Canadian Carnival

Man of the people, taxi driver, Jean Carignan is above all else one of the world's greatest violinists. In his hands reels become complex, intelligent creations, played with a virtuosity worthy of Paganni, and which continue the traditions of a genre passed on orally. A genre which has retained its popularity, and whose giants include Skinner, Coleman, Allard. Jean Carignan tackles their repertoire, as well as reaping the harvest of his exploration of Irish and Scottish musical traditions, which has made of him an internationally renowned specialist in Celtic music. This film is also a love story between an impoverished child and his violin, and provide a unique window into a remarkable era.

First look inside the walls of Quebec police’s training grounds and the realities of our next generation of police officers.

Crystal Pillar, White Lady, The Whale—these are the names given by ice-climbing enthusiasts to the spectacular ice formations surrounding Quebec's Montmorency Falls. Ice Birds shows two experienced climbers scaling the breathtaking wall of the Crystal Pillar with precision and considerable daring, appearing from below as black spots on the vast landscape of one of nature's masterpieces.

Co-directors Hubert Caron-Guay and Serge-Olivier Rondeau follow migrant workers through the steps in the hiring process of a community-based employment assistance organization. The filmmakers highlight the migrants’ difficult path by capturing conversations between the future employees and the recruiters. Through images shot on a body camera and a minimalist observational approach, the film exposes harsh and poignant realities. It draws parallels between the changing of the seasons and the cycle of the cattle industry that begins with animals being raised and cared for at a ranch and ends with them being sent to the abattoir grimly looming in the background. Ressources is a sobering and thought-provoking work that gives a voice to those who are at the heart of the food system that sustains this country.

“17 Seconds” provides an all-access pass inside the Blackhawks locker room party in Boston and the airplane ride home with the Cup following Game 6, in addition to insight from the players on the Stanley Cup-winning team and members of the organization. Fans can ride along on the players’ buses during the championship parade and follow the Blackhawks as they spend their Cup days with family and friends, sharing the greatest trophy in sports with their communities. It also includes footage from the opening night banner raising ceremony.

Three decades after the shuttering of the mining town of Schefferville, the Innu people, who moved in after the non-natives abandoned the town, are facing a new challenge: the iron mines are about to be reopened. Land, identity and legitimacy are central to the dialogue between peoples locked in parallel struggles, the Québécois and the First Nations.

Through concerts and interviews, folk-progressive group Harmonium takes Quebec culture to California. This documentary full of colour and sound, filmed in California in 1978, recounts the ups and downs of the journey of the Quebec musical group Harmonium, who came to feel the pulse of Americans and see if culture, their culture, can succeed in crossing borders.