National Film Board Picks Favourites for Canada 150

The initial content includes short and features, from musical animations to documentaries. Have you seen these films? Which are your favourites? Please leave a comment.

Here’s how the NFB describes it:

In a country as vast as Canada, what we call home differs depending on the region we live in, the cultural background we come from, the family traditions we carry forward, and the personal histories we carry inside. In this special NFB series, we’ve selected works from our collection that explore the many different “homes” that we’ve inherited, adopted, embraced and reinvented all across the country.

We may put different dishes on our tables, read stories to our children in different languages, and be lulled to sleep by different soundscapes, but what these works bring home is that what makes us different is what makes us who we are.”

I have seen some of these movies. My favourite is probably The Blackfly Song by Wade Hemsworth (1949). It’s short and sweet.

The Blackfly Song (direct link)
https://www.nfb.ca/film/blackfly/

From the NFB: “This animated film about the pesky blackfly is based on the song of the same title, written and sung by Canadian folk singer Wade Hemsworth, with back-up vocals by the McGarrigle sisters. It recounts Hemsworth’s battles with this quintessential “critter” during a summer of surveying in Northern Ontario.”

Note re: educational materials aka Campus subscriptions

While NFB once offered an affordable subscription plan for educators on an individual basis, it looks presently as if they are targeting only large institutions. This is unfortunate. It means that some of you will be forced to seek their media content through YouTube and have to create your own lesson materials.

Collaboration on a Common Resource Folder?

Would you be able to contribute to a common resource folder that contains educational materials prepared for use with this media? If so, please comment and we’ll organize something soon.

About Mike Simpson
Mike is the founder of Ancestry Project and writes about art, culture, history and media. If you enjoyed this check out his other posts in the blog. If you are interested in hiring Mike you can email him via this website (contact page).