Robert Verrall

The life and work of the documentary pioneer.

An animated film showing a woolly mammoth and its offspring. These animals lived on the Canadian tundra over ten thousand years ago.

A documentary about the self-taught painter William Kurelek, told through his paintings. There are scenes of village life in the Ukraine and the early days of struggle on a prairie homestead and the growing comfort of family life. In Ontario, Kurelek paints the present life of Canada with the same pleasure he painted the old.

An early experiment in employing computers to animate film. The result is a dazzling vibration of geometric forms in vivid color, an effect achieved by varying the speed at which alternate colors change, so producing optical illusions. In between these screen pyrotechnics appears a simple line form gyrating in smooth rhythm. Sound effects are created by registering sound shapes directly on the soundtrack of the film.

A group of actors in the East Village of New York City have been rehearsing for a play when the lead actress in the play turns up dead.

An amusing diagnosis of big-city growing pains, Boomsville is an ironic view of town planning, or rather, the lack of it, and what has happened to our cities as a result. Done in cartoon animation, the film traces the growth of the typical city, from a tiny settlement in the vast North American wilderness to the car-clogged metropolis that so many cities are today. Film without words.

A chain-smoking woman has an encounter with a vampire.

This short animation transports us from the farthest conceivable point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence, an atom of a living human cell. The art of animation and animation camera achieve this exhilarating journey with a freshness and clarity. Without words.

This short animation transports us from the farthest conceivable point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence, an atom of a living human cell. The art of animation and animation camera achieve this exhilarating journey with a freshness and clarity. Without words.

A family of seven lives on a New England island with nobody else. One winter, they got stranded because the bay froze over. This didn't much matter to them, but someone on the mainland remembered them and launched an aerial rescue mission; an unfounded story that one boy had appendicitis results in a larger rescue mission, with the situation rapidly escalating into a major catastrophe all because of the rescue mission.

A baseball crazed 12 year old gets, and loses, a prized cap. A father struggles for dignity in his son's eyes. Based on Morley Callaghan's short story "A Cap for Steve."

This tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale by Croatian director Zlatko Grgic traces man's checkered history with fire, and shows how growing carelessness in the form of overloaded sockets, smoldering cigarettes and other fire hazards can have highly undesirable consequences.

The film offers a comical look at dangers of addiction and the difficulties of quitting through the story of a chain smoker.

A compilation of satirical anti-smoking clips.

A scientist develops an unusual pair of eyeglasses which allows the wearer's mind to see things objectively rather than the usual subjective manner.

In this Academy Award–nominated animated satire, Martian observers analyze life on Earth and reach a startling conclusion: automobiles appear to be the planet’s dominant species, while humans function merely as their parasites. Directed by Les Drew and Kaj Pindal, the film humorously critiques modern society’s dependence on the car.

An engaging illustration, by animation artist Rhoda Leyer, of the fable in which the warm sun proves to the cold wind that persuasion is better than force when it comes to making a man take off his coat.

This short documentary offers a panorama of ancient cities, palaces and temples whose splendor has awed mankind. The film moves from one tradition to another, illustrating how each reflects the sentiments and values of its time, from the massive temples of the pharaohs to the soaring skyscrapers of today.

An amusingly drawn cartoon about a highly proficient lady bricklayer, graduate of Specialists' School, whose work takes her high up in the world, and her erstwhile friend, whose equally dedicated professionalism brings him lower. She builds towers of bricks while he tunnels down below ground. What develops in the story involves other unlikely characters, plausible enough in this cartoon context.

Just north of the City of Edmonton lies Poundmaker’s Lodge, an addiction and mental-health facility specializing in treatment for Indigenous people. Founded in 1973 and still operational today, the Lodge’s programs and services are Indigenous-run and based in culturally appropriate recovery and healing techniques. Framing the short documentary with the words of the great Plains Cree Chief Pîhtokahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker), Alanis Obomsawin presents a frank examination of the root causes of substance abuse in Indigenous communities and how the absence of love and support – exacerbated by the impacts of colonialism and racism – created a legacy of alcoholism for some individuals. Through searing and emotional testimonies of people in the Lodge, this work presents portraits of courage and perseverance, and hope for future generations.

A BAFTA award winning documentary demonstrating what energy is, revealing the relationship between the various forms of energy and matter.

There are three boxes in the same sphere. In one box, a human figure is having trouble fitting in. Sometimes he tries to conform, sometimes he tries to escape, and sometimes he just tries to do what he wants despite the box. In the next box, another figure is always trying to force the person in box one into whatever form that box is taking. And the last box is a television, which is cheering the other two on.

This short documentary is a moving tribute to Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. Taken from his home at the age of 4 due to family problems, he spent the rest of his 17 short years moving in and out of 28 foster homes, group homes and shelters in Alberta. A sensitive, articulate young man, Richard Cardinal left behind a diary upon which this film is based.

A collection of one-minute cartoons produced by the National Film Board of Canada animators for government sponsors. Showcasing a playful selection of animation techniques, the clips include reminders about t4levision programs, traffic safety rules, and admonition from the Department of Labour.

An animated film showing the sowing, reaping, and milling of wheat, the baking of bread and service to the lord of the manor in medieval Britain.