Absolutely Canadian showcases independent documentaries and short films from Ontario
CBC Communications | Posted: August 25, 2023 7:00 PM | Last Updated: September 18, 2023
Locally produced films air this season on CBC TV and CBC Gem
Absolutely Canadian is a national series showcasing documentaries and performance programs that tell unique stories from communities from across Canada. This year's regional edition includes documentaries and short films. Each film celebrates the unique stories from across Ontario, created by independent producers and directors. CBC works closely with independent filmmakers throughout the region to produce this series.
Giiwe: Returning Home
Following filmmaker Taye Alvis as he looks to reconnect to his community of Walpole Island First Nation. Taye will explore his relationship to Walpole Island, and how one can reconnect to their traditions and culture by way of conversation, arts, and recreation.
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
Toronto Reel Shorts
Short films produced by students in television, film, media arts, animation and independent filmmakers from Toronto-GTA. Films: Black Boys Skate Too, Diya, Every Sunset and Lost in You. (2022/2023)
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
Ottawa Reel Shorts
Short films produced by student filmmakers and independent producers from the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Films include: Ottawa is a Drag, Impulse Control, and Dancing Towards a New Dawn (2022/2023).
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
Creatorland: Four Women
Creatorland: Four Women follows the lives of Shery, Jamie, Dawn and Rehab. Each one of them has an unstoppable will to create space for their communities and share their stories and legacies with the world.
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem. (LINK TO COME)
Producers: Zainab Muse, Nickie Shobeiry
Interview on CBC's Our Ottawa. In conversation with the film's co-producer Nickie Shobeiry.
Interview on CBC's Ottawa Morning. In conversation with filmmaker Zainab Muse and Rehab Adas, one of the women featured in the documentary.
Hodan's Story
After 25 years living a comfortable life in Canada, Hodan Nalayeh — a tireless activist, journalist, visionary and single mother of two — leaves Toronto and returns to her birth country of Somalia on a mission to spread light, in a world where many only see darkness.
Hodan's Story, as told by her friend and filmmaker Dwayne Holness, is a film about her life, which was one of passion, inspiration, and ultimately of tragedy. But it covers so much more. Her death may have been a devastating loss, but this is not a tragic story.
Click HERE to watch it on CBC Gem.
Frequent Flyer Films Inc. - Dwayne Holness, Bryn Hughes, Michelle Shephard
The Photographer
Faye Schulman was one of the only known Jewish partisan photographers of the Second World War and in The Photographer, her grandson, Michael Tward, tells the story of her life. Faye Schulman didn't only survive the Nazis — she fought back, photographing the resistance movement along the way. Joining the resistance movement, Faye became one of the only known Jewish partisan photographers of World War Two.
In The Photographer, her grandson Michael traces her story from the Nazi's destruction of her Polish village to her final days in Toronto, Canada. Separated from her few surviving relatives and lost after the massacre of her entire community, Faye captured a wealth of stunning photographs. Today, those photos provide a rare look into the lives of Jewish partisans, serving as evidence that Jewish resistance against the Nazis.
Click HERE to watch it on CBC Gem.
Space Case Productions Inc. - Emily Pasternak & Maryam Remtulla
The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of
Ask anyone from Windsor, Ontario about their hometown's pizza and you'll get an earful about how it's the best in the world. The rest of the world, however, isn't paying attention.
Disturbed that his hometown is typically overlooked on lists of the top pizza cities in the world, George Kalivas set out on a mission. In this road-trip documentary, he explores the most well-established pizza places in Windsor talking with suppliers, pizza joint owners and pizza enthusiasts about the essential characteristics that define and distinguish a true Windsor pie.
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
LRG Super Inc. - Filmmakers: George Kalivas & Tristan Laughton
The Last Guide
As his health rapidly deteriorates, legendary Algonquin Park fishing guide Frank Kuiack spends his last fishing season searching for someone to whom he can pass on his wisdom. (Ottawa, Cornwall, Whitney, Algonquin Park)
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
Producer/Director: Cristian Gomes
The Colour of Music
An exploration of the musical talents of women and gender-diverse singer-songwriters and how their intersectionalities influence their music. This next generation of artists are paving their own path in the music industry by valuing community, inclusion and collaboration. (Ottawa)
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
SandBay Entertainment: Han Nguyen & Sarah Fodey
Watch these Absolutely Canadian docs on CBC Gem
I Am: Limitless
I Am: Limitless is a one-hour documentary showcasing stories from women of colour who pursue unusual sports in Ottawa. Watch how the journeys of these skateboarders and roller skaters intersect, where they find common ground and why finding joy on wheels makes them feel limitless. (Ottawa)
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
This film was produced in Ottawa, by Firegrove Studio, a collaboration between local filmmakers Mailyne K. Briggs, Hingman Leung, and Adrienne Row–Smith.
