Just ONE reason I love Canada

Saskatchewan Wheat Field

For decades, I have seriously and repeatedly considered moving to Canada. It's unlikely that I will at this stage of my life, but I continue to have an intellectual and emotional love affair with the place. One uplifting thing that comes out of Canada is a series of marvelous films from The National Film Board of Canada. If I watch a documentary or other beautifully paced, exquisite short film, almost invariably I discover it has come out of NFB of CA. I could offer dozens of examples, but instead I shall simply provide three, for you can dig through the films yourself at the National Film Board of Canada's site.

First up is a beautiful animated piece, 12 minutes in length, that quietly, beautifully captures a grandfather sharing a memory with his granddaughter.

Next, this 5 minute animation of ART, illustrating how people walk. Simply gorgeous, it earned Ryan Larkin an Oscar nomination (short animated film) in 1968.

And finally, a 29 minute triumph of film art from 1960 by Roman Kroitor and Colin Low, creating on the screen a vast, awe-inspiring picture of the universe as it would appear to a voyager through space. This film was among the sources used by Stanley Kubrick in his 2001: A Space Odyssey. Realistic animation takes you into far regions of space, beyond the reach of the strongest telescope, past Moon, Sun, and Milky Way into galaxies yet unfathomed.