LOOSE CHANGE 2nd EDITION
Dylan Avery, Director

Ever wonder what really happened on 9/11/2001? Why did they pull the dogs trained to find explosives days before the attack? Why was a truck found in the rubble with the last of the gold bullion stored in the Trade Centre, and where is the missing gold? How did a 757 fit through an 18 foot wide hole in the Pentagon? Why were no traces of Flight 93 discovered on the ground?

These are just a few of the questions asked in this disturbing movie. "Loose Change 2nd Edition" is the follow-up to the most provocative 9-11 documentary on the market today. This film shows direct connection between the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the United States government. Evidence is derived from news footage, scientific fact, and most important, Americans who suffered through that tragic day. BEFORE YOU DISMISS THE UNTHINKABLE, WATCH THIS FILM!

View the Movie

BORDERLINE MEDICINE, Robert Weisberg, Director
with Walter Cronkite

40 million Americans are not covered by any health insurance. The reason wait times are shorter in the US is the fact that there are less people able to afford to even stand in line! The film compares prenatal care in both Canada and America, treatment of heart disease and cancer treatment and the health and economic consequences to the patients. Ever wonder if you could afford to have kids? Try living in the US and having to pay thousands just to go into the hospital to have one! Think private insurance will solve your problems? A woman undergoing treatment loses her coverage as the insurance company cancels their benfits to an entire factory, just to avoid their obligations to her under her policy! This is stuff even the "defenders" of universal health care don't talk about! Why?

KANEHSATAKE: 270 YEARS OF RESISTANCE
Alanis Obomsawin, Director/Writer 1993

A municipality decides to turn Mohawk forest land into a condo development and expand a golf course against the recommendation of the Provincial Minister, and without even an environmental study being done. The Mohawks set up a barricade in protest, and the situation careens out of control as the police invade the reservation, and escalates into a 78 day standoff. Alanis stayed behind the barricades to document this historical confrontation and a milestone for Native people across Canada. Angry mobs of whites attack a convoy of elders and children leaving the reserve. Tensions rise, and nerves fray. Racial war is only a shot away. This is one of the most compelling films ever made in Canada, and the tension is palpably transfered by celluloid from Oka to the theatre.

THE TRUTH MERCHANTS
Kevin McMahon, Director NFB 1998

Ever wonder where Dr. Evil in Austin Powers got the "quote fingers" from? "The Truth Merchants" takes you behind the scenes with the "Spin Doctors", the nebulous back room boys (and girls) who use the psychological studies of consumer habits for political advantage. This film examines the relationship between public relations and journalism. In today's day and age, there is no solid line that separates the advertising executive and the newspaper editor. Their jobs are increasingly similar. Watch as an executive is coached by a media consultant, NASA runs damage control after a space experiment inadvertantly results in the deaths of lab animals on the space shuttle, and a PR agent for Starbucks receives an industry award for battling a small corner cafe. How much of what we watch and read and hear is manufactured (or refined)? "The Truth Merchants" will set you to wondering!

IMMUNIZED
Shelly Anthis, Director 2006

Shelly's great grandfather recounts the start of his tour to South Korea. He and his companions are given 14 needles in one sitting to innoculate them against the diseases of tropical Asia, and they are almost to a man, incapacitated for days.

View the movie!

MEDIUM COOL
Haskell Wexler, Director, Writer, USA 1969

In this brilliantly edited film, a TV news camera find himself becoming personally involved in the violence which erupts around the 1968 Democratic Convention. This film has an incredible resonance and parallel in this week's Operation Charging Bison, as Wexler's characters interact in the real life war games of the National Guard as they prepare for the Democratic Convention. and then uses the actual police charges and crackdown on peace demonstrators at the orders of Chicago's mayor as a backdrop for his story. Here's what Lee Eisenberg from Portland, Oregon, USA says about this film: "It is hard to believe that Haskell Wexler was able to shoot a movie amid the turmoil surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention, but he did it...The scenes of the protests almost eclipse the main plot. Chicago's mayor calls in the National Guard to attack the demonstrators, while in the convention, people seem unaware of what is going on outside. As the protesters remind everyone: "The whole world is watching."

Buy the Movie

BUSHWACT
Mike Maryniuk, Director 2003

Bush Wact is an irreverant and clever collage featuring experimental scratch animation at the expense of George W. Bush, and his Crusade in the Gulf. The grimness of the material, and the hand processing is set in an ironic counterpoint to an original blue grass song, "Iraq Around The Clock." This great little film has been screened from Gimli to Seoul, Hamburg to Boston and the Lower West Side to Morbegno.

WHY WE FIGHT
Eugene Jarecki, USA, 2005

This film brilliantly traces the growth of influence of the Military-industrial complex from World War II to Iraq. It show the anti-democratic structure built into the inholy alliance of the US administration, the pentagon and military contractors, and the Congress, and the effect upon US society. Systematic corruption is legitimized and secrecy is established not for national security, but to mislead the American Public. It raises a number of questions: What are the forces that shape and propel American militarism? This award-winning film provides an inside look at the anatomy of the American war machine. Is American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? No matter how we try to maintain a separate and distinct identity from American culture, we in Canada have more reason to worry about American foreign policy than Americans, for not only are we considered foreigners, but worldwide we are increasingly tarred by the same brush as our American cousins, and increasingly drawn into support roles for American military policy. Why is the media focusing more and more on the importance of military affairs in designing domestic policy?

