Anerca: Elämän Hengitys

In this Oscar Winning documentary short film, students in their final year at the National Ballet School of Canada are seen learning the flamenco from Susana and Antonio Robledo, who come to the school every winter to conduct classes which are held after the day's regular schedule has ended.

The story begins the day before the graduation ceremony. Five middle school girls each are preoccupied with their real everyday lives. These girls meet each other in a fantasy world after being sent there through a sudden occurrence. There, they learn about the impending crisis that this world is facing. The way to avert this crisis is for the five to collaborate and bring their five hearts together as one through dance. However, the five cannot come to love the world, and cannot tell their true feelings to one another, so their hearts are unable to unite. The time limit is fast approaching. Can the dance of the five girls save the world? And will they be able to graduate?

This feature-length documentary by Alanis Obomsawin examines the plight of Native people who come to Montreal searching for jobs and a better life. Often arriving without money, friends or jobs, a number of them quickly become part of the homeless population. Both dislocated from their traditional values and alienated from the rest of the population, they are torn between staying and returning home.

Tchai is the word used by Ju/'hoansi to describe getting together to dance and sing; n/um can be translated as medicine, or supernatural potency. In the 1950's, when this film was shot, Ju/'hoansi gathered for "medicine dances" often, usually at night, and sometimes such dances lasted until dawn.

Facundo Arteaga is a malambo dancer, who has already passed the barrier of thirties. His life is divided between work in the countryside and the care of his children. In spite of physical strain and lack of time, Facundo will try to compete again to try to get the title of national champion of malambo. According to tradition, whoever wins the championship can never compete again.

Jeremy Clarkson tells the dramatic story of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War, from Russia to the freezing Arctic Ocean.

The "cueca" is Chile's national dance. Marveled by this form of dancing, the narrator reflects on the meaning of dance in our lives and how it has been portrayed in the history of cinema.

In the Arctic, the sun never sets in the summer while in the winter, this icy, northernmost area is enveloped in darkness. A place where aurora lights cascade from above and exotic creatures live in the bitter cold. However, the ice in the Arctic is melting away today. Tears in the Arctic sheds light on the dire problems that our planet is facing as the inhabitants, wildlife and environment in the Arctic are under siege. The plight of the Inuit is covered to show how the natural way of things may come to a screeching halt with catastrophic consequences for our planet. The changing situation for the wildlife and people who inhabit the Arctic are documented in detail. Are people taking notice of the warning signs of climate change that could lead to disastrous results?

Early Balkan footage.

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

In the Arctic, ice is both all around and constantly disappearing. “Utuqaq” explores climate change from the perspective of this beautiful and vital element, as four researchers embark on an expedition to drill ice cores in subzero temperatures.