As is customary on July 1, we will lose ourselves in the sea of red and white, surrounded by hot dogs and burgers, waiting impatiently for fireworks to decorate the night sky. Our beloved nation turns 159 years old on Wednesday and celebrate Canada Day, we must.
However, it is equally as important to celebrate the people who have made this country. Not just the Canadians that the history books will and already talk about, but the lesser known, understated stories whose contributions to the national fabric don’t receive similar fanfare. To remind readers of a few ordinary Canadians who may or may not be remembered as the wheel of time keeps spinning, we have complied a list of 10 documentaries that capture Canadian experiences in their own unique ways. In keeping up with this patriotic spirit, all these films are free and available to watch on the NFB website, a true centrepiece of Canadian cinema.
Gurdeep Singh Bains (1977)
The titular character is a Sikh teenager growing up in rural B.C. in the 1970s, running a farm with his parents. That’s the film. The mere fact that Gurdeep’s story was captured on film is an absolute wonder. Beyond the socio-political commentary underlying Gurdeep’s tale, there is beauty in the preservation of his memory and, through it, of a people and a community. It is evidence of the extensive history of Punjabis in Canada, a community that has played an immense role in shaping this country.
Gurdeep Singh Bains, Beverly Shaffer, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Birth of a Family (2017)
In the ’60s, provincial governments across Canada forcibly removed Indigenous children from their homes and families and put them up for adoption into primarily non-Indigenous households across the United States and Canada. Birth of a Family depicts four Indigenous siblings who were separated during the ‘Sixties Scoop’ coming together for the first time and attempting to rebuild their family after years of emotional suffering. At once, the film reckons with the exploitative history of this country’s settler-colonial identity while centring a tender (re)union of a family that was never allowed to become one.
Birth of a Family, Tasha Hubbard, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Balakrishna (2019)
A tale of admiration, friendship, wonder, and capitalism involving a Nova Scotian schoolboy and an Indian elephant, Balakrishna is a spectacular journey into the past through a truly fantastical encounter. The eponymous Balakrishna was an elephant who was transported to East River, Nova Scotia, by an Indian businessman to celebrate the launch of his plant. Based on the true story of 13-year-old paper boy Winton Cook, the film deftly blends animation, photographs, and home videos to bring to life the fondness the young man developed for the animal and the importance that their encounter held for him.
Balakrishna, Colin MacKenzie & Aparna Kapur, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
King’s Court (2025)
Set in the Bleecker Street neighbourhood of Toronto, the doc follows two friends, SK and Marley, as they play basketball and talk about coming-of-age in the city. Christian Bielz stunning cinematography and Serville ‘Serve’ Poblete’s astute direction allows this film to transcend beyond its 20-minute runtime, truly widening one’s perspective. By focusing on SK and Marley, the film relays the story behind two of the millions of faces that adorn the countless basketball courts across the length and breadth of the country.
King’s Court, Serville Poblete, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Everything Will Be (2014)
Julia Kwan documents a crucial moment in any city’s history, when the impending future of gentrification and capitalism threatens to erase the familiarity of the past altogether. Magnifying upon Vancouver’s Chinatown, one of the most important areas in the city, the film brings the conflict of the new and the old to life in a manner that forces you to contend with both sides. The pointed nature of the images spectacularly complements the conflicted narrative in this regard, as it treats Chinatown as an area inhabited by real people and real stories instead of a tourist attraction.
Everything Will Be, Julia Kwan, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Impressions of Expo 67 (1967)
Complete with soaring shots of the city, spellbinding architecture, dizzying monorail footage, and a culminating firework display, Impressions of Expo 67 is a slick documentary that captures the vivacity of Expo 67. Held in Montreal, it is widely considered to be the greatest World’s Fair of the 20th century, drawing over 50 million visitors. William Brind’s invitational film serves as a competent companion piece for anyone seeking to relive their memories of this grand festival or even looking to visualize the concept of a World’s Fair, which seems like a needless occurrence in today’s times.
Impressions of Expo 67, William Brind, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Tourist Go Home (1959)
A satire about the tourist industry in Canada, the film offers guidelines of what not to do if working in the tourism industry, narrated through fictional accounts. As informed by the NFB blog post on the film, “The film was made at the request of the Canadian Tourist Association to be used as a training film for people in the industry,” and co-director Stanley Jackson decided humour to be the best way to articulate this sentiment, which it definitely does. With the Men’s World Cup continuing to draw visitors to our country this summer, it might help to refresh upon our old school Canadian-ness through this doc.
Tourist Go Home, Stanley Jackson & Ronald Weyman, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
No Address (1988)
Coming from one of Canada’s greatest filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin, No Address centres the experiences of Montreal’s unhoused Indigenous populations in the ’80s. First Nations and Inuit people narrate their life stories and share the experiences that led to their circumstances, bringing to light the systemic ignorance of the Canadian government towards both – Indigenous populations and the unhoused. Homelessness continues to remain a major political talking point in the country’s metro-cities but Obomsawin’s documentary humanizes the individuals who are often reduced to mere numbers and statistics.
No Address, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
The Emperor’s New Clothes (1995)
Perhaps increasingly relevant for the times we live in, The Emperor’s New Clothes reveals the human cost behind rapid industrial economic development. Filmed over three years on either side of the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the doc explores the microeconomic impact that massive macroeconomic decisions can have on everyday lives. Learning of the magnitude of the NAFTA on the lives of common folk, there is a renewed perspective to watching the film now – six years after the NAFTA was replaced and a year on from the Trump-led tariff war that shook the North American economy.
The Emperor’s New Clothes, Magnus Isacsson, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Fire-Jo-Ball (2023)
The perfect encapsulation of ‘Main Character Energy’, Jo-Ann, a 57-year-old bartender who dreams of becoming a singer and an actress, sets the stage alight in this doc. Blending fact and fiction, the film is a great antithesis for the grim era of nonchalance that has dawned all over social media, that people have now begin to adopt in their lives as well. There is plenty that we could all learn from Jo-Ann and the film creatively relays her story, ensuring Jo-Ann actualizes her own dream and inspires us to do the same.
Fire-Jo-Ball, Audrey Nantel-Gagnon, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
