In this feature-length documentary by Alanis Obomsawin, it's the summer of 2000 and the country watches in disbelief as federal fisheries wage war on the Mi'kmaq fishermen of 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? Casting her cinematic and intellectual nets into history to provide context, Obomsawin delineates the complex roots of the conflict with passion and clarity, building a persuasive defence of the Mi'kmaq position.

A 105-year-old Acadian agrees to be filmed one Sunday as she goes about her daily routine and ruminates on life. Filmed by her great-grandson, Aldéa Pellerin-Cormier comments wisely on politics, sex and religion. From getting ready in the morning to drinking her nightcap before bed, every moment is punctuated with a witticism or existential thought. Respectful of the old woman's privacy, Daniel Léger's first documentary looks at wisdom, serenity and enjoyment of life. In French with English subtitles.

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

This short documentary looks at how an entire community mobilized to improve the cafeteria menu at a primary school in Cocagne, New Brunswick. Rallying behind this noble cause, residents put their shoulder to the wheel, promoting products from local farmers over those of multinational corporations. Everyone gets involved to make healthy eating a common goal as well as a learning opportunity.

This film was made as part of the Tremplin program, in collaboration with Radio-Canada.

In this documentary short, summer trippers line up for the famous local fried clams and whole families dig for the white mollusc in the tangy air of the sandbars. But as the clams dwindle, so do these tableaux from Maritime culture. For commercial fishermen it's the end of a livelihood; for others, it's the death of a tradition. Can this really be the end of a resource that used to be as plentiful as the air we breathe? In French with English subtitles.

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

“We’re beautiful, the whole gang. We’re special,” says Jean of the 15-odd employees at The Artisan—a workshop employing people with intellectual disabilities. Jean is the self-described “handyman and best-looking” member of the group. A moving celebration of difference, The Artisans captures daily life at an organization where the workers are as courageous as they are colourful.

This short documentary about the city of Moncton, NB, explores 2 tragic endings: the obliteration of a much-loved historic neighbourhood, and the illness and death of the filmmaker's father. What survives when buildings, trees and a loved one all vanish? In French with English subtitles.

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

To better understand the essence of happiness, filmmaker Nathalie Hébert speaks with Lucien Comeau, a musician and “philosopher of the everyday” who lives in Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick. This simple, informal portrait nonetheless moves beyond conventional, preconceived ideas to offer profound insights into the meaning of life and success.

This short documentary is a portrait of Sylvie Mazerolle, a young woman for whom dance is as vital and fundamental as breathing. Tracking her process, the film also takes a look at dance in her home province of New Brunswick. In French with English subtitles.

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

This feature documentary tells the story of the Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur Congregation which was formed in 1924 when 53 French-speaking nuns separated from their unilingual English community, forming a new religious community that immediately began to campaign for the preservation of Acadian language, faith and culture. Convinced that education was essential for Acadian women, in 1943 the Congregation founded Collège Notre-Dame d’Acadie, where young women were able to study in French for the first time in New Brunswick.

This short documentary links family memories to the evolution of Acadian French. Bittersweet Blues reveals the dilemma that Acadians face: do they adopt normative French in order to be better understood, or proudly continue to use their own language, which reflects the colourful flavour of their own authentic culture?

This film was made as part of the Tremplin program, in collaboration with Radio-Canada.

This animated clip illustrates the lives and realities of New Brunswick Acadians. It comes from the game Ta parole est en jeu, which playfully explores the richness and variety of the French language in Canada.

Documentary about Francophone Acadians in southeastern New Brunswick and their relationship to language. Forty years after Michel Brault’s Éloge du chiac, Marie Cadieux travels to Moncton, Shediac, Bouctouche and even France, meeting people committed to safeguarding and valuing the specific character of Chiac. Featuring animated clips from Acadieman, this film elicits laughter and some teeth-gnashing, but is above all thought-provoking.

In the late 1960s, with the triumph of bilingualism and biculturalism, New Brunswick's Université de Moncton became the setting for the awakening of Acadian nationalism after centuries of defeatism and resignation. Although 40% of the province's population spoke French, they had been unable to make their voices heard. The movement started with students-sit-ins, demonstrations against Parliament, run-ins with the police - and soon spread to a majority of Acadians. The film captures the behind-the-scenes action and the students' determination to bring about change. An invaluable document of the rebirth of a people. In French with English subtitles.