Film Categories: Portraits

  • Opus 2

    “Opus 2” is an intimate and exciting film portrait of three very gifted young musicians – violinist Barry Shiffman, 15, pianist Yuval Fichman, 17, and cellist Wendy Morton, 18 – who form a chamber music trio under the guidance of noted teacher and music coach, Mildred Kenton. The film is a sequel to “Opus 1 No 1” and follows the three musicians on a rigourous journey through the prestigious Canadian Music Competitions, as they progress from the regional preliminaries to the gruelling national finals. Along the way, the film explores their very specialized world, offering insights into its many pressures,…

  • Our Hero: The True Story of Virgil Huffenmeister

    “Our Hero” is a mockudrama chronicling the life and times of Virgil Huffenmeister. The film traces his story from young orphan to international superstar and his eventual downfall. This short comedy touches on such subjects as the death penalty, instant celebrity, and Elvis Presley.

  • Out In the Garden

    Set in and around the house and garden of a middle-aged upstate New York academic, Grenier’s intimate experimental documentary portrait explores, in an innovative form, the thoughts and feelings of one man dealing with AIDS. Awards: Michael Moore Award, Best Documentary, 16th Atlanta Film & Video Festival 1992; Cash Award at the 1992 Edison Black Maria Film & Video Festival; Cash Award at the 23rd Sinking Creek Film Celebration Part of the TALKING PORTRAITS series.

  • Panama, The

    “The Panama” chronicles the Chan family of Victoria, B.C. as it evolved from its first days in Canada when the patriarch Chan Dun, at the age of twelve, landed in Victoria in 1890. From this auspicious occasion, a family of eight sons and four daughters would eventually center around the Panama café, a western-style eatery specializing in liver and onions and apple pie to the working class of the city. Located on Government Street by 1930, The Panama café is a story of one of the oldest Chinese Canadian families. It describes its experience during the depression, the war years…

  • Paper Age and Ancient Flight, The

    It was in Egypt 4000 years ago when mankind first developed the aircraft. Using the pyramids as launch pads, ancient civilizations had mastered the air before the invention of the wheel. For over a thousand years cultures around the world used papyrus, or paper, to construct simple yet effective means to travel through air. Is it possible that this age of paper thrived for so long, but has remained virtually unnoticed? In in-depth interviews, William Deiches describes how he rediscovered this ancient technology. While researching pyramid contruction, he stumbled unexpectedly onto secret plans for hot air balloons, gliders and hang…

  • Passion: A Letter in 16mm

    “Passion: A Letter in 16mm” is the story of a woman with too much passion and too little time. Linda Griffiths portrays a woman struggling to balance her craving for professional excellence as a documentary filmmaker with her need for intimacy. The first film by the award-winning director of “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing.”

  • Paul Horn in China

    The famous Canadian jazz flautist visits China with a tour group and finds himself on stage before an audience of five thousand. This remarkable trip, full of both Chinese music and the unmistakable melodies of Paul Horn, is captured on film by the filmmakers who travelled with him.

  • People in Black, The

    A lyrical and gentle protrait of a traditional Saskatchewan Hutterite community. Luminous slow motion images of this dignified people performing their daily chores are accompanied by a soundtrack of Hutterite songs and prayers. They can be found in scattered retreats across the grasslands of our three prairie provinces and five American states. Study guide available.

  • Perfumed Nightmare

    “One of the year’s ten best films.” – J. Hoberman, Village Voice “There’s nothing even remotely nightmarish about ‘Perfumed Nightmare.’ It’s an enchanting and poignant experience, a totally original seriocomic creation with an infectious and exuberant energy. The film is a semi-autobiographical fable by a young Philippino named Kidlat Tahimik, about his awakening to, and reaction against, American cultural colonialism. Born in 1942 during the Occupation, Kidlat spent ‘the next 33 typhoon seasons in a cocoon of American dreams.’ This, then, is his perfumed nightmare: the lotus land of American technological promise. “In his primitive village he worships the heroism…

  • Pioneers of X-Ray Technology

    “In Ann Marie Fleming’s ‘Pioneers of X-Ray Technology’ (a film about Grandpa), super-8 home movies are only one part of the film’s cooly complex structure. The first time I saw ‘Pioneers’ it looked like an uncomplicated portrait of Fleming’s grandfather, Dr. Ernest To, who was a photographer, amateur filmmaker and Hong Kong radiologist. On second viewing, the film’s ambivalence towards its subject becomes clear. “Fleming (‘You Take Care Now,’ ‘New Shoes’) is known for the ‘quirkiness’ of her films, but she’s above all a brilliant editor, both cinematographically and conceptually. Like nearly all her films, ‘Pioneers’ benefits from remarkable compression.…