Canada Vignettes: December Lights (1979)
Animated film of a traditional Franco-Manitoban tale that resembles the story of the first Christmas.
Animated film of a traditional Franco-Manitoban tale that resembles the story of the first Christmas.
John BoylanNarrator
Nestor the donkey is a bit of an oddity--his long ears are enough for six donkeys and stretch all the way to the ground. One night, when Nestor is locked out in the cold, he begins to wander the desert.

When Nic’s daughter heads off to college, he expects a quiet Christmas. Instead, his wife leaves him, his friends rope him into chaos, and he finds himself facing life’s curveballs with a little grump and a lot of humor. Starring Glenn Morshower, Kevin Farley, and Gary Valentine, Grumpy Old Santa is a festive comedy about family, forgiveness, and moving forward.

A Ken Burns-style documentary exploring the first 100 years of our National Christmas Tree. On Christmas Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. We follow the tree through its first 100 years, where it served as a backdrop to many events in our nation's history. We meet the designers and learn their process of lighting our federal fir each year. Available to view here: https://odiesnoutproductions.vhx.tv/

After a brave rescue mission in stormy weather, a young rescue boat is headhunted to a larger harbor where he realizes that bigger is not always better.

In northern Canada, a young boy sets a goal for himself to to reunite an abandoned polar bear cub with its mother. Goran Visnjic joins the cast as Muktuk, a half Inuit and half Canadian, who knows the terrain where the polar bears live and who agrees to help the boy.

A young boy encounters a curious octopus while snorkeling on a seaside vacation. The persistent mollusk attaches itself to the boy’s head and becomes his constant companion.

At Santa Claus School, the principal has called a meeting. Lucia, her parents Julius and Claudia and everyone else at school are excited. But the tension is replaced by a shock when the headmaster cancels Christmas. He seems confused, and it soon becomes clear that he is trapped in a Christmas trauma from his younger days as Santa Claus. Lucia sets out to find out what has happened and with the help of the younger student Elias and a magical time machine, she travels back in time in the hope of saving Christmas.

Transferred to a new job, the Peoples family arrive on the planet Bolognia. Feeling very insecure about the move, they become even more intimidated by the sight of their hosts who are green, spotted and have antennae! Their new Bolognian neighbors, Charlick and Mavo Zox, find the look of the Earth family just as shocking. However, when little Benny Peoples gets "lost", he unwittingly brings the two families together and life on this new planet begins to look promising.

Izzy is an energetic 9-year-old. Overscheduled and running late, Izzy's parents can't pick her up on-time the last day of school before Christmas break. A blizzard complicates the matter, but not as much as a pair of bad guys who are freezing in an ice cream truck. The school's janitor is kidnapped by the intruders, and it's up to Izzy to save the day.

The action-packed feature film tells the dramatic tale of two siblings and their Alaskan Malamute, who must make an emergency landing when their small plane has engine problems. They find themselves in a beautiful but potentially dangerous natural environment that they must overcome together.

Amidst the pandemic, a woman embarks on a treacherous journey through the wilderness to reach her brother while grappling with her mental state.

Ali, a teenage Inuit hip hop fan, lives in Ivujivik, a small Arctic village where nothing interests him. All of his problems seem to materialize in his father's old snowmobile, constantly breaking down. His only way out ? The famous Rich E. Murdoch, Ali’s favorite rapper.
This documentary is the story of two Mennonite brothers from Manitoba who were forced to make a decision in 1939, as Canada joined World War II. In the face of 400 years of pacifist tradition, should they now go to war? Ted became a conscientious objector while his brother went into military service. Fifty years later, the town of Winkler dedicates its first war memorial and John begins to share his war experiences with Ted.

December 24, 1983, 10:50 p.m.; Julie and her cousins ate too much sugar, and Santa Claus is late. Denis, alone in his car, is anxious about setting foot in his former in-laws’ house to pick up his children.
Cree director Alexandra Lazarowich riffs off classic verité cinema to craft a contemporary portrait of Métis women net fishing in Northern Alberta.

What were Catherine and Louis thinking when they chose a cat with distinctive white spots? It would have been much easier to replace if they had picked the all-back one. Now, they will have to tell their daughter Sophie that Nugget's dead. Unless..

A group of archaeologists working in Northern Canada uncover a strange structure dating over ten thousand years before the present. The team soon finds themselves isolated when their communication systems fail and they begin to feel the effects of solitude.

Hubert, a brash 17-year-old, is confused and torn by a love-hate relationship with his mother that consumes him more and more each day. After distressing ordeals and tragic episodes, Hubert will find his mother on the banks of Saint Lawrence river, where he grew up, and where a murder will be committed: the murder of childhood.

Global panic ensues when it is revealed that a mysterious UFO is actually a giant turkey-like bird that flies at supersonic speed and has no regard for life or architecture.