This Traveltalk series short visit to the province of Ontario begins in Ottawa, Canada's capital, then proceeds to Algonquin Park, Toronto, and Niagara Falls.
Social & External
Narrator (voice)
Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.
A light and somewhat satirical look at the problems and pleasures of Continental holiday travel. A passenger on the Hook Continental Express from Liverpool St. imagines the possible destinations of his fellow passengers.
Coach passengers give their reasons for preferring that type of transport. A group of ramblers visit the Welsh mountains; an angler and his family spend a peaceful day by a country river; a family goes to the seaside; some students visit Oxford during a music festival.
An American couple tour Britain with a teenage girl, visiting London, Canterbury, Cambridge, the West Country, Caernarvon, etc.
A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.
“Where the North Begins” was one of the 4 original regional portrait films commissioned for the first season of Ontario Place (the others being "North of Superior" (IMAX), "Seasons in the Mind" (70mm), and "Home By The Waters" (35mm anamorphic). The film was directed by David MacKay who was the producer for "A Place to Stand" and then directed "Ontario-oh!". Although "Where The North Begins" was commissioned by the Ontario government, Dave's subversive and wicked sense of irony does come shining through, as does his heartfelt beliefs.
As Niagara Falls transformed from honeymoon capital of the world to Las Vegas North, corporate hotel chains and casinos cast a long shadow over the independent motels that once populated the town. The Continental survived the transition by converting its rooms into affordable housing units, becoming a home for those with few places to go. The night manager, Brian, once a freelance photographer who survived the horrors of war in Vietnam, shares his duties with his colleague Linda. Together they manage both the Continental and the individual struggles of its tenants, providing more than a roof over the heads of those who live under their supervision. Bringing a fresh focus to one of the most photographed places on Earth, director and cinematographer Jesse McCracken develops an intimate and caring portrait of the residents of this modest micro-community set against the backdrop of neon-lit tourist attractions.
Blissful scenes of tourists arriving by boat and then sea bathing on a beach in the Venetian lagoon.
The views and thoughts of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood have never been more relevant than today. Readers turn to her work for answers as they confront the rise of authoritarian leaders, deal with increasingly intrusive technologies, and discuss climate change. Her books are useful as survival tools for hard times. But few know her private life. Who is the woman behind the stories? How does she always seem to know what is coming?
Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.
A documentary about Who's Emma, a collective of punks and anarchists that existed in Toronto's Kensington Market from 1996 to 2000.
To popularize the idea of automobile travel, Ford Motor Company produced Ford Educational Weekly, a film magazine distributed free to theaters. One 1916 series featured "Visits to American Cities." In this episode, Los Angeles is featured at the very beginning of the boom created by oil, movies and aircraft. On the occasion of its centennial in 1953, Ford donated its film to the National Archives and Records Service; this copy derives from a fine grain master printed from the Archive's preservation negative. Music by Frederick Hodges.
In the summer of 2007, the race is on, as 48 cinematographers have just 24 hours to document the city of Toronto.
A history of mankind's interactions with Niagara Falls, from initial awe, to harnessing of the Falls' power, which leads to the destruction of nearby areas like Love Canal.
Filmmaker Gio Petti takes an in-depth look at the city's troublesome transit system in his documentary, Dude, Where's My Bus?. His nearly 2 year-long independent investigation delves into the frustrations of daily commuters in Ottawa and more deeply explores the systemic issues plaguing OC Transpo and their effects on the community. Beginning in the South End Suburbs of Ottawa, Dude, Where's My Bus? peels back layers leading to a broader investigation into issues plaguing the once model transit system. From late buses in neglected areas of the city, sprawl and the greenbelt, to the ever more controversial Confederation Line and the P3 system that built it, Petti aims to explore the impact of policy missteps and broken promises on Ottawa's transit users, with an optimistic look to the future.
Ava Caputo, a freshman at Toronto Metropolitan University, left her home in Alberta to embark on her university journey as a female hockey athlete.
From a boy on the streets of the Congo to becoming an NBA champion, Serge Ibaka has risen to a level even he can hardly believe. Watch as he brings the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy back to Africa for the first time, and re-visits all the places he used to go as a young man in this emotional journey.
A portrait film of Eastern Ontario directed by Peter Pearson who’s films include the award winner’s like “The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar" (1968) and the classic Canadian feature film, "Paperback Hero" (1973). "Seasons in the Mind" includes a talent show section set in Arnprior, Ontario.
John Lowry's 1971 Ontario travelogue "Home by the Waters" (featuring a haunting theme song by Tommy Ambrose) was shown at the IMAX Cinesphere in Ontario Place for a short time in September of 1971.
Travel films have an established format with their own conventions, history and baggage. It is a medium that has all too often sought to control, define and dictate perceptions of ”other” places. Comprised of footage shot while travelling on group excursions across Russia in 2019, An Uncountable Number of Threads is an attempt to draw out the ethical restrictions of a travelogue, while questioning how (and why) to make one. At times there is an awkward tourist-gaze, aware of its outsider position. But as a self-reflexive work that considers its own creation, it ultimately unravels, as the artist rationalises themselves out of a particular way of working, inviting the viewer into their uncertainty.
