as a political and cultural "weapon". Drawing on footage shot by the Kayapo, archival footage, stills, and computer animation, Taking Aim is a witty, provocative exploration of issues of power and representation. Ultimately, Taking Aim challenges the stereotypical portrayals of traditional societies perpetuated by conventional ethnographic film and video.

Taking Stock (1994, 47:13 min)
It was a way of life. It was the backbone of a society. And then the cod fishery off the east coast of Newfoundland collapsed. This film traces the history leading up to the crisis and the calling for a moratorium of the Northwest Atlantic Cod Fishery. It presents the key players in this complex and tragic story, focusing on those who are now trying to come to grips with an uncertain future.

Tanim: Instituting Democracy in Tribal Papua New Guinea (2003, 51 min)

Democratic political principles have finally reached the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Tanim—"to change" or "to turn"—is the story of how the Apulin people, the ruling tribe of Enga province, are struggling to balance this alien electoral system, with all its implicit values and practices, with the secure familiarity of their traditional approaches to rule, land ownership, and systems of compensation.

Teach-In on Afghanistan: War, Racism and Civil Liberties
Speakers: Dr. Shahnaz Khan, David Eby, Mohammed Loubani, Ahmad Ludin, Sr. Mary Eileen MacEachern, Ed Miller.  Moderated by Carolyn Doyle.  The teach-in took place on Monday, January 28, 2002.

The Talking Skull: Forensic Anthropology (1999, 26 min)
After a skull was discovered at a Boy Scout camp in Missouri, the State Highway Patrol took it to the crime lab - along with a lower jaw, 40 other bones, hair strands, clothing, a shopping bag, and a button imprinted with "Textwood".  Experts studied the remains and, in collaboration with other police personnel, determined that the victim was a petite Asian woman.  Using a facial reconstruction by forensic anthropologist, Dr. Michael Charney, the victim was further identified as Bun Chee Nyhuis.   Richard Nyhuis, when confronted by the police, eventually confessed that his wife died when he pushed her during an argument and she fell, striking her head.  However, medical examiner Dr. Mary Case revealed the truth: a killing blow by a hammer.

This is What Democracy Looks Like (1999, 72:00 min)
A co-production of the Independent Media Center and Big Noise Films, This is What Democracy Looks Like is a 72-minute documentary capturing the events of the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle. Edited from the footage of over 100 video activists, the film marks a turning point in collaborative filmmaking and achieves a scope and vision possible only through the lenses of 100 cameras.

A Time for Action (34:51 min)
Royal Commission for Aboriginal Peoples

Today the Hawk Takes One Chick (2008, 72 min)

Trading Women (2003, 60 min)

Narrated by Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, Trading Women investigates the trade in minority girls and women from the hill tribes of Burma, Laos and China, into the Thai sex industry. Filmed on location in China, Thailand and Burma, the documentary follows the trade of women in all its complexity, entering the worlds of brothel owners, trafficked girls, voluntary sex-workers, corrupt police and anxious politicians. The film also explores the international community's response to the issue.

12,000 Men (1991, 34:27 min)
This moving and informative documentary not only deals with the history of the Maritime coal and steel industries, but also emphasizes the attempt of the people of Cape Breton, N.S., to organize for better working conditions and salaries. Archival footage is intercut with oral testimony of the now-elderly participants in the strikes, lock-outs, picketing, and even pitched battles necessary to bring the union into being.

Trekking on Tradition (1992, 42 min)

This program explores the effects of mountain tourism on a small village in rural Nepal and the often ironic nature of the resulting cross-cultural encounters. Recommended for Asian Studies, Environmental Studies, The Anthropology of Tourism, Global Economics, and Mountaineering enthusiasts.

Under Wraps (1996, 56 min)
Cats do it. Zebras do it. Women do it. Most female mammals menstruate, yet we're not supposed to talk about it. Under Wraps takes viewers to eight cities across North America to see how attitudes towards menstruation are manifested in popular culture today. Drawing from a wide range of sources, including writer Judy Blume, controversial artist Judy Chicago and Museum of Menstruation curator Harry Finley, this candid documentary brings a taboo subject out into the open in a way that proves fascinating and relevant to both women and men. Previewing recommended.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004, 3hrs 40min)

Tells the story of the first African-American boxer to win the most coveted title in all of sports and his struggle, in and out of the ring, to live his life as a free man.

Uranium (1990, 48 min)
Tackles the uranium industry and the consequences of widespread contamination caused by uranium mining.

Vital Signs: Crip Culture Talks Back  (48:20 min)
This edgy, raw video documentary explores the politics of disability through the performances, debates and late-night conversations of activists at a national conference on Disability and the Arts. Featuring interviews with well-known disability rights advocates and artists such  as Cheryl Marie Wade, Mary Duffy, Harlan Hahn and Anne Finger, along with professors, students and others with disabilities, Vital Signs conveys the intensity, variety and vitality of disability culture today.

The Vienna Tribunal (1994, 48:13 min)
Highlights the moving and gut-wrenching personal stories of women from around the world who testified before a panel of eminent judges at the Global Tribunal on Violations of Women's Human Rights. Modelled on past tribunals, the women challenged world leaders at the U.N. World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna to finally "address these violations for the gross human rights violations that they are".

