18 July, 2023
Canada is a country known for its nature and its friendliness, two qualities that have been mythologized by nationalism and government marketing efforts for many decades. The country is also known for its vibrant documentary culture, where sometimes these mythic elements—and others—are propped up, dismantled or challenged. The Canada of natural abundance and preservation, and the Canada of openness and kindness are, in the face of extractive capitalism, liberal colonialism and social inequity, arguably the images in most need of radical transformation.
In this program of five creative doc shorts inspired filmmakers buck formulaic non-fiction trends and form beautiful, sometimes experimental shapes from actuality while provoking ripples of political thought through a subtle underpinning of critique, conservation, debate, relationality and reflection.
A thread weaves these captivating works together, as humans find their place in, and consider deeply their relations to each other and the natural world - in all its vitality and its precarity.
You can find the full list of films here: RIPPLES AND THREADS - POETIC SHORTS FROM CANADA FILMS