Ole Gjerstad's Documentaries

The personal archive of a film maker based in Montreal

Ole Gjerstad

Ole Gjerstad traveled the seven seas, mined for silver and logged giant Canadian timber before becoming an anthropologist, writer, radio broadcaster and filmmaker. He founded Words & Pictures Videos/Vidéos mots & images in Montreal in 1992 and co-founded Piksuk Media in 2005. His some 60 documentaries have won many awards in Canada and abroad.

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Documentaries from the North

[PLAYLIST] Episode 1 of Building the Inuit Homeland, a 7X30 minutes documentary series available in Inuktitut and English, showing what Nunavimmiut have accomplished in their territory since they concluded the JBNQA. Episode 1 depicts the Inuit fight to protect their language, Inuktitut, when Quebec introduced Bill 101, the new language law, in 1977.
In the 50 years since the Nunavik Inuit signed the James Bay Agreement, the JBNQA, they have worked hard to take back the control of their lives that 300 years of colonialism took away.
Au cours des 50 années qui ont suivi la signature de l’Accord de la Baie-James par les Inuits du Nunavik (ABJNQ), ces derniers ont œuvré sans relâche pour reprendre le contrôle de leur vie, un contrôle spolié par 300 ans de colonialisme.
For more than four thousand years, human beings hunted and fished on the eastern tip of the Ungava peninsula. In the 1960s, the Inuit community of Killiniq (Port Burwell) grew rich from theabundant stocks of seal and fish. Then suddenly, within 20 years, the federal government decided to close the community down, using deception and lies, and causing a crisis for the Inuit population, homeless and destitute.
Nunavik is rich in minerals; the community of Aupaluk is surrounded by mining claims. At the end of the JBNQA negotiations, Quebec rejected all the community’s land selections
in order to protect the mining companies. Today, the people of Aupaluk live with the constant threat of mines on their doorstep.
As Inuit across Canada’s Arctic moved from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle, pushed by the government, their sled dogs were left in the middle: Many Inuit still depended on the dogs for
their survival; to the authorities they were a threat to public security and life in the communities. As many as 20,000 dogs were
killed by police in the 1950s- 1970s, leaving an open wound in Inuit society.
Alors que les Inuits à travers l’Arctique canadien sont passés d’un mode de vie nomade à un mode de vie sédentaire, poussés par le gouvernement, leurs chiens de traîneau se sont retrouvés au milieu : de nombreux Inuits dépendaient encore de ces chiens pour leur survie ; pour les autorités, ils représentaient une menace pour la sécurité publique et la vie dans les communautés. Jusqu’à 20 000 chiens ont été tués par la police dans les années 1950 à 1970, laissant une blessure ouverte dans la société inuite.
In 1971, them Quebec provincial government launched a vast hydroelectric project that changed the land of the Cree and Inuit living in the north. Together, the Indigenous people went to court, and three years later emerged with Canada’s first land claims agreement, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. This is the story of how Inuit fought to save their land and their
lifestyle.
1971-ᒥ, ᑯᐸᐃᑯᑉ ᒐᕙᒪᖓ ᐱᒋᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᖏᔪᒥᒃ ᐃᖃᓗᓐᓂᑯᑦ ᐆᒻᒪᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᒥᒃ ᐊᓯᔾᔨᖅᑎᑦᑎᓚᐅᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᓄᓇᖓᓂᒃ ᑯᕇᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᓄᓇᖃᖅᑐᑦ. ᐊᑦᑕᑐᐊᖅ, ᓄᓇᖃᖅᑳᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᒪᓕᒐᓕᕆᔨᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᖃᑎᒌᒃᖢᑎᒃ ᖃᐃᖁᔨᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪ ᐱᖓᓱᐃᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᑦ ᐊᓂᒍᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᓴᖅᑭᑎᑦᑎᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᖑᔪᒥᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᖕᓄᑦ ᐊᖏᕈᑎᒥᒃ, ᔭᐃᒻᔅ ᐯᒥ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᑯᐸᐃᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᖏᕈᑎᖓ. ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅ ᐅᓇ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᑎᓂᖅᓴᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᓄᓇᒥᖕᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᓅᓯᕐᒥᖕᓂᒃ.
En 1971, le gouvernement provincial du Québec a lancé un vaste projet hydroélectrique qui a transformé le territoire des Cris et des Inuits vivant dans le nord. Ensemble, les peuples autochtones se sont adressés aux tribunaux, et trois ans plus tard ont obtenu la première entente sur les revendications territoriales du Canada, la Convention de la Baie-James et du Nord québécois. C’est l’histoire de la façon dont les Inuits se sont battus pour sauver leur terre et leur mode de vie.
When the Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup claimed the High Arctic archipelago for his country in 1902, the Canadian government woke up from its colonial slumber and despatched the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to stake out Canada’s presence. To say that the Mounties were ill-prepared is an understatement.
A rough and neglected childhood in Clyde River, Baffin Island, led Tony Kalluk to a dangerous life of crime and violence. After attempting “suicide by police”, Tony found his way back to life in the community, working as a counsellor to others heading down the slope that nearly took is life.
It’s 1957. The crew at a northern weather station complains that Inuit camping nearby are bothering them. In a sudden, arbitrary way, the Ahiarmiut families are moved to a place without game, and soon starvation sets in. A set of tragic events leads to the woman Kikkik being charged with manslaughter and criminal neglect leading to the death of a child.
This sprawling story follows families of the Utkuhiksalingmiut Inuit from life on the Kivalliq tundra to settlement and rise as celebrated artists around the world.
The annual Nunavut Quest dogsledding race is a challenging but festive event that preserves Inuit traditions and social life on the land. This 6×30’ series follows the dramatic 2010 race through the spectacular scenery of northwest Baffin Island.
[PLAYLIST]  The annual Nunavut Quest dogsledding race is a challenging but festive event that preserves Inuit traditions and social life on the land. This 6×30’ series follows the dramatic 2010 race through the spectacular scenery of northwest Baffin Island.
[PLAYLIST] Terres Arctiques: le territoire du grand nord est maintenant une terre convoitée.
Une série en 10 épisodes.
It’s 1933. The ill-prepared German novice explorer Hans Kruger wants to find undiscovered land in Canada’s High Arctic archipelago. The Inughuit hunter Arqiok agrees to be his guide.
They vanish, but twenty year later his relatives see him again, or is it an illusion? The mystery deepens as we find signs of what may have been Kruger’s last days.
Nous sommes en 1933. Hans Kruger, un explorateur novice allemand mal préparé, veut découvrir des terres inexplorées dans l’archipel de l’Extrême-Arctique canadien. Le chasseur Inughuit Arqiok accepte de lui servir de guide. Ils disparaissent, mais vingt ans plus tard, ses proches croient le revoir — ou n’est-ce qu’une illusion ? Le mystère s’épaissit à mesure que nous découvrons des indices sur ce qu’auraient pu être les derniers jours de Kruger.
[Inuktitut version] It’s 1933. The ill-prepared German novice explorer Hans Kruger wants to find undiscovered land in Canada’s High Arctic archipelago. The Inughuit hunter Arqiok agrees to be his guide. They vanish, but twenty year later his relatives see him again, or is it an illusion? The mystery deepens as we find signs of what may have been Kruger’s last days.
Soon after Philippe Lavallée moved from Montreal to Iqaluit, he began building a dog team. He became part of the Baffin Island community of qimutsituut, mushers who are reviving them use of sled dogs in Inuit culture. In 2010 he was invited to follows the 10-day dramatic Nunavut Quest, an eye-opening adventure.

