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A selection of films on Money and the Economy were available
for viewing at the National Film Board's CineRobotheque. All Montrealers
had to do was mention “Montreal Matters” or bring in a “Montreal
Matters” dollar for free entrance!
Situated in the cultural heart of Montreal, this high-tech centre
includes the CineRobotheque, a cinema and a videotheatre.
Equipped with 21 viewing units, the CineRobotheque enables users
to browse the NFB database and by the simple touch of a finger on
the touch screen, gain access to thousands of NFB films.
The event was an opportunity to experience the magic of the CineRobotheque
and view some of the NFB's awarding-winning films about money.
Money and the Economy Films
My Financial Career (1962) 6 min 30 sec
An animated cartoon film from Stephen Leacock's witty account of
a young man's first brush with banking. When he goes to make his
deposit he is so overawed by the institution that nothing he intends
to say comes out right.
Tilt (1972) 19 min 6 sec
An animated film exposition of what is wrong with our world and
how a little more sharing of wealth on the part of the "have"
countries might ease many of the world's economic ills. The world
is compared to the ball in a pin-ball machine, bouncing this way
or that according to how it is manipulated. The forms that they
may take are acted out by cartoon characters in a series of wryly
amusing sketches.
Prisoners of Debt: Inside the Global Banking Crisis (1983)
57 min 35 sec
This fast-paced documentary tells the inside story of how Bank of
Montreal chairman William Mulholland dealt with his bank's debt-laden
customers, Dome Petroleum and Mexico, during the summer of 1982,
the summer the global debt crisis took the world by surprise. Interwoven
with the Bank of Montreal's story are interviews with well-known
international bankers and financial experts who explain the causes
of the debt crisis, confirm the extreme fragility of the international
banking system, and outline the problems to be solved if the system
is to survive.
Megadream (1985) 55 min 10 sec
This documentary exploring some of the intricacies of British Columbia's
controversial northeast coal development project ultimately questions
whether a reliance on megaprojects is the way to finance a healthy
economy. The film examines Japan's role as a potential buyer of
the coal, the federal and provincial arguments about the cost of
transportation infrastructures, workers' competition for jobs, the
rivalry between the northeast project and the established coal operations
in southeast B.C., and the financial losses that were involved.
Reckoning : The Political Economy of Canada series (1986-1987):
1) The Rise and Fall of the American Business Culture 57
min 14 sec
On the evidence presented here, one enormous problem facing our
neighbor is a serious malaise in its manufacturing sector. No
longer competitive in the world market, forced to buy more than
it can sell, the United States nevertheless continues to bask
in the glow of past glories rather than face its current problems
head-on. It plans not; neither does it save. Leaning on economic
theories that, some say, may never have had much validity, the
United States borrows for its inflated needs while watching its
rust belt expand. Meanwhile, Japan and other Pacific Rim countries
are gaining economic ground that may never be reclaimed. Part
one of the series.
2) Shift Change 56 min 36 sec
The microchip, invented by an American, exploited by the Japanese,
is seen here to have caused a second industrial revolution. The
devastating effect on millions of human lives is shown in microcosm
through interviews with some of the newly jobless in Hamilton,
Ontario. Faces bitter, voices hopeless, they speak of a vibrant
secure past having suddenly given way to a bleak present and an
uncertain future; they fear for their children's prospects. Using
the example of Japan as contrast, host James Laxer demonstrates
that the cost of technological advances need not be so high if
their effects are foreseen and planned for. Part two of the series.
3) Riding the Tornado 57 min 22 sec
Boom and bust economic cycles are inevitable in countries that
are dependent primarily on resource exports. Countries like Canada.
And we've had our share: minerals, timber, wheat. Perhaps the
most spectacular boom and bust experienced in Canada was that
in Alberta oil during the seventies and early eighties. When the
bust hit, with a drop in world oil prices, those business people
who knew how to "ride a tornado" (as one Albertan described
the experience) simply cut their losses and moved out and on.
Many others were devastated, left with nowhere to go. But the
picture is not completely bleak. Faced with a possible oil boom
of its own, Newfoundland is taking the lessons of Alberta to heart.
Part three of the series.
4) In Bed With An Elephant 59 min 48 sec
Using archival film footage, this hour-long documentary provides
a gripping retrospective of United States-Canada relationships
as personified by successive presidents and prime ministers. It
becomes quite clear that our prime ministers, from John A. Macdonald
down, have started their tenures on a sort of first-things-first
basis by making overtures to their American counterparts. Attitudes
and outcomes have varied widely, and this is what intrigues when
seen in close-up. The almost comic antipathy between Kennedy and
Diefenbaker, for instance, is as palpable here as is the folksy
camaraderie of Reagan and Mulroney. Part four of the series.
5) At the Crossroads 58 min 23 sec
This last hour of a five-part series offers no answers to Canada's
economic troubles. But it does lay out, for the viewer's discretion,
a summary of the facts at hand and some possible alternatives
to marriage with the United States. Some of the facts are discomfiting.
For instance, at roughly thirty percent, we're already more foreign-owned
than any other country in the world. The good news in this film
is that a great, stubborn, national pride in our cultural and
social differences is alive and well. It may just give us the
confidence to look elsewhere besides the United States for economic
alliances and models. Part five of the series.
The Brokers (1987) 29 min 10 sec
This film demystifies the complex but fascinating world of the investment
business. We are given a privileged view of one of Canada's largest
brokerage houses, McLeod, Young, Weir and Co. Ltd., and we also
hear from some people who understand the complexities of the Montréal,
Toronto and Vancouver stock exchanges. We are given a glimpse of
a business that forms the basis for capitalism in North America,
an instant barometer of the health of the economy.
