The National Film Board of Canada has put its entire archive online … and it’s for free! Now that’s putting our tax dollars to work, in a good way for a change.
Remember this one?
Or this one?
And then there are all the fantastic documentaries, the live shorts, and the trailers. Pure heaven. I may never come up for air …
fabulous news…and an incredible resource for every fine arts, film, and literature program around the country, and indeed the world..I used many of the short films for creative writing, among other purposes, when I was still teaching.
I remember seeing so many of these NFB films on Irish television, way back when RTE was in its infancy, relying heavily on bought-in material and unable to afford too much British or American fare. That’s also how I learned to loathe Wayne & Schuster, but that’s another story …
well that was fun.
Not as much fun as actually experiencing blackfly! Unfortunately, thanks to global climate change, the little buggers are moving south. Fortunately, they only stick around here until the real summer heat arrives and then they move along to make room for the mozzies. Which I don’t mind so much, as mosquitos don’t like me, for some strange reason, while blackfly just live for a taste of me.
Maybe they don’t like the Brits .. blacked out over here!
Is it the site that is blacked out, or the two videos I have blogged? I did notice something on the NFB site about opening up the archives to Canadian taxpayers … or maybe it’s the British telecom people who have blocked transmission?
I got it just fine in rural Oxfordshire.
Again, I’m not sure whether you mean the site, or the videos I included. Enquiring minds need to know …
John Grierson was one of yours.
Not for very long. Apart from a stint in Canada, from 1938 to 1945, when he founded the precursor to the NFB, he spent most of his working life in either the US or Britain. In fact, the Canadian government fired him from the NFB on suspicion of communist sympathies. How times have changed in Canada—some would say they’d be a prerequisite for hire by either the CBC or the NFB nowadays … I did not know until today that Grierson coined the word “documentary.” I live and learn …
I love it. So does my husband. And I managed to install Adobe Flash player, or whatever it is, which astonished me.
Good for you. Glad you love it.
Good Lord, this is wonderful news; although I don’t get to see short films much anymore, there was a time when I lived for those from the NFB. Thanks so much for the heads-up, Tessa!
…Hmm. May be blocked by filters here at work. Will try again from home later.
i can’t even remember the last time i saw something from the NFB…usually to always watch them in school, and then when i was doing my own teaching degree, they were one of the resources we would go to for ‘movies’ to show…cool that they’re now all available…i need to go have a look see…
[...] [Thanks to BoingBoing and Nuts & Mutton for the news tidbit.] [...]