View The Trailer

09/11/01: 9/11 Revisited
Dustin Mugford, Director

Ever wonder what really happened on 9/11/2001? Why do so many eye witnesses report hearing explosions prior to the collapse of the Two Towers? Why did Building 7 collapse perfectly in on its own footprint even though it was not hit on 9/11?. Why was forensic evidence removed immediately following the attack, by a demolition company owned by the brother of Pressident Bush, and shipped overseas to be recycled? Watch the collapse with new eyes! BEFORE YOU DISMISS THE UNTHINKABLE, WATCH THIS FILM!

View the Movie

A FEW NOTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL
Collin Ward McDonald, 2006

Ever Wonder why our money keeps changing design? What does that have to do with Canada's secret weapon? And what are the links between The Colour of Money, the Planet Zarvot, and liposuction? You'll have to watch this video to find out!

SEEDS OF CHANGE
Stéphane McLachlan, Ian Mauro, Jim Sanders, 2002

This film was begun as a research project by the film makers at the University of Manitoba. "Seeds of Change" examines the controversy surrounding the use of genetically modified (GM) crops across the Canadian prairies. A publicly funded project, and part of a larger, comprehensive research program examining the risks associated with biotechnology in agriculture, at some point became seen as a threat by both Monsanto and the University of Manitoba. The public release of "Seeds of Change" was delayed until November 2005 because of the efforts of the U of M administration to hide the film from a popular audience. The reason? The video is explicitly critical of crop genetic modification technology as a whole, and of biotech giant Monsanto. Moreover, it features the experiences and knowledge of farmers who have little influence and privilege compared to those of multinational corporations. This film points directly to the problems engendered when educational institutions become dependent upon private funding. To quote Prime Minister Kim Campbell: "What are you people afraid of?"

View The Movie

If Day: The Nazi Invasion of Winnipeg
Aaron Floresco, Writer/Director, 2006

Scare tactics sell War Bonds! Imagine that Winnipeg is invaded by Nazi soldiers, and that the city and its surrounding municipalities are conquered in the name of the Führer. It happened in February of 1942 on "If Day", an event that was as bizarre as it was financially successful for the Canadian government.

Explore High Resolution Picture

DESPOTISM
Encyclopedia Brittanica, 1946

This documentary made by Encyclopedia Britannica in 1946 in collaboration with Professor Harold D. Laswell of Yale University just after the end of the Second World War is an interesting primer on the measurement of social values in a society in order to determine the danger of that society moving towards despotism. It's brief descriptions from 60 years ago are a grim reminder that today's western world is on the brink of slipping into totalitarian rule. It is uncanny how this short film still has relevance today.

View The Film

VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT
Magnus Isaacson, Paul LaPointe 2002

As the 34 leaders of the 35 countries (Cuba, as usual, has been barred by the USA) meet in the air conditioned luxury suites of Quebec City, a barricade reminiscent of the perimeter of the privileged from Romero's Dawn of The Dead shuts Quebecers out of their capital city. A delicate balance between the police and army teams and those there to demonstrate peacefully, slowly unwinds as the delegates to the Summit of The Americas pretend to be unconcerned by the mayhem that is erupting on the streets of Quebece City. Filmed a la cinema verite by some of Quebecs leading documentary filmmakers, the confrontations mount. We have met the zombies, and they are us.

Watch the Dawn of The Dead trailer before you see this film

THE SECRET LEADERS OF THE WORLD
Director, Jon Ronson, UK, 2004
DAVID ICKE: The Lizard People Episode

Davide Icke, self proclaimed and ex-messiah, has written a book declaring that the world is ruled by a secret world cabal and names almost every important leader in the world as a member. The conspiracy theorists adopt him as a poster child despite the fact that he claims that these rulers, are in fact, bloodsucking lizards from another dimension. Both white supremecists and the B'nai Brith insist that blood-sucking lizards is a "code word" for Jews. When he arrives in Vancouver, B.C., a small citizen's group movesto suppress his access to the media, and advocates the burning of his books. An exceptional insight into issues of freedom of speech, the twisted logic of "code words", and even more exceptional due to it's Canadian connection. It can't happen here? Think twice, my friends! It already has!

View The Movie

MANUFACTURING CONSENT
A Propaganda Model of The Media
Marck Achbar,Peter Wintonick, Director/Producers, 11994

What motivates the Media? Why do we usually hear only one side of an event? North America is a fortress divided from the rest of the world by the watchtowers of the Mass Media. Why are we fed a series of localized and sensational stories about crime, while atrocities of unimaginable proportions abound in the rest of the world. Why do we see a news report of a car accident "that sent two women to hospital", when thousands of people are dying in the Sudan? What makes a news story? Who decides what we watch?