Super-Companies (1987) 56 min 48 sec
The super-companies of this film are multi-national corporations
that treat the world as one market. They take raw materials from
one place, process them in another, and sell them everywhere. Shot
on four continents, Super-Companies provides a provocative
view of the way our world is being shaped by economic powers that
are often at odds with the needs of people.
Who’s Counting: Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics
(1995) 94 min 3 sec
With irony and intelligence Marilyn Waring demystifies the language
of economics by defining it as a value system in which all goods
and activities are related only to their monetary value and monetary
exchange with the result that unpaid work, usually done by women,
is unrecognized and activities that may be environmentally and socially
hazardous are regarded as productive. She maps out an alternative
economic vision based on the idea of time as the one thing we all
have to exchange. Shot in Canada, New Zealand, New York City, the
Persian Gulf and the Philippines this film is an entertaining primer
for anyone who suffers from what Waring calls "economics anxiety."
The Emperor’s New Clothes (1995) 53 min 5 sec
Filmed in Canada, the United States and Mexico over a three-year
period, this provocative documentary immerses itself in the stark
reality of life before, during and after the signing of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It takes an incisive look
at the profound effects that economic agreements between big business
and government can have on human lives, including increased cuts
to social programs, massive unemployment, environmental damage,
and demoralization.
After examining the situation in Canada, the film follows a delegation
of workers to Mexico to see where some of their jobs have gone.
They find the lawns in front of industrial plants greened by sprinklers,
while some Mexican workers live in cardboard shacks without running
water. It's a revealing and emotional experience for the Canadians,
and for the viewers of this thought-provoking film.
The Emperor's New Clothes poses a powerful, sobering question: In
this global war of cut-rate economies, are people on the losing
side?
Economix series (1996)
From John Wayne to Elvira Kurt, from stills to computer animation,
from waltz to rap--Economix offers an entertaining approach
to economics. The eight programs in this four-volume series cover
most major concepts in the senior secondary economics curriculum.
The concepts are structured in order to tell a story in 3- or 4-minute
clips, separated by animated questions. Each volume is approximately
a half hour in length.
Volume 1: Needs and Wants - The Market: Our choices must
take into account the limited resources of our planet in exchanging
of goods and services (32 min. 56 sec.).
Volume 2: Production - Consumption: Competitiveness and
cost-effectiveness are achieved by improving performance. Consumption
choices should consider financial capacity (31 min. 23 sec.).
Volume 3: The Banking System - The Role of Government:
Financial institutions play a key role in economic development.
Government economic policies regulate the public debt and effect
society (36 min. 29 sec.).
Volume 4: International Trade - Tomorrow's Challenges:
Free trade permits better sharing of resources and promotes a
balance in international trade through global economies (35 min.
5 sec.).
Turbulences (1998) 52 min
Pourquoi les riches deviennent-ils de plus en plus riches et les
pauvres de plus en plus pauvres? Pour comprendre les mécanismes
économiques qui conduisent à cette situation explosive, la réalisatrice
a fait le tour de la planète. Elle a rencontré au Canada des ouvriers
ayant perdu leur emploi à cause de la sous-traitance et des enseignants
en lutte contre les coupures dans l'éducation : elle a rencontré
aussi des marchandes de poisson qui subissent les contrecoups des
politiques d'ajustement structurel au Sénégal, des ouvrières qui
dénoncent leurs conditions de travail à Bangkok, des endettés qui
s'unissent contre les banques à Mexico, des familles sans logis
qui squattent des logements à Paris... Elle a interrogé aussi des
banquiers, des gestionnaires de fonds, des spéculateurs. Son film
Turbulences est une critique percutante du primat de l'économique
sur le social et le politique et une mise en garde contre le pouvoir
sans précédent des marchés financiers
Les oubliés du XXIe siècle ou La Fin du travail (2000) 52
min
Le XXe siècle a vu l'accumulation de richesses colossales, en partie
redistribuées sous forme de salaires rétribuant un travail de masse.
Source d'innombrables conflits, ce modèle a néanmoins favorisé une
amélioration globale de nos conditions de vie. Mais le temps des
chefs d'industrie pourvoyeurs d'emplois est révolu. Pour les financiers
devenus maîtres de l'économie mondiale, la rationalisation de la
production semble passer par la substitution des ressources technologiques
aux ressources humaines. Sommes-nous entrés dans le siècle de l'«horreur
économique»? Voici un film qui soulève des questions cruciales et
propose des pistes pour repenser l'avenir. Une enquête qui nous
mène au Mexique, en France, et au Canada et qui témoigne de la dégradation
globale des conditions de vie et de travail des salariés. Un document
qui donne la parole à ces oubliés lucides et combatifs d'un siècle
fort mal engagé.
Vue Du Sommet (2001) 75 min 15 sec
Sommet des Amériques, 20 avril 2001. Québec a des allures de ville
assiégée. Alors que, dans le périmètre de sécurité, les invités
des milieux politique et financier discutent des accords de la Zone
de libre-échange des Amériques (ZLEA), des groupes de citoyens,
venus de partout sur le continent, manifestent leur opposition dans
les rues. La majorité d'entre eux entendent le faire dans le calme.
D'autres, non. La fin de semaine s'annonce chaude. Elle le sera.
Caméra à l'épaule, sept équipes de tournage ont suivi les événements
dans Québec à demi asphyxiée par les gaz.
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