The Point

Jun 10, 1978

0h 48m

★ 7.0

Overview

This documentary is a portrait of Point St. Charles, one of Montreal’s notoriously bleak neighbourhoods. Many of the residents are English-speaking and of Irish origin; many of them are also on welfare. Considered to be one of the toughest districts in all of Canada, Point St. Charles is poor in terms of community facilities, but still full of rich contrasts and high spirits – that is, most of the time.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

ONF | NFB

The Point Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Budd Knapp

Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, Vietnamese refugees have built the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam, in Orange County, California. In 1999, "Little Saigon" burst onto the national stage when a store owner displayed a poster of Ho Chi Minh, triggering protests by Vietnamese Americans struggling to reconcile their past demons with their present lives. Saigon, U.S.A. uses this moment to examine this community's changing identity and growing empowerment.

0.0

Livet är kort, konsten lång – filmen om Åke Göransson

Apr 14, 2023

No overview available.

8.0

Homeland

Oct 20, 2000

Following four Lakota families over three years, Homeland explores what it takes for the Lakota community to build a better future in the face of tribal and government corruption, scarce housing, unemployment, and alcoholism. Intimate interviews with a spiritual leader, a grandmother, an artist, and a community activist from South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation reveal how each survives through family ties, cultural tradition, humor, and a palpable yearning for self-reliance and personal freedom.

0.0

Demeure

Oct 2, 2019

Documentary about what makes a house a home.

6.2

Three Songs for Benazir

Jun 2, 2021

The story of Shaista, a young man who—newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul—struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family. Even as Shaista’s love for Benazir is palpable, the choices he must make to build a life with her have profound consequences.

8.1

Isle of Flowers

Sep 6, 1989

A tomato is planted, harvested and sold at a supermarket, but it rots and ends up in the trash. But it doesn’t end there: Isle of Flowers follows it up until its real end, among animals, trash, women and children. And then the difference between tomatoes, pigs and human beings becomes clear.

0.0

A Decent Living

Oct 17, 2012

Ahmed is a simple man who lives in a village which called Beidif, 200 km from Cairo in Egypt. His job is to make up the sewer system. All houses in Beidif have cesspits to get rid of waste water. A cesspit is a large underground tank to hold sewage. They need to be emptied regularly or the household will face problems. The film shows how Ahmed does his work everyday and how this work affects his life.

0.0

Gangstresses

Feb 2, 2000

Gangstresses, a documentary by Harry Davis, tells the story of violence, poverty, and survival in the streets from a female perspective. Over a two-year period, Davis interviews female hustlers, drug dealers, rappers, porn stars, prostitutes, mothers, and daughters. Among them are Champagne, a well-known African American porn star who has a small child; Mama Mayhem, a street hustler; Uneek, a rapper from the Bronx; and Vanessa Del Rio, a famous porn actress. Musicians Lil' Kim, Mary J. Blige, Ice T, and Tupac Shakur also share personal stories of survival. The documentary conducts follow-up research on the women's complicated lives, offering glimpses of both tragic reality and hopeful recovery.

No Image Available

0.0

Likhaya

Nov 21, 2009

A look at the rampant HIV epidemic rate in Swaziland.

0.0

Afrique-France : le divorce ?

Jun 22, 2025

At a time when French flags are being burned and French embassies targeted, this documentary delves into the growing disaffection between French-speaking Africa and the former colonial power. Through the voices of African leaders, pan-African activists, and committed young people, the film questions the persistence of a relationship marked by the aftermath of colonization, the opaque agreements of "Françafrique," and a military presence deemed paternalistic.

4.0

Las Hurdes, país de leyenda

Jan 1, 1922

An account of the journey that King Alfonso XIII of Spain made to the impoverished shire of Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura, in 1922.

6.6

Morte e Vida Severina

Jul 29, 1977

The story of Severino, a man who tries to escape the misery and the drought prevailing in the rural backcountry of the Northeast of Brazil. He heads for Recife, passing through desert and forest regions, expecting to find a better life.

0.0

Dokkoi! Songs from the Bottom

May 24, 1975

After the waning of the protests in Sanrizuka, Ogawa Pro started questioning the future of the collective and looking for other subjects to ﬁlm. Following the method developed in the previous ﬁlms, the ﬁlmmakers moved to the slum of Kotobuchi in the port city of Yokohama, where more than 6000 people were struggling to get by without any means of survival, exposed to industrial accidents and diseases. The result is one of the most moving ﬁlms produced by the collective, a series of beautifully ﬁlmed portraits, voicing the silenced stories and songs of a group of people living in this community. Credit: ICA London

7.0

Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo

Jan 1, 2009

When Tomoko finds some messages for a 'Mr Smith' on a lost mobile phone, she finds herself on an 'Alice in Wonderland' journey through Tokyo's boulevards and back alleys. From the tyranny of symmetry in soaring office blocks - to buildings that look like space-ships, this creative documentary shows us the city's soul.

No Image Available

0.0

Blood and Water

Sep 9, 2007

When the 2004 tsunami hit the coast of Sri Lanka, 65-year-old Anton Ambrose's wife and daughter were killed. "In five minutes," he says, "I lost everything." A year later, Anton returns to Sri Lanka. With him is his nephew, award-winning filmmaker Rohan Fernando. A Tamil, Anton moved to California in the 1970s and became a very successful gynecologist. His daughter, Orlantha, made the opposite journey, returning to Sri Lanka where she ran a non-profit group that gave underprivileged children free violin lessons. Blood and Water is the story of one man's search for meaning in the face of overwhelming loss, but it is also filled with improbable characters, unintentional comedy and situational ironies.

7.5

Cuba and the Cameraman

Sep 8, 2017

This revealing portrait of Cuba follows the lives of Fidel Castro and three Cuban families affected by his policies over the last four decades.

3.8

The Journey

Feb 24, 1987

Peter Watkins' global look at the impact of military use of nuclear technology and people's perception of it, as well as a meditation on the inherent bias of the media, and documentaries themselves.

0.0

The Fall of the I-Hotel

Jun 15, 1983

The Fall of the I-Hotel brings to life the battle for housing in San Francisco. The brutal eviction of the International Hotel's tenants culminated a decade of spirited resistance to the razing of Manilatown. The Fall of the I-Hotel works on several levels. It not only documents the struggle to save the I-Hotel, but also gives an overview of Filipino American history.

The Point

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

The Point Trailers