Videoteca

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The Face of Anonymous 2021 star_border 7
"The Face of Anonymous" by Gary Lang, which profiles Christopher Doyon, a.k.a. Commander X, who has hidden from the FBI in Toronto and Mexico.

Rescuing Rex 2020 star_border 5
Directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Leora Eisen, TVO Original Rescuing Rex unearths provocative truths about a world-wide phenomenon—international dog adoptions. A new social movement driven by a desire to do good, and fueled by irresistible puppy pics on Instagram, many millennials are bypassing breeders in favour of adopting homeless dogs from around the world. But what does this new trend mean for the animals, their caregivers and society? Told through the eyes of compelling human and canine characters, this film takes us from the mountains of Taiwan to the tarmac at Toronto’s airport, and from a rural kennel in Texas to an urban rooftop in Vancouver.

The Forbidden Reel 2020 star_border 8
According to the official history of Afghanistan, ruthless destruction has always prevailed over art and creation; but there is another tale to be told, the forgotten account of a diverse and progressive country, seen through the lens of innovative filmmakers, a story that survives thanks to a few brave Afghans, a small but very passionate group that secretly fought to save a huge film archive that was constantly menaced by war and religious fanaticism.

Coppers 2019
A look at the careers of retired police officers, as described in their own words.

Inside Kenk 2019
Igor Kenk was known as the world's most prolific bicycle thief. His shop in Toronto notoriously sold stolen bikes back to their original owners. In 2008 he was arrested and jailed, after which he sold his shop and disappeared. Ten years later in Switzerland, Igor reflects on his past and his new life.

River Silence 2019
Follows four women of the estimated 40,000 displaced people moved from the banks of the Xingu River in the Amazon Basin to make space for construction of one of the world's largest dams, the Belo Monte.

The Superfood Chain 2018 star_border 7
Every year, the western world is introduced to a new 'superfood' that boasts extraordinary nutritional features, and year after year we buy them. The Superfood Chain is a feature documentary that explores the facts and myths behind superfoods, and reveals the ripple effect of the 'Superfood' industry on farming and fishing families around the world.

The Invisible Heart 2018
An unorthodox marriage between capitalism and charity, 'The Invisible Heart' tracks a social innovation that promises to solve society's most intractable problems. Social impact bonds are making strange bedfellows — social workers and Wall Street bankers, the homeless and venture capitalists, conservative and liberal politicians. From the halls of power to society's struggling underclass, this film follows an unusual cast of characters as they confront the ethical questions at the heart of an international revolution using profit motivation to rectify social inequality.

Stronger Than a Bullet 2017 star_border 8
Iran, January 16th, 1979. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees after being overthrown. Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran and proclaims the Islamic Republic on April 1st, 1979. In the same year, Saddam Hussein seizes power in Iraq and, after several border skirmishes, attacks Iran on September 22nd, 1980, initiating a cruel war that will last eight years. Since its outbreak, correspondent Saeid Sadeghi documented it from its beginning to its bitter end.

Risk Factor 2017 star_border 9
Risk Factor begins with filmmaker Robert Lang expressing confusion about his personal risks and the societal risks that seem to threaten us all. Which risk factors are truly dangerous? And which ones don’t matter? To gain insight, he decides to go on a journey to meet the world’s top risk experts.

A Better Man 2017 star_border 8.4
Following a series of intimate conversations between a former couple who lived through two years of domestic abuse, A Better Man infuses new energy and possibility into the movement to end violence against women.

My Millennial Life 2016
My Millennial Life is an intimate and entertaining observational documentary, featuring five dynamic 20-somethings. Set against the backdrop of underemployment, high unemployment, and uncertainty, the film presents the subjects' longings, challenges and dreams to make a mark in the world.

Mom and Me 2015
Mom and Me is a personal and intimate documentary about a young filmmaker coming of age in extraordinary circumstances. It follows the complicated relationship between director Lena Macdonald and her mother, who was once a filmmaker herself, but ended up homeless, crack-addicted and on the streets. For ten years Lena filmed in the cold, hard streets of Toronto’s inner city and her story is raw, honest and unforgettable. Mom and Me is about addiction, prostitution and despair but it is also a story about family, the power of hope and the tenacity of love.

Sugar Coated 2015 star_border 7.3
The investigation and exposure of the US sugar industry’s systematic hijacking of scientific study to bury evidence that sugar is—in fact—toxic.

Toto and his Sisters 2014 star_border 7.3
Totonel (10) and his sisters, Andreea (14) and Ana (17), are waiting for their mother to come back home from prison. As they grow up, each of them learns how to survive on their own, hoping that when their mother returns, the family will be reunited.

The World Before Her 2012 star_border 6.9
Moving between two extremes - the intimate verite drama of the Miss India pageant's rigorous beauty "bootcamp" and the intense regime of a militant Hindu fundamentalist camp for young girls. The World Before Her delivers a provocative portrait of India and its current cultural conflicts during a key transitional era in the country's modern history.

The Rise and Fall of the Grumpy Burger 2008
The Rise and Fall of the Grumpy Burger follows filmmaker Marshall Sfalcin as he attempts to create a movie about his family's former fast-food empire. By day, he works as a construction worker in Windsor, Ontario, and by night, he makes films. His latest project involves chronicling the rise and fall of the Hi Ho Restaurants, founded by his grandfather Amie Fortin. Marshall's uncles, initially supportive, begin to resist as he delves into the darker aspects of their family history. With his project unravelling, Marshall finds solace in visits with his grandmother. Filmmaker Matt Gallagher documents this journey, blurring the line between truth and fiction.

