Looking for things to do during Spring Break? Search no more! NFB.ca has you covered, with even more films streaming free. Brimming with content for kids, the March lineup also offers compelling feature-length fare, including Higher Than Flames Will Go by Monique LeBlanc.

February 25, 2021 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada

Throughout the month of March, even more new content will be launching on NFB.ca. The selection of free-streaming films made at NFB studios across the country will include a specially expanded lineup of works for young audiences during their Spring Break, as well as must-see feature-length films: the moving Higher Than Flames Will Go by Monique LeBlanc, streaming exclusively all month long to mark the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie; Tasha Hubbard’s profoundly stirring nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, already streaming in English and French and soon to be available for the first time with subtitles in Plains Cree and bonus material; and the intriguing The Apollo of Gaza, directed by Nicolas Wadimoff, online at last after its successful run in Canada and Europe. This rich collection of new titles joins the more than 4,000 already available on NFB.ca, along with our collection of some one hundred interactive works, almost all of which are available for free online viewing. Unless otherwise indicated, films continue to stream free of charge at NFB.ca once launched there.

Starting March 1

Spring Break lineup

• Spring Break Channel: ca/channels/spring_breakWith new titles added each year, this hugely popular channel now features close to 60 films specially selected for their appeal to young audiences, with a focus on documentary and animated shorts that are equal parts funny, entertaining and educational. Recent favourites include Old Dog by Ann Marie Fleming, Mamie by Janice Nadeau, Balakrishna by Colin MacKenzie and Aparna Kapur, and The Tournament by Sam Vint.
• Youth Series ChannelsNFB.ca will also feature two ever-popular animated series that are both amusing and thought-provoking: The Great List of Everything by Cathon, Iris Boudreau and Francis Papillon, a comical compendium of everyday objects, and Science Please!, with its playful explanations of scientific discoveries and phenomena.
• In addition to the wealth of kids’ programming on NFB.ca, two animated shorts produced at the NFB are on the program of this year’s Montreal International Children’s Film Festival (FIFEM), taking place online across Canada from February 27 to March 7: 4 North A by Jordan Canning and Howie Shia and The Great Malaise by Catherine Lepage.

From March 1 to 31 only – an online exclusive for the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie

Higher Than Flames Will Go by Monique LeBlanc (2020, Canadian Francophonie Studio in Moncton)
Feature-length essay film (104 min)
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/higher-than-flames-will-go

Filmed in Auschwitz as well as locations in Canada, the U.S., Nicaragua and Ukraine, Higher Than Flames Will Go is a true cinematic tour de force. The filmmaker brings to the screen Louise Dupré’s 2011 Governor General’s Award-winning book of poetry of the same name. A moving meditation on the vital importance of taking care of our children—a task that remains essential to humanity’s salvation. After its world premiere at the 2020 International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA), the film screened at the Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie (FICFA), among others.

Starting March 8 – Plains Cree subtitled version

nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up by Tasha Hubbard (2019, Downstream Documentary Productions/NFB’s North West Studio, in association with CBC Docs and APTN)
Feature-length documentary (98 min)
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/we-will-stand-up

On August 9, 2016, a young Cree man named Colten Boushie died from a gunshot to the back of his head after entering Gerald Stanley’s rural property with his friends. The jury’s subsequent acquittal of Stanley captured international attention, raising questions about racism embedded within Canada’s legal system and propelling Colten’s family to national and international stages in their pursuit of justice. The film has had a significant impact in theatres and at festivals, garnering multiple awards, including Best Canadian Feature Documentary at Hot Docs and Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards.

Starting March 18

Snow Warrior by Frederick Kroetsch and Kurt Spenrath (2018, Open Sky Pictures Inc./NFB’s North West Studio)
Short documentary (8 min 30 s)
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/snow-warrior

In the midst of an Edmonton deep-freeze, Mariah heads out. Every day, before dawn, while everyone else is sound asleep, she gets ready for her daily deliveries. Mariah is a bike courier, one of a handful of winter cycling snow warriors on Edmonton’s busy downtown streets.

Starting March 29

The Apollo of Gaza by Nicolas Wadimoff (2018, Akka Films/Radio télévision suisse (RTS)/NFB’s French Program Documentary Studio)
Feature-length documentary (78 min)
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/apollogaza

In 2013, a statue of Apollo was found in the waters off Gaza, and then vanished under mysterious circumstances. Soon, rumours were swirling around this treasure coveted by all parties. This documentary investigation takes us into daily life in Gaza, a misunderstood and battered place that suddenly finds some dignity through a reminder of its glorious history. The documentary had its world premiere screening as part of the Semaine de la critique at the 2018 Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland before embarking on theatrical runs in Europe and Canada.