The Undefended Border

This Oscar-nominated documentary short tracks the shift in the relationship of an individual to his work between the 19th century and today. Focusing on how nails are made, we first see a blacksmith laboring at his forge, shaping nails from single strands of steel rods. The scene then shifts from this peaceful setting to the roar of a 20th century nail mill, where banks of machines draw, cut, and pound the steel rods faster than the eye can follow.

A coming-of-(old)-age story about Peter Anton, an elderly "outsider" artist living in isolated and crippling conditions whose world changes when two filmmakers discover his work and storied past. Shot over eight years, ALMOST THERE documents Anton's first major exhibition and how the controversy it generates forces him to leave his childhood home. Each layer revealed reflects on the intersections of social norms, elder care, and artistic expression.

The Committee, starring Paul Jones of Manfred Mann fame, is a unique document of Britain in the 1960s. After a very successful run in London’s West End in 1968, viewings of this controversial movie have been few and far between. Stunning black and white camera work by Ian Wilson brings to life this “chilling fable” by Max Steuer, a lecturer (now Reader Emeritus) at the London School of Economics. Avoiding easy answers, The Committee uses a surreal murder to explore the tension and conflict between bureaucracy on one side, and individual freedom on the other. Many films, such as Total Recall, Fahrenheit 451 and Camus’ The Stranger, see the state as ignorant and repressive, and pass over the inevitable weaknesses lying deep in individuals. Drawing on the ideas of R.D. Laing, a psychologically hip state faces an all too human protagonist.

WELFARE shows the nature and complexity of the welfare system in sequences illustrating the staggering diversity of problems that constitute welfare: housing, unemployment, divorce, medical and psychiatric problems, abandoned and abused children, and the elderly. These issues are presented in a context where welfare workers as well as clients struggle to cope with and interpret the laws and regulations that govern their work and life.

A man finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses a crime scene committed by two teenage brothers. He is immediately kidnapped by the boys who have gotten themselves into a big trouble. This launches the bizarre trio on a crazy journey that reveals each person’s true character. Linked by a common destiny, these three fragile individuals must overcome their prejudices and work together to survive. And when their journey is coming to an end, the man has to make a biggest decision in his life. Richard Angers’ first feature A Pact Among Angels is a road movie with a heartwarming story about strangers who have nobody else but each other. Richard Angers’ very detailed direction and the fine performances of Émile Schneider, Marc Messier, and Lenni-Kim make A Pact Among Angels one of the outstanding Canadian independent films this year.

Through raw, revealing footage and interviews with fugitive tech pioneer John McAfee, this documentary uncovers new layers of his wild years on the run.

Love comes in many forms, and in Melody Gilbert’s Silicone Soul, the need for companionship and understanding is shown in the bond between humans and their synthetic companions. Tenderly captured by Gilbert, the bonds shown in the film are diverse and layered: from romantic relationships, to friendships, to a recreation of the love between mother and child. Silicone Soul does not allow for its subjects to be easily labeled or judged. Instead, the film is a collection of resoundingly human stories that reflect universal themes—the desire for love, compassion and communication.

Blue Jean Billie (Dean), a prosperous young woman crook who lives apart from the denizens of the underworld, has pulled off many robberies of the high society world with the help of her pal Shaver Michael (De Grasse). Billie gains admission to the Vanderhoof dinner at which the engagement of their daughter to Lord Chesterton (Hall) will be announced. While the dinner is in progress, Billie gags and handcuffs special officer Detective Wood (Ross), and proceeds to make a wholesale robbery of the guests. She flees in an automobile and none succeed in tracking her save Lord Chesterton. She makes a prisoner of him, but a police raid follows and she must flee. Once more Lord Chesterton succeeds in following her and again she makes him her prisoner, but she learns to trust and love him. The special agent and Shaver Michael arrive at the scene with resulting complications, but a happy end results for all.

This true story covers ground-breaking research into the aviation that took place at the Groom Lake Testing Facility, otherwise known as Area 51, which ensured US Aerial supremacy from the Cold War through to the present day. Utilising CIA documents that have recently been declassified this programme identifies specific individuals who worked at the top secret base in a variety of roles – the radar specialists, pilots and security guards. Their personal testimonies provide a unique impression not just of the work that was carried out, but of the site itself. We reveal just how tight security had to be to keep the development of the U2, A12 and HAVE BLUE aviation programmes under wraps. This is a film that concentrates on delivering history and factual accuracy in a fresh and engaging style – one that answers the question ‘what really happened at Area 51’?

LAW & ORDER surveys the wide range of work the police are asked to perform: enforcing the law, maintaining order, and providing general social services. The incidents shown illustrate how training, community expectations, socio-economic status of the subject, the threat of violence, and discretion affect police behavior.

Undercover in Tibet reveals the regime of terror which dominates daily life and makes freedom of expression an impossibility. Tash meets victims of arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and ‘disappearances’ and uncovers evidence of enforced sterilizations on ethnic Tibetan women. He sees for himself the impact of the enormous military and police presence in the region, the hunger and hardship being endured by many Tibetans and hears warnings of the uprising taking place across the provinces now.

