John Zaritsky

No Limits: The Thalidomide Saga

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker John Zaritsky returns to the story that has fascinated and compelled him for years - thalidomide and it's effect on the survivors of "the worst drug disaster in history." In this, his third film on the subject, he reconnects with some of the thalidomide victims he originally profiled when they were young, and introduces us to some new people who have been active in the fight for justice. He also highlights some recently released information about German pharmaceutical giant Grünenthal, who aggressively marketed the drug, and are now selling it again under a different usage, but still with no compensation for those who's lives they affected so deeply. The indefatigable spirit of the extraordinary thalidomide victims is cast against the callousness disregard of the drug's manufacturers in a film that lays out the story from it's beginnings in the late 50s to the current state of affairs in the present day. —Philip Webley

A Different Drummer: Celebrating Eccentrics

Daniel lives in a Utah cave and has not used money for 15 years. Laura Kay Prophet—aka the Duck Lady—is a street philanthropist and fortune teller in Vancouver who wheels her pet duck around in a buggy and gives out cookies to the homeless. These are just two of a tapestry of eccentrics and oddballs in Oscar-winning director Zaritsky's light-hearted but insightful look at people who have shrugged off conformity to become richer individuals. Inspired by psychologist David Week’s book Eccentrics: A Study of Sanity and Strangeness, Zaritsky’s film suggests that letting our freak flags fly and releasing our inner eccentrics could make us happier, healthier and live longer than those who try to pass as "normal."

Do You Really Want to Know?

A documentary about the complex emotional, ethical and psychological issues surrounding the new frontier of predictive genetic testing. The film follows three families who have been confronted with the decision of whether or not to be tested for Huntington's disease - a degenerative neurological illness that is akin to having ALS, Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's simultaneously - and one of the first diseases people could be accurately and conclusively tested for, before the onset of any symptoms. As scientists discover more ways to identify diseases before we know we have them, "do you really want to know?" will be a question more and more of us will face.

The Suicide Tourist

This film follows Craig Ewert, a man suffering from ALS who travels to Switzerland for doctor-assisted suicide. The program was very controversial for its decision to show Ewert’s final moments, painlessly dying with his wife at his side.

The Wild Horse Redemption

At a prison in the high desert foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, hard-core criminals are given 90 days to tame wild mustang horses. Most of the inmates who volunteer for the program have never trained a horse before, or even ridden one.

Ski Bums

Meet 10 self-proclaimed ski bums in this adrenaline rush documentary by John Zaritsky. Combining candid interviews with truly smashing ski footage, the film gives us insight into the sometimes sublime, sometimes gritty existence of these free spirits living on the edge of Whistler, BC.

Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo

An international documentary about the deaths of Admira Ismić and Boško Brkić. The couple were natives of Bosnia and Herzegovina living in the city of Sarajevo. She was a Bosniak, and he a Bosnian Serb.

Into Thin Air

Ellen Burstyn stars as Joan Walker, a mother whose college student son vanishes while traveling from Canada to Colorado. When police fail to investigate, Walker takes matters into her own hands. She and her ex-husband begin a search, but when their son's van is found in Maine brandishing stolen plates, they fear the worst. Now, it's up to a private detective to uncover the chilling truth in this absorbing drama based on a true story.

Tears Are Not Enough

On 10 February 1985, fifty-three of Canada's top performers gathered together to record the song Tears Are Not Enough in an effort to generate aid to famine victims in Africa. This is a behind-the-scenes look at that historic session, filled with moments of excitement, pathos, humor and magic.

Just Another Missing Kid

On July 10, 1978, Eric Wilson - a 19-year from Ottawa and student at Tufts University - left home to drive to a summer college course in Colorado. When he went missing four days afterward in Nebraska, his family tried to persuade local and U.S. police that he wasn't simply a runaway and hadn't simply forgotten to call home. The program examines the lengths to which they had to go to find out what happened to Eric, and the byzantine nature of the legal system which seemed less interested in pursuing justice than in avoiding the expenses involved in the investigation and potential trials. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in 2007.