Reel Black: Our Film Stories
Young emerging Black filmmakers Christian Anderson and Ajahnis Charley learn what it takes to fulfill their filmmaking dreams through the insight of veteran filmmaker Claire Prieto-Fuller and other Black Canadian filmmakers. This film project was created by participants from OYA's Emerging Filmmaker Program, they are: Tristen Sutherland, Alexx Bryant, Ayan Tani, Émeraude Domingos Mbuku, Leilah Dhoré, and Enni Balo. (Toronto)
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
OYA Media Group, OYA Black Arts Coalition, OYA's Emerging Filmmaker Program.
Toronto Reel Shorts
Short films about and relevant to people and places in the Toronto-GTA region produced by graduating students in tv, film, and animation programs at Sheridan College and Toronto Metropolitan University. (Toronto)
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
Reel Shorts: Windsor
This program is a compilation of short films produced by independent filmmakers and graduating film/broadcast students at the University of Windsor. The films highlight stories relevant and about the Windsor-Essex region.
The half-hour broadcast on July 30 will include short films: "Down in the DMs" by Taye Alvis, "Uprooted: The Plantemic" by Tony Lau & "Fiver" by Shahad Al-Haddad.
The full one-hour program also features short films "Lookin' Good, Feeling Good" by Carolina Di Grado, "Full Bloom" by Raquel Graston & "Phantasma" by Shahad Al-Haddad. The program is curated and produced by Michael Stasko and Theodore Bezaire.
The half-hour broadcast on July 30 will include short films: "Down in the DMs" by Taye Alvis, "Uprooted: The Plantemic" by Tony Lau & "Fiver" by Shahad Al-Haddad.
The full one-hour program also features short films "Lookin' Good, Feeling Good" by Carolina Di Grado, "Full Bloom" by Raquel Graston & "Phantasma" by Shahad Al-Haddad. The program is curated and produced by Michael Stasko and Theodore Bezaire.
Click HERE to watch it on CBC Gem.
Studio Films A Inc., Michael Stasko
Letters from Home
When the painful memories of the Bosnia war resurface through uncovered family letters, Windsor based filmmaker Svjetlana Oppen retraces her emotional journey as a refugee to Canada while reconciling a shattered past through family letters, home video and photos. (Windsor)
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
Producer/Director: Svjetlana Oppen
Being Black in Toronto
Being Black in Toronto features five films from emerging directors that came out of the Fabienne Colas Foundation's Being Black in Canada mentorship program entirely dedicated to Black filmmakers. Directors include; Rennae Byfield, Niya Abdullahi, Kharå Martin, Marc Samuels and CJ Mayers. Documentaries from Being Black in Halifax and Being Black in Montreal will also be available on CBC Gem
Click HERE to watch on CBC Gem.
BORN IN SIN
Directed by Rennae Byfield
Directed by Rennae Byfield
A film about the experience of a single mother through the lens of those closest to her. A woman's father will express his view of his daughters' journey of single motherhood and a young black social worker who advocates on behalf of single mothers. The two will discuss the negative stereotypes and marginalization from within the community. In the end, the resilience of a woman – of a creator will speak for itself.
FOR BLACK MUSLIM GIRLS
Directed by Niya Abdullahi
Directed by Niya Abdullahi
This documentary is about what it means to be Black and Muslim in Toronto and it takes viewers on a journey to find what home is for them, a journey towards a sense of self, their own rite of passage.
THE IDEA OF THE BLACK DOLLAR
Directed by Kharå Martin
Directed by Kharå Martin
Chronicling the lives of Black female entrepreneurs navigating and sustaining their first brick and mortar during a global pandemic and a government that has had a record breaking amount of shutdowns. The Idea of the Black Dollar takes an in-depth look at preserving money spent within Black communities in the hopes of starting what would be an economy for the next generation. Is a Black wall street possible in a society where people of the African diaspora make up roughly 4% of the population?
GOOD BLACK
Directed by Marc Samuels
Directed by Marc Samuels
What black is good black? A pair of siblings, child and youth workers interview local professionals, youth and celebrities to ask what versions of black culture are acceptable in Canada and why?
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Directed by CJ Mayers
Directed by CJ Mayers
Knowledge Is Power conveys the clear lack of black education in Canada. We get to meet Taijah, Kathy and Idris who – in their own way – have all done incredible work in dismantling the current eurocentric system. We are also introduced to the characters of Jerome and Jessica, as they come to realize that the education system is mainly to blame for their lack of self-identity. Simultaneously, the issues explained from the trio, overlay the storyline of the couple before blending into a beautiful conclusion of how powerful knowledge truly can be.