The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.

Four adults are detained in their apartments with only each other and a computer for online company. They each come from a different class with differing views but they all have one defining purpose to understand why they are really being held hostage in their own homes. The AI refuses to reveal the reason.

A mathematics professor ridiculed and fired from his university, uses illegal information in order to complete his groundbreaking work, an algorithm capable of predicting an individual's future.

Six young and hopeful actors land roles in an experimental horror film shooting on a remote location. Their performances will be captured without any crew present in a single, uninterrupted take by cameras and drones positioned around the set. As the day progresses, the line between the film they are shooting and actual terror is blurred as they find themselves in a real life-or-death situation.

No student likes having to spend time in detention so you can only imagine how Lee Ping feels. The freshman at A Nigma High has been sentenced to a year in detention after being accused of pulling off the biggest prank in high-school history. The problem is that Lee is innocent. Now, in order to clear his name, Lee must escape from the highly fortified detention room every day, infiltrate a new social clique, and unravel another piece of the gigantic prank puzzle to try to figure out who actually pulled off the epic stunt.

Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids is an American reality television series on TLC which follows events at Bridals by Lori in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, a bridal shop owned by Lori Allen. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, focusing on bridesmaid dresses and the bridesmaid showroom at Bridals by Lori. It is a spin-off of Say Yes to the Dress. Soon after the end of its first season, TLC renewed the show for a second season.

This series reveals worlds never seen before; stunning CGI animation peels back the layers, revealing alien landscapes of fragile lava caves, roiling plasma seas, cosmic platinum mines, and the hungry black hole at the center of our galaxy – cosmological wonders that play a surprising role defining our place in the universe.

The show features extremely over-protective parents and their families. Lenore Skenazy, columnist and advocate for the Free Range Kids movement works with parents to help them step outside their boundaries and conquer their fears. In the long run, host Lenore teaches parents how to loosen the reins and give their kids the freedom they need to grow up with independence while still keeping safety as a main priority.

Port Protection is home to the few who have left behind normal society and chosen a different life in a remote Alaskan community, where survival of the individuals and community cannot sustain without the other. The stakes are high. The land is rugged and unforgiving and the seas which surround Port Protection are cold and merciless. With risk comes a reward more profound than mere survival: a world of beauty and freedom with the security of community and without the constraints of bureaucracy. In Port Protection there are no clear roads to survival, inhabitants must carve one themselves.

Come one, come all to The Circus. This real-time documentary series pulls back the curtain on the current political stories, revealing the intense, inspiring and infuriating stories behind the headlines. Key characters and events are presented in real time, as they are happening.

Everyone can have a bad day now and then, but we meet Valerie on a morning that divides her life neatly into before and after. It took one inconsequential setback – a silly thing, really – to cause a slight delay in Valerie’s schedule, resulting in a regrettable distraction, causing an unfortunate incident, which leads her to the police station….. making her miss the single most important event she had on her agenda: The Meeting! That’s when the dam breaks. All that control to build the fragile framework of her life collapses instantly. Valerie gets fired, is obliged to restrain her lifestyle, and now with the shared custody of her son in question, Valerie has to review her priorities and reorganize her life.

Three nerdy friends and the school bully must get themselves thrown into detention to find the entrance to a labyrinth of trap-laden tunnels protecting the fabled hidden lab of Alexander Graham Bell.

Abby is a 45-year-old self-identified fat, queer dyke whose misfortune and despair unexpectedly lead her to a vibrantly transformative relationship.

A routine raid led by Emer Berry, a detective in the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau, reveals that a small-time drug dealer has been receiving substantial funding from a seemingly untraceable source – not in cash, but in rough diamonds. When these diamonds are linked to a series of bombings in Belgium, Emer is forced to work with Police Commissioner Christian De Jong.

I Bought A Dump...Now What? follows homeowners who purchased dilapidated properties in hopes of renovating them into their forever home. By trying to tackle the overhauls themselves to save money, they end up behind schedule, over budget and exhausted. During the series, cameras will track the progress of each renovation and, in the end, reveal whether the owners can complete the work or are left out in the cold.

Each episode of this cinematic documentary series tells the incredible story of one armed standoff, the result of the government’s perceived interference with an individual or group’s way of life. In turns heart-pounding, provacative, and tragic, these stories hold a mirror to the present and offer commentary on the relationship between the government, it’s people, and ultimately the balance of power.

Albert Lin adventures to the ends of the earth, using advanced technology to strip back the layers of time and reveal ancient lost cities.

An on-screen countdown clock leads to a predestined moment where a character must make a decision, which reveals insight into the core of who they are as an individual.

This naturally upbeat, open-hearted competition series revels in the remarkable creativity of Canada’s top potters, featuring clever challenges, beautiful creations and personal stories between layers of humour and discovery.