Heaven Or Not 2007 star_border 10
Filmed in the quaint prairie town of Herbert, Saskatchewan, Heaven or Not by filmmakers Zuzana Hudackova and Danijel Margetic is an intimate portrayal of one man's tireless journey to give his life greater meaning. John Gerbrandt, a WWII veteran, has been singlehandedly building a 7,000-square-foot house over the past three decades with nothing more than his pension and salvaged materials. With no formal training, he is fuelled by a powerful determination to prove his worth to his God, his family, and his community. John's story transcends day-to-day life in a small town and reaches the realm of deep spirituality marked by an unwavering commitment. Now at the age of 84, suffering from health problems and the financial burden of property taxes, John might not be able to finish his lifelong endeavor.

Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn 2007 star_border 9
The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba

Kike Like Me 2007
Documentary in which filmmaker Jamie Kastner goes on a personal journey to find out what it means to be Jewish in the modern world. Along the way he meets anti-semitic politician Pat Buchanan, Israeli novelist AB Yehoshua, British anti-Israeli curmudgeon Richard Ingrams and Hasids in Brooklyn; he causes a near-riot in a Parisian suburb simply by asking what people think about Jews; and he meets the 'dominatrix' behind Berlin's largest memorial to dead Jews. (Storyville)

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Unrigged 2024
Author and community organiser Dave Meslin guides us through our political landscape to explore its most pervasive barriers and blindspots. Along the way he sheds some light on a collection of simple, creative and tested solutions to help remedy our broken democracy.

Truth & Lies 2023 star_border 2
Since the dawn of civilization, people in power have played with the truth, danced with deception, and altered reality to suit their interests. Truth & Lies is a provocative series that explores the most dramatic present-day and historical examples of facts being bent, twisted and reshaped as a means of achieving influence and control.

Great Lakes Untamed 2022 star_border 10
The Great Lakes, home to a fifth of the world's fresh water and the backbone of a vast ecosystem, are explored from every angle on this documentary series.

The Life-Sized City 2017

Martha Speaks 2008 star_border 7.4
Martha, a beloved family dog, is accidentally fed alphabet soup — this gives her the power of speech and the chance to speak her mind to anyone that will listen.

Korea: The Unfinished War 2003
It was the first war the UN would fight in, the opening salvos of the Cold War. A war that would redefine global politics & shape a Region. This is the Story of the Korean War. Through gripping reenactments & the words of those who fought & lived through it, this four part series will take you through the horrors of the war.

No Price Too High 1995 star_border 10
The Canadian contribution to World War Two was extraordinary in scale and variety. More than one million people, out of nation of just eleven million, volunteered to serve. To transform a small, virtually unequipped military into a powerful army, navy and air force was a remarkable achievement. No Price Too High traces Canada's involvement from the prewar years through 1945, explaining the events of the war in the context of the political and military realities of the time. There is none of the second guessing that has characterized so much recent analysis of the war. No Price Too High draws on original sources - personal letters and diary entries, and powerful photographs - to evoke the mood of those momentous years. The thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, and heartbreaks of the generation of Canadians who faced the war are captured. Produced by Norflicks, No Price Too High chronicles Canada's role in the major events of the war, including The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day.

The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon 1993 star_border 10
The story follows Dudley, a dragon who recently woke up from centuries of hibernation and his new ten-year-old friends Matt and Sally. The two kids would guide Dudley around the modern world and the trio would learn about environmentalism, friendship and pro-social values.

Join In! 1989
Every program had a number of elements woven into the plot line that invited its audience to "Join In!"; in games, songs, puzzles, or stories. The cast also broke the fourth wall, talking to the camera, and thus the audience, as if they were right there on set. The songs broke away from the usual children's format, offering a wide variety of rhythm and styles. The cast also sang live on each show.

Read All About It! 1979 star_border 8
Read All About It! was a Canadian educational television series that was produced from 1979 to 1983 by TVOntario that aired during the early to mid-1980s; It also aired in repeats in the 1990s. It starred David Craig Collard as Chris, Lydia Zajc as Lynne, Stacey Arnold as Samantha, and Sean Hewitt as Duneedon, ruler of the galaxy Trialviron. In the second season Michael Dwyer joined the cast as Alex. The main goal of the show was to educate viewers in reading, writing and history. Each episode ran for approximately 15 minutes. Eric Robertson composed the music for the show.

Cucumber 1974
Children's Underground Club of United Moose and Beaver for Enthusiastic Reporters or Cucumber, was a TV show produced by TVOntario in the 1970s, and repeated in the 1980s during TVOntario's daytime kids' programming. The show featured a human-sized moose and beaver often reporting from a treehouse. By sending in a story or some artwork to the show, one could become a member of the Cucumber Club. Some notable people appeared on the show: ⁕A young John Candy guest starred as a character named Weatherman ⁕A young Martin Short guest starred as a character named Smokey the Hare ⁕An interview featured a nine-year-old Jeff Healey.

Polka Dot Door 1971
Polka Dot Door was a long-running Canadian children's television series produced by the Ontario Education Communications Authority from 1971–1993. PDD was created and developed by a team of employees from TVOntario hired and led by original series producer-director, Peggy Liptrott. Significant contributors to the creation and development of the series in 1971 included Executive Producer Dr. Vera Good who laid the conceptual foundation of the show, Educational Supervisor, Marnie Patrick Roberts, Educational Consultant L. Ted Coneybeare, Script Writers/Composers, Pat Patterson and Dodi Robb, Animator Dick Derhodge and Dr. Ada Scherman, a professor at the prestigious Institute of Child Study in Toronto who was consulted in the early stages of PDD's development and is responsible for giving the show its name.

The Ocean Room Release date not available