View from the Summit (2002, 75 min)

It's April 20, 2001 - and Quebec City prepares to host the three-day Summit of the Americas.  A four-kilometre fence has been erected, cutting off the Upper Town from the rest of the city.  Thirty-four heads of state from the Americas will meet behind closed doors to discuss agreements for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).  Those opposed to the FTAA are mobilizing and gathering in Quebec City too.  Several thousand delegates have come to participate in the People's Summit, and tens of thousands will march in protest.  Six thousand police officers fill the streets and it looks as if the historic Quebec capital is under siege.  The local population fears the worst.  Will the Quebec capital become a battleground?  Shot in cinéma vérité style by seven of Quebec's best documentary filmmakers, View from the Summit vividly portrays what happens when passionate and creative protesters clash with the ideologies of those in power.

Walk Softly on the Earth

Waging Peace: A Year in the Life of Caledonia Junior High (2001, 70:24 min)

At Caledonia Junior High -- like at so many schools -- students and teachers live in an environment of disrespect and potential danger.  Waging Peace looks beyond the sensational headlines on school violence to offer real solutions.  The film shows the hard work that goes into turning a  troubled school around.  It lets us know how students really see school and demonstrates the positive effects of trusting teens and giving them some responsibility.

War: Anybody's Son Will Do (1983, 56:36 min)
This film follows a group of young recruits through their gruelling ten-week "basic training". It provides insight into techniques that all armies use to indoctrinate recruits with a new set of morals -- techniques that transform ordinary citizens into soldiers ready to kill, even to die, for their country. Hosted by Gwynne Dyer.

We Don't Live Under Normal Conditions (2000, 59:03 min)
With hard-to-find facts disputing the alleged biological basis of depression, We Don't Live Under Normal Conditions raises complex issues about how our society is handling depression and other mental "disorders".

We're the Boss! (1989, 29:23 min)
A film about a community that made the connection between culture and economic development. It is a look at the Evangeline region, a predominantly Acadian area in western P.E.I. There, local initiative, several co-operatives and a credit union have transformed the economy, and thereby strengthened Acadian culture. Some of the community-based enterprises shown are a potato chip factory, a fish processing plant, a wood-chip operation, a funeral home and a cable TV station. Looking both to the past and to the future, the film interviews pioneers of the Acadian co-op movement and graduating high school students who express concerns about the role of co-ops in their community.

What Does it Mean to be White? The Invisible Whiteness of Being (2004, 50 min)

In this program, Derald Wing Sue asks whites and non-whites what it means to be white.  The reactions are provocative and reveal how unaware and uncomfortable many white people are with such a question.  Sue defines white privilege and explains how it keeps whites relatively oblivious to the intimidation and oppression felt by non-whites.

When Billy Broke His Head...and Other Tales of Wonder (56:32 min)
When Billy Golfus, an award-winning radio journalist, was brain damaged as a result of a motor scooter accident ten years ago, he became one of the 43 million Americans with disabilities -- this country's largest and most invisible minority.  In the irreverent, first-person road movie, Golfus, a sort of underground Charles Kuralt, goes on the road to meet people with disabilities around the country, and witness first hand the strength and anger that is forging a new civil rights movement. When Billy Broke His Head  blends humor with politics and individual experience with a chorus of voices, to explore what it is really like to live with a disability in America -- where pervasive discrimination and bureaucratic "helping" systems too often keep people with disabilities trapped in a labyrinth of government rules and legislated poverty.

Which ever way you look at it, it's still Autism: deconstructing the jigsaw (2006, 30 min)

Larry Arnold is autistic.  He is also an artist, a film maker, a musician, a photographer and a poet.  All these talents are displayed in this DVD in which he invites us to revisit autism, not in terms of diagnostic categories, but as a mix of perspectives that may sometimes clash.

Who's the Man?: Masculinity, Mythos and the Media (2004, 55 min)

Masculinity is a social construct that changes within an evolving culture. The CBC Hot Type special, Who's the Man?, has chosen six men who have occupied or continue to occupy a place in the imaginations of Canadians and our media. The men in Who's the Man? are all emblematic of some of the values that we as Canadians have to wrap our hearts and minds around. What can the six individual stories and the ways in which they are covered in the media tell us about the kind of society we want?
 

Who's Counting: Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies & Global Economics (1995, 94:03 min)
Waring challenges the myths of economics, its elitist stance, and our tacit compliance with political agendas that masquerade as objective economic policy.

Women's History Month 1994, StFX

Working Lives (1992, 20:00 min)
Concentrates on the crucial century of radical change between 1750 and 1850, when large numbers of people began for the first time to work in factories rather than on the land, and when agriculture had to adapt to provide for an expanding population. The program also covers the drift to towns; the factory and apprentice systems; early conditions in the mines; and the reactions to working conditions as frustration led to rebellion, new legislation was proposed, and trade unionism developed.

Wrestling with Manhood: Boys, Bullying and Battering (2002, 60:00 min)

The first educational program to pay attention to the enormous popularity of professional wrestling among male youth, addressing its relationship to real-life violence and probing the social values that sustain it as a powerful cultural force.  Drawing the connection between professional wrestling and the construction of contemporary masculinity, Sut Jhally and Jackson Katz show how so-called "entertainment" is related to homophobia, sexual assault and relationship violence.  They further argue that to not engage with wrestling in a serious manner allows cynical promoters of violence and sexism an uncontested role in the process by which boys become "men."
 

RJN's films at Audio Visual

The Ancient Peruvian
Controlling Behavior Through Reinforcement
The Cows of Dolo Ken Paye: Resolving Conflict Among the Kpelle
Excavations at La Venta
Fauvism
Fires of Spring
How do traditional hunters use burning to manage habitat. This classic film documents Dene practices of Northern Alberta.
Future Shock
Health and Lifestyles
A Man Called Bee: Studying the Yanamamo
Documents Napoleon Chagnon's research methods among the Yanamamo.
Potlatch People
Tignish Co-operatives
Tribal People of Mindanao
 
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