This theatre is going to smell like maple syrup and socialism for months, and we’re here for it.
Wednesday April 15th 2026 is National Canadian Film day. To celebrate, Reel Canada and Historica Canada let us raid their archives for films under five minutes in length. We grabbed everything that would fit in the Vodville, 16 short films by Canadian filmmakers and we also curated a selection of 23 Heritage Minutes to bounce off of one another.
Don’t worry about trying to see them all in a day, we got permission to show these for a full week.
Our home and history are vast, complex and full both contradictions and harmonies. Humans getting it beautifully right, and horribly wrong. As artists, we feel that the culture of conversation about all these parts makes Canada interesting as a country, and a home.
We hope you enjoy, and don’t forget to check out one of the many free local feature film screenings on April 15th 2026.
NATIONAL CANADIAN FILM DAY
In partnership with Historica Canada, and Reel Canada.
- William Shatner Sings O Canada (5m, 2011) When William Shatner gets a Lifetime Achievement Award from Canada’s Governor General, he shows appreciation as only Shatner can. In this short film, the most famous space cadet in showbiz takes helm of our heritage and treats us to a memorable rendition of Canada’s national anthem. Directed by Jacob Medjuck.
- Heritage Minute – Jacques Cartier (1m, 1991) Lost in translation? The explorer’s first meeting with Iroquoian peoples provides one story of how Canada got its name (1534).
- Heritage Minute – Sitting Bull (1m, 1990) Confident that the North-West Mounted Police will respect him and his people, the great Sioux Chief chooses to remain in Western Canada rather than return to the United States (1877).
- Heritage Minute – Naskumituwin (Treaty) (1m, 2016) The making of Treaty 9 from the perspective of historical witness George Spence, an 18-year-old Cree hunter from Albany, James Bay.
- Heritage Minute – Joseph Tyrrell (1m, 1992) A Canadian geologist makes an astounding discovery of dinosaur bones in the Alberta badlands (1884).
- Birchbark (4m, 2008) Symbols of traditional knowledge come alive and find themselves inside the pages of a book. Directed by John Hupfield (Anishinaabe).
- Heritage Minute – Marshall McLuhan (1m, 1990) The world-renowned communications theorist fascinates students with his insights about mass media (1961).
- De Face Ou De Profil (Face or Profile) (5m, 2014) Told from 16-year-old Sharon’s point of view, this charming short uses her wit and humour to reflect on society’s use of online avatars. Directed by Sharon Fontaine (Innu)
- Heritage Minute – Emily Carr (1m, 1992) The British Columbia painter discovers the artistic muse that will drive her life’s work (1871–1945).
- Mobilize (3m, 2015) Mobilize repurposes footage from the NFB archives to explore the perpetual negotiation between the modern and the traditional by a people always moving forward. Directed by Caroline Monnet (Algonquin).
- Cycles (4m, 2016) Through playful choreography and piano harmonies, a man revisits abstract memories of a failed relationship. Directed by Joe Cobden.
- Heritage Minute – Bluenose (1m, 1995) A Nova Scotian schooner — the undefeated champion of the International Fisherman’s Trophy — is pitted against an American ship in the last and most dramatic sailing race of her career (1938).
- Heritage Minute – Elsie MacGill (1m, 2020) Elsie MacGill was the world’s first female aeronautical engineer and Canada’s first practicing woman engineer.
- Heritage Minute – Marion Orr (1m, 1997) The ferry command pilot delivers fighter planes to Britain during the Second World War, and plans her post-war career as Canada’s first female flight school operator (1943).
- Heritage Minute – Avro Arrow (1m, 1990) Canadian aerospace scientists design and test the world’s fastest and most advanced interceptor aircraft (1953).
- The Visit (3m, 2009) The charming “true” story of an encounter between extraterrestrials and a Cree family. Directed by Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe).
- Heritage Minute – Myrnam Hospital (1m, 1995) The struggle of one small Alberta community to care for its residents during the Great Depression marks a tiny step in the evolution of Canada’s universal health care system (1937).
- Heritage Minute – The Discovery of Insulin (1m, 2021) Scientists Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod at the University of Toronto as they race for a treatment to cure 13-year-old Leonard Thompson of his life-threatening diagnosis of diabetes.
- Heritage Minute – Peacemaker (1m, 1992) A girl learns about the Iroquois legend of the Tree of Great Peace and the origins of the Iroquois Confederacy.
- Namid (5m, 2021) Struggling with a tragic loss in her family, Namid finds new meaning in her Grandfather’s teachings and is inspired to reconnect with those who have passed through fancy shawl dancing. Directed by Victoria Anderson-Gardner (Ojibwe), Sagi Kahane-Rapport.
