Film Categories: Politics + Policy

  • I Need a Man Like You

    “I Need a Man like You” is funny as it is provocative, and delivers a colourful and zany venue of Toronto’s finest Queen Street performers. Comedian Sheila Gostick is brilliant in her political satire and wildly hilarious as the dancing goddess. Performance artists the Clichettes bring a new awareness to rock culture through their original and unforgettable choreography to some of the great hits of the sixties. Helen Porter, as the killer Dyke in leather, shares a vision of the erotic that is tender, warm, and funny. The film is a timely and playful lampooning of some of the most…

  • I Object

    “I Object” is a film which explores images of women. It focuses on two women students who are confronted with the contradictions of their dual role as model and photographer. The film raises questions about the motivations for nude modelling, how women become objects, and how women deal with sexual stereotypes in educational institutions.

  • In Exile

    “In Exile” examines in detail the lives and assimilation problems faced by the approximately 75,000 American war resisters in Canada in the early 1970s. As the Indo-China turmoil came to an end and demands in the U.S. for draft resister amnesty increased, there was growing interest in whether these men and women would remain in Canada or return to the United States. The film includes interviews on both sides of the debate. We hear from ten draft resisters and deserters, counselors at the Toronto Anti-Draft programme, and an editor of Amex, a war resister magazine in Canada. On the U.S.…

  • In the Gutter and Other Good Places

    This powerful documentary profiles three Calgary men who survive by “dumpster-diving” – collecting bottles out of refuse containers for cash. A compassionate look at the choices and circumstances which have shaped their lives, the film challenges common assumptions about poverty and homelessness. Awards: Chalmers Award for Best Documentary, 1995; Genie Award for Best Canadian Documentary, 1994; Best Documentary, Paris International Environmental Film Festival, 1994; Gold Plaque Award for Documentary, Chicago International Film Festival, 1994; Best Independent Production, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, 1994; Silver Apple Award, Oakland Educational Film Festival, 1994; Best Documentary, Vancouver International Film Festival, 1993

  • Incantation

    “Originating in the lens of a discreet hand-crank Bolex camera, ‘Incantation’ is a delirious hand-processed weave of urban protest and contact dance that evokes the powerful spirit of personal and political resistance.” – Images Festival of Independent Film & Video, Toronto, 1997 “‘Incantation’ combines images from last autumn’s anti-Harris protest in Toronto with a dancer, creating a brilliant combination that illuminates the spirit and energy evident in the marches.” – Take One Magazine, Fall 1997

  • Inquiry Film, The

    The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry (also known as the Berger Inquiry) was a precedent-shattering examination of Native rights and economic development in Canada’s North. The contentious issues brought out by the Inquiry are very much alive today as Southern Canada still seeks to exploit the resources of the North. “The Inquiry Film” documents and reveals the process of the Inquiry and humanizes a complex political and national issue. Awards: Best Documentary, Canadian Film Awards; Golden Athena Award (Best Feature Film)

  • Inside File, The

    “The Inside File” investigates the biases and methodology used but not always admitted to in television journalism. David Watson, the host of the television news show “The Inside File” is featuring a story on the mysterious disappearance of Karen Kotterdam, a popular television newswoman who went missing after a rumoured personal conversation with Jesus Christ. As David Watson’s story progresses, it is revealed that Karen Kotterdam was his professional and political mentor. The “hatchet job” he attempts on her character turns to frustration when he can’t rationally explain her enigmatic decision to leave journalism, and he is forced to confront…

  • Interim Sketches of a Year of Austerity

    “The children of the post-war baby boom are now in their early to late twenties. As is now apparent on a global scale, the economic system is poorly equipped to cope with their demographic tidal wave. They subsist in an age of specific depression with values maladaptive to most of the job market. As one woman said: ‘A few years ago we talked about being green and now we talk about being poor.’” – Jeff Solway, Secretary of State, Canadian Alternatives, 1075 This documentary follows the people who live in these conditions in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Through stories, still photographs…

  • Iraq Campaign, The

    “Good evening, the United States of America is at war.” “The Iraq Campaign” by San Francisco videographer Phil Patiris presents a compelling artistic documentary of the immediate American national spirit as promoted and reflected by television during the weeks of Desert Storm (plus its short-lived afterglow). This “television history” is intended as well to be a representation of corporate television’s high-tech style in presenting extraordinary news events, illustrating the ultimate convergence of American news and entertainment; and of how the magic and power of television can be used as a not-so-subtle device for mass influence by corporate media in co-operation…

  • It Starts With a Whisper

    A celebration of the strength, wisdom, beauty and humour of Native women; of Native culture and people, surviving and thriving. “It Starts With a Whisper” was produced in the Six Nations/Brantford area, with an all-Native cast, and features locations on the Grand River which runs through the Six Nations Reserve. The film blends traditional Iroquois imagery, music and themes with motifs from contemporary, secular life. An original score and innovative visuals make “It Starts With a Whisper” a delight to watch, as well as a timely challenge to movie stereotypes of First Nations people. Eighteen-year-old Shanna Sabbath, who has grown…