Free, Family-Friendly Films

Wednesday April 22 is National Canadian Film Day (NCFD). 2020 marks the seventh year for this annual event which is all about promoting and celebrating Canadian films and filmmakers. Unfortunately COVID-19 has played havoc with plans to show films across Canada but, not to worry, the folks at Reel Canada have come up with some alternative ways for us to watch some movies on April 22. If you visit the NCFD website you will find information about the variety of films that they have selected for screening.

While you might need to subscribe to Netflix, Crave, or another streaming service to access many films, NCFD is offering a variety of family-friendly programming via Facebook Live. Every half hour on the hour, there will be a 10-15 minute activity and accompanying film for children. All you need to do is tune into their Facebook page on April 22 to participate. Here is the schedule (all times listed are Atlantic Time):

12:00 PM - Oh Canada! Geography Activity
1:00 PM - The Log Driver's Waltz 
2:00 PM - Arts and Crafts: Make and Decorate a Moose or Beaver Mask
3:00 PM - Earth Day Special
4:00 PM - Bilingual Singalong to The Cat Came Back

You might also want to check out some of the family films that have been featured as part of NCFD. The following list is just a few examples and you can find the full selection on the NCFD website:

Babar: King of the Elephants (watch on YouTube)

The Breadwinner (watch on CBC Gem, which you can access for free)

Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure (watch on YouTube)

The Little Bear Movie (watch on YouTube)
The Legend of Sarila (watch on CBC Gem)

Wonders of the Arctic (watch in English or French on the Canadian Museum of History website)

Happy watching!