This April, celebrate Canada’s diverse voices with the NFB. Two powerful documentaries released online.

This April on the NFB’s platforms, keep on streaming Canadian! Two documentaries in our collection will be released for free online. Made by filmmakers from different parts of the country, these powerful and moving films explore challenging subjects, from the impact of suicide to the lingering effects of colonialism on Indigenous people.

• In renowned documentary filmmaker Alan Zweig’s feature doc Love, Harold, people grappling with the suicide of a loved one express their grief—and their resilience.
  
  

• A milestone in Canadian documentary cinema, ohpikihâkan awâsis (Foster Child, 1987) by renowned Indigenous filmmaker Gil Cardinal is now available in a newly subtitled version featuring nêhiyawêwin (Cree) syllabics.
  
  

And let’s not forget the themed channel Our Planet in Focus, which highlights Earth Day on April 22 with over 60 films on the environment. A new animation channel, Spring Fever, has also been launched to celebrate the arrival of the season.

And it you haven’t already seen it, be sure to watch Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski’s The Girl Who Cried Pearls, which won this year’s Oscar for Best Animated Short.

And remember: on our online platform (nfb.ca and NFB Apps for mobile devices and TV) and YouTube, you’ll find more than 7,000 films available to stream free of charge.

Starting April 13

Love, Harold by Alan Zweig (2025, 52 Media/NFB)
Documentary (90 min)/Press kit

• When an old friend takes his own life, acclaimed Toronto documentarian Alan Zweig seeks out others grappling with the suicide of a loved one. As hard as it can be to speak of such an unfathomable loss, more than 20 friends and acquaintances feel compelled to tell their stories. The film had its world premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival and has since screened in Toronto, Hamilton and Victoria.
  
  

Starting April 20

ohpikihâkan awâsis (Foster Child) by Gil Cardinal (original version: 1987, NFB)
nêhiyawêwin (Cree) syllabics subtitled version (2026)
Documentary (43 min 05 s)/Press kit

• Gil Cardinal was born in Edmonton to a Métis mother but raised by a non-Indigenous foster family. With this auto-biographical documentary, this leading figure in the history of Indigenous cinema in Canada charts his efforts to find his biological mother and to understand why he was removed from her. This award-winning film addresses the country’s internal colonialism in a profoundly personal manner. It is newly available in a subtitled version featuring nêhiyawêwin (Cree) syllabics.

Marking Earth Day, April 22

• Channel: Our Planet in Focus – NFB

  This channel offers documentaries and animated films on environmental themes, selected from the many fascinating productions about these subjects in the NFB’s collection. Watch recent films like Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper’s Incandescence or Leanne Allison’s Losing Blue.

In celebration of spring

• Channel: Spring Fever – NFB

  This new NFB channel features a curated selection of about 15 films that capture the brightness, energy and vitality of spring. Works to enjoy again and again!

The 12th Oscar for an NFB film!

The Girl Who Cried Pearls by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski recently won the Oscar for Best Animated Short! Catch this stunning stop-motion gem along with other films by the duo on a channel dedicated to their work.

Version française ici.

About the NFB

Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 7,000 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.