This is the first time Canada’s national film producer has made so many of its several thousand productions available on the Internet.
Among them are Canadian classics like The Log Driver’s Waltz, a lighthearted short animation based on a song of the same name. It celebrates the men who moved harvested logs down a river, often by riding them with exceptional balance.
The film tells the tale of a young girl who has fallen in love with one of these men because of his exceptional dancing, a skill she says comes from the light steps needed in driving logs. In the end, she chooses to marry him over doctors and lawyers because she simply can’t find another dancing partner so able to sweep her off her feet.
NFB says the short is one of its most requested films.
But the site also has more serious fare, like Being Caribou, a feature-length documentary about a husband and wife team of scientists who follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot across 930 miles (1,500) of Arctic tundra.
“Along the way, they brave Arctic weather, icy rivers, hordes of mosquitoes and a very hungry grizzly bear. Dramatic footage and video diaries combine to provide an intimate perspective of an epic expedition,” says the film’s description.
In Canada, a lightly populated country of vast geography, the National Film Board is one of a handful of institutions that aims to stitch diverse and distant regions together into a unified land of interconnected peoples.
NFB’s content offers hours of entertainment that is a far cry above the hit-and-miss content of YouTube and many other video sites.
Other great films include I'll Find a Way, a 26-minute Oscar-winning documentary about nine-year-old Nadia who has spina bifida, a disease that leaves her with legs she says are hard to walk on because they “wobble.”
“She attends a regular school, knowing that the kids will tease her, but she‘ll ’find a way to deal with it.' Nadia uses crutches in order to walk. In her own candid way, she makes it clear that she is not looking for sympathy,” says the films description.
There is a scene at her original school that catered to children with physical disabilities where, in a voice over, Nadia introduces the viewer to the class.
One child, whose face contorts due to the nature of his disability, has no motor control except his head.
“Ricky, he uses this helmet with a long thing attached to type,” explains Nadia. “I think he’s one of the smartest kids in the whole class.”
It’s an almost shocking reminder to those of us who judge by appearances that despite their sometimes extreme physical challenges, these children are as mentally capable as other children.
The site also has DVDs of other films available for purchase. Films like Carts of Darkness, a documentary about men who have turned bottle picking in an affluent neighborhood into an extreme sport of racing their shopping carts down steep hills.
The National Film Board is posting the content online as part of a celebration marking its 70th anniversary.
There are currently 700 productions, films, trailers and clips with more being added weekly. Among them are historical films dating back over 70 years, and award-winning documentaries. The site has featured playlists based on the suggestions of film experts and filmmakers.
The NFB has created over 13,000 productions since its inception in 1939 and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies, Canada’s “Oscars.”
To watch films or get more information, visit NFB.ca.
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