MANUFACTURING CONSENT
Exploring the Alternative Media
Marck Achbar,Peter Wintonivk, Director/Producers, 11994

How can news that is outside the interests of corporate North America reach those to whom it is most relevant? This segment of Manufacturing Consent centres on "Alternative Media" such as print and television, and was created before the advent of the Internet. But the spirit that drives the alternate magazines and papers and Public Access Radio and Televison is the same that drives "alternate information" web sites. How can the smaller citizen based media outlets make themselves heard through the business propaganda promulgated by the "Mainstream Media"?

ACTION: The October Crisis of 1970
Robin Spry, Director, 1973

Bombings on the streets, police stations, and kidnapping of foreign diplomats. Troops patrolling the streets and the suspension of civil rights. Wholesale round ups of terrorists. Sounds like Iraq? Think again! In October 1970, the kidnapping of Pierre LaPorte and the British Trade Commissioner James Cross resulted in the only peace time use of The War Measures Act. This film is a grim reminder that we are not always the "nice" and "reasonable" Canadians we like to think we are. This is a reminder that the fractious fighting in Iraq is not limited to foreign coutries. I can and has happened here as well. Probably one of the most relevant dialogues to our position today is the dialogue between Pierre Elliott Trudeau and CBC reporter Tim Ralfe on the steps of the Parliament building. When questioned by CBC reporter Tim Ralfe on how far he would go in the suspension of civil liberties to maintain order, Trudeau replied "Well, just watch me." This film describes the causes and the lead up to the October crisis and is a must see for any Canadian.

Chronology of Crisis

SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL
The Journey of Romeo Dallaire
Peter Raymont, Director, 2004

When is the right time to send troops to a country? And what criteria should be used? Who decides a noble cause? Romeo Dallaire sat with a dwindling force of 450 UN peacekeepers in Kigali, unable to stop the genocide around him. In the space of 100 days, alomst a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered as the entire world, not only turned its back on the Rwandan genocide but refused all support to Dallaire and his mission. Diplomats fight desperately to prevent African slaughter to be labelled Genocide. Why? Becuase once the label is used, they have signed treaties that require them to intervene. Western powers sent rescue operations to save a handful of white Europeans while thousands of Black African were massacred. Where were we? At home, watching the OJ Trial!

THE SECRET LEADERS OF THE WORLD
Director, Jon Ronson, UK, 2004
Timothy McVeigh and The Oklahoma Bombing

What connection does a strip club in Tulsa and a fundamentalist community called Elohim City in California have to do with Timothy McVeigh? Follow the thought processes and actions of the Oklahoma Bomber and the aftermath of the home grown terrorism that has been spawned by opponents of "The New World Order". This film demonstrates the significance of the martyrdom of David Koresh in the oppposition to government within the United States. Was Timothy McVeigh at the seige of Waco? This incident is significant as the police and security agencies were delayed in their investigation by eye witness accounts sent them originally in search of "Arabs".

HOME SECURITY
John Weldon, Director, 2004

Do you feel safe in your own home these days? What about better locks on your doors? Bars on the windows, perhaps. Maybe a guard dog. A gun. A cabinet of guns. It just seems a lot safer to stay at home! Or is it? Watch this animated short and see what happens when we succumb to the rule of Home Security.

MANUFACTURING CONSENT
Concision: No Time For New Ideas
Marck Achbar,Peter Wintonick, Director/Producers, 1994

Noam Chomsky confronts the tyranny of the soundbite. How the television affects the way we are allowed to think. Can't explain the reasons for a war in The Middle East in 30 seconds or less? WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. DEAD BABIES. Why conpiracy theorists can never make the mainstream televison news. It just takes too darn long to explain! Noam tries his best to get his messages across! Believe me, he really does!

FORGOTTEN WARRIORS: The Story of Canada's Aboriginal War Vetera
Loretta Todd, Directors

They volunteered to fight for their land, but, though white soldiers were given land well below its value to return to civilian life, many aboriginal verteans returned to find their own land had been taken from them in order to give land to the white soldiers thay had fought beside. Though these men fought for freedom, they came home to find their own communities dismantled and thousands of acres of land removed from aboriginal lands. And to make things worse, many lost their treaty rights from the fact that they had enlisted in the army. The added burden of not being to own their own land, thses brave men and women were not rewarded for their sacrifice but penalized for it!

BHOPAL: The Search For Justice
Peter Raymont, Lindalee Tracey, Directors, 2004

On December 2, 1984, an accident released a fatally toxic cloud of poisonous Methyl Isocynate gas from the union Carbide plant in Bhopal India. The gas killed thousands of helpless men, women and childre, and premanently maimed thousands more. Bhopal was the world's worst industrial disaster, and yet the survivors struggle with debilitation against a lanarynthine beaurocracy whose sole purpose seem to be to deny the severity of the disaster, and to limit the responsibility of both Union Carbide and the government that was supposed to be watching the DOW Chemical subsidiary.