Barbara Doran

Away from Everywhere

A struggling writer emerges from rehab and reunites with his estranged brother, but soon descends into a tragic love triangle and is forced to confront a devastating reality.

Boundaries

Emily Price tries to balance family life and leading crunch negotiations between a Canadian politician and the president of a country whose natural resources are being exploited.

Newfoundland at Armageddon

On July 1st, 1916, the Newfoundland Regiment took part in a massive First World War offensive on the Somme, led by the British. At Beaumont Hamel the regiment was nearly wiped out, as only 110 of 780 soldiers survived the day. To commemorate its 100th anniversary, Brian McKenna’s documentary film tells the story of this epic tragedy. Using a technique that brings new meaning to reenactment, McKenna recruits descendants of soldiers who fought this battle, offering them a unique opportunity to relive the experience of their ancestors in trenches built specifically for the film.

The Grand Seduction

A small fishing village must procure a local doctor to secure a lucrative business contract. When unlikely candidate and big city doctor Paul Lewis lands in their lap for a trial residence, the townsfolk rally together to charm him into staying. As the doctor’s time in the village winds to a close, acting mayor Murray French has no choice but to pull out all the stops and begin The Grand Seduction.

The Needle and the Damage Undone

The Needle and the Damage Undone is a gritty, provocative story that explores the impact harm reduction has on the lives of people who use injection drugs in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Phantoms of the French Shore

A documentary about the history of the French Shore embroidered into a 216-foot-long piece of storytelling cloth.

Still Rowdy After All These Years

A documentary retrospective on the prolific career of acclaimed Canadian actor, writer and director Gordon Pinsent.

Where Did I Put ... My Memory?

"Where Did I Put - My Memory?" is a light-hearted, enlightening journey into our memories - and how we can improve them.

Love & Savagery

In 1969, a visiting geologist from Newfoundland arouses scandal in a small Irish village when he romances a local girl who’s destined for the convent.

Playing the Machines

Video lottery addiction is a serious problem in Canada, but does the government's need for revenue mean the enormous social costs are being ignored? This is a story about a society hooked on gambling and the people trying to force lottery corporations to come clean and take responsibility for what's happening to people whose lives are being devastated by Playing Machines. Also at the center of the story, a pugnacious Canadian Actor, John Dunsworth (Trailer Park Boys), who's gambling addictions nearly destroyed his career.

To Dublin with Love

Inspired by the late poet Al Pittman's 'March Hare' late winter music and literary celebrations, director Barbara Doran-along with a clutch of her close friends, associates and artistic collaborators from St. John's and the rest of the Rock-travel to Dublin to examine the close cultural relationships between Newfoundland and Ireland in this boisterous documentary film.

Young Triffie's Been Made Away With

In 1947 Whitbourne, Newfoundland, Alan Hepditch, a by-the-books but squeamish and somewhat dimwitted criminologist is constantly being tormented by his fellow ranger candidates and his sergeant, Bill O'Mara. Before Hepditch can quit, O'Mara, as a sort of punishment, assigns him to his first posting at Swyer's Harbour, where five sheep mutilations have taken place over the past year. When he arrives in Swyer's Harbour, Hepditch has a more serious crime to investigate, that of the murder of a local, mentally slow woman named Tryphenia Maud Pottle, better known to the locals as Young Triffie.

Keeping Up with Cathy Jones

"Keeping Up with Cathy Jones" is a biographical romp through the life and times of this outrageously funny lady of stage, screen and television. From the first celluloid glimpses of "CATHY AT 16", "THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES", her one woman shows and stand-up routines to interview clips with Cathy, her family and friends, this is a highly charged bio-pic; a salute to Newfoundland's comic genius."

The Invisible Machine

On a calm Sunday morning in 1978 residents of Bell Island, Newfoundland hear an odd, high-pitched hum, immediately followed by a sudden and terrifying blast resounding for hundreds of miles. Outbuildings are destroyed, livestock electrocuted, televisions explode and power lines vaporize. The Invisible Machine unravels the mystery of the Bell Island "boom" and in doing so takes a chilling look at the U.S. military's experimentation with electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons.

The Invisible Machine

On a calm Sunday morning in 1978 residents of Bell Island, Newfoundland hear an odd, high-pitched hum, immediately followed by a sudden and terrifying blast resounding for hundreds of miles. Outbuildings are destroyed, livestock electrocuted, televisions explode and power lines vaporize. The Invisible Machine unravels the mystery of the Bell Island "boom" and in doing so takes a chilling look at the U.S. military's experimentation with electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons.

The Man Who Studies Murder

Elliott Leyton, the subject of this riveting documentary by filmmaker Barbara Doran, can't help but be fascinating; that's because Leyton, who teaches at the Memorial University in Newfoundland, is also a valuable ally for law enforcement officials who need his expertise in psychology and criminal behavior to catch some of the most heinous criminals: serial killers.

Random Passage

This award winning miniseries traces the difficult passage of young Mary Keane (Aoife McMahon) from servitude in Ireland to the squalor of rough-and-tumble Newfoundland in the early 1800s. Escaping attempted rape and abuse, Mary moves on with her infant daughter to find shelter at a remote fishing station run by Thomas Hutchings (Colm Meaney). In a time and place where life and death are a hair's breadth apart, Mary joins the community's struggle for survival against sickness and starvation. All of the Cape's people are fugitives of one kind or another, but by pulling together through hardships and tragedies, they forge a new life of hope - and even love.

Ho! Kanada

What do the Japanese see in Canada? What's the magnetic pull from the Far East? And what's our take on this land of ours? Bolstering our feeling of national pride comes naturally after watching the Japanese embrace the country. The film follows Masaaki Kagami, a Japanese transplanted in Alberta. He specializes in making souvenir videos for Japanese tourists. HO! KANADA is an investigation of national stereotypes. The film records the way the Japanese see us, and how we see them and ourselves.

When Women Kill

What would make an ordinary woman kill her husband? This powerful documentary is about three battered women who, after years of violence, kill their abusers. These women killed when they felt they had no other options: the police and the courts did not protect them, and society failed to take them seriously. When Women Kill challenges the legal system to confront the systemic and widespread violence that men inflict daily on the home front.

Puppets Against Aids - Township to Tundra

In 1992, an independent South African puppetry group, the African Research and Educational Puppetry Program, were invited by OXFAM (Canada) to bring their highly successful educational program 'Puppets Against Aids' to tour rural and regional Canada for twelve weeks. This is the one-hour documentary that was produced from their Canadian Tour.

Moving On

This short documentary looks at how the community of London, Ontario, has implemented a plan to address the issue of domestic violence. These efforts, spearheaded by police, lawyers, doctors, transition house staff, women's groups, and social services agencies have turned London into a rare model community. There, The London Battered Women's Advocacy Clinic and "Changing Ways," a therapy program for men who batter, contribute to the city's innovative attempt to break the cycle of violence. Moving On is part of the The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.