- Heritage Minute – Jim Egan (1m, 2018) Pioneering gay activist Jim Egan publicly challenged a culture of rampant homophobia in the press starting in the late 1940s, when it was dangerous to speak out.
- Heritage Minute – Basketball (1m, 1992) The sport’s inventor, James Naismith of Almonte, Ontario, explains the rules during one of the first experimental games (1891).
- Only Light Will Touch Us (3m, 2021) In the safety of his bedroom sanctuary, a divine light liberates a man’s inner joy, in this celebration of a Black man’s vulnerability and freedom. Directed by Alicia K. Harris.
- The Cinnamon Peeler (Available after 9pm, 3m, 2004) Michael Ondaatje reads his poem The Cinnamon Peeler accompanied by the choreographed movements of two dancers. Directed by Veronica Tennant.
- Heritage Minute – Paldi (1m, 2023) In 1927, Bishan Kaur left her home in Punjab, India to join her husband, the lumber entrepreneur Mayo Singh, in Canada. They helped shape the community of Paldi as a welcoming and inclusive home to people of all backgrounds.
- Women like Bishan immigrated to Canada during an era of uncertainty for Asian Canadians. In the face of anti-Asian sentiments and policies, the Mayo Lumber Company was established by Sikh lumbermen in 1917 and employed South Asian, Chinese, Japanese, and white Canadian workers. The workers and their families called Paldi home until the 1980s.
- Today, the historic site of the Paldi gurdwara remains a symbol of this inclusive, multicultural community.
- Heritage Minute – “Boat People” Refugees (1m, 2017) A family escapes persecution in Vietnam, traveling by boat to a Malaysian refugee camp before finding a new home in Montreal (1980).
- Tussle (2m, 2021) In this hauntingly beautiful hand-drawn animation, simple shapes form increasingly complex entities, all set to an immersive and powerful score by the filmmaker. Playful forms must merge together in an anxious wrestle for unified harmony, no matter how difficult. Directed by Christopher Grant (Mi’gmaw).
- Hip Hop Mom (4m, 2011) A comedic take on how moms can stay true to themselves while raising a family. Directed by Mina Shum.
- Lake (5m, 2019) Two Métis women demonstrate their process of ice fishing on a cold lake in northern Alberta. Directed by Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree).
- Heritage Minute – Kenojuak Ashevak (1m, 2016) A founding member of Cape Dorset’s famed printmaking co-op, Kenojuak Ashevak introduced Inuit art to the world (1927-2013).
- Tuktumit (Available after 9pm, 4m, 2014) This gorgeously-rendered animation explores the way traditional hunting in Nunavut has evolved so that it can continue to play a vital role in contemporary Inuit culture. Directed by Ippiksaut Friesen (Inuk).
- Heritage Minute – Richard Pierpoint (1m, 2012) At 68, a formerly enslaved Black Loyalist enlists men for the Coloured Corps, an instrumental company in the War of 1812.
- Heritage Minute – Tom Longboat (1m, 2022) This Heritage Minute follows the life of Onondaga long-distance runner Gagwe:gih, whose name means “Everything.” Known around the world as Tom Longboat, he was one of the most celebrated athletes of the early 20th century.
- Heritage Minute – Edwin A. Baker (1m, 2024) After losing his sight during the First World War, Edwin A. Baker co-founded the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. His determination and resilience carried forward to other blinded Canadians, empowering them to live independently.
- Heritage Minute – Terry Fox (1m, 2015) Terry Fox inspires the nation with his Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research (1980).
- Où est Maurice? (5m, 2006) A woman searches for her lost dog and instead finds a Parisan man eager to take its place. Directed by Matthew Rankin, Alek Rzeszowski.
- Heritage Minute – Sir Sandford Fleming (1m, 1990) An engineer who planned three railways plays a pivotal role in the creation of Standard Time (1885).
- Heritage Minute – Nitro (1m, 1990) A young Chinese worker volunteers to set a dangerous nitroglycerine charge at a CP construction site in British Columbia in the 1880s.
- The Guest (5m, 2015) A trapper finds a strange wounded animal in the forest. But his new little friend quickly proves insatiable. Directed by Nick Rodgers (Anishinaabe).
- Grandfather on the Prairies (3m, 2018) Jason meets his great-great-greatgrandfather and soon finds himself in a hilarious debate about what it means to be a hunter. Directed by Andrew Genaille (Sto:lo & Ojibway).