Documentaries on Human Rights

Alors que des guerres et des catastrophes naturelles poussent des millions de personnes à chercher refuge en Europe et en Amérique du Nord, les Nations Unies recrutent l’éminente juriste canadienne Louise Arbour pour créer un pacte mondial visant à réglementer et humaniser le chaos. Le moment ne pourrait guère être plus mal choisi.
As the post-911 US War on Terror upends countries and regions around the world, Canadian jurist Louise Arbour is recruited as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – a huge responsibility, but no real power. From Darfur to Chechnya and northern Uganda, it’s a brave uphill campaign.
As Louise Arbour is named as member of the Supreme Court of Canada, she pushes hard to advance her cases as Chief Prosecutor
at the International War Crimes Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and the Rwanda genocide — a campaign against the impunity of powerful leaders on separate continents and the governments that protect them.
The wars in the Balkans and the Rwanda genocide shook the world. Governments, the UN, and other big agencies had done nearly nothing to stem the bloodshed. But better late than never;
those responsible should be brought to justice. Our story follows Canadian jurist Louise Arbour as she battles to revitalize the UN-backed tribunals in Europe and Rwanda, cutting through layers of hate and killings.
Les guerres dans les Balkans et le génocide rwandais ont ébranlé le monde. Les gouvernements, l’ONU et d’autres grandes agences n’avaient pratiquement rien fait pour endiguer le bain de sang. Mais mieux vaut tard que jamais ; les responsables doivent être traduits en justice. Notre histoire suit la juriste canadienne Louise Arbour alors qu’elle se bat pour revitaliser les tribunaux soutenus par l’ONU en Europe et au Rwanda, traversant les couches de haine et de tueries.

Documentaries on Human Interest

Seven thousand members of the pacifist Russian Doukhobor community were shipped to Canada in the early 1900s. But their new country was not a pacifist haven, nor understanding of basic Doukhobor values. The trials and tribulations of one family is a still buried chapter in Canadian history.
À l’été 2000, un groupe d’adolescents en rémission d’un cancer se lance dans une expédition en pleine nature, au plus profond du Canada, à 600 km du pôle Nord. Il s’agit de Thérapie par l’Aventure, un programme créé par la Fondation sur les points des pieds au Québec. Le défi devient alors inimaginable.




In the summer of 2000, a group of teenagers in remission from cancer embark on a wilderness expedition at the very top of Canada, 600 kms from the North Pole. It’s Adventure Therapy, a program created by La Fondation sur des points des pieds/ The Tip of the Toes Foundation in Quebec. It becomes a challenge few could have imagined. The separate French and English original films are lost. Instead, here’s a special bilingual hybrid version spliced together of the two.


Une expédition de « thérapie par l’aventure » ​​dans l’Arctique québécois avec un groupe d’adolescents atteints de cancer.



Even as a child, Montrealer Lucille Teasdale was an adventurous student and activist. When she met Italian doctor Piero Corti, the couple’s energy and courage created an exceptional island of peace and protection, St. Mary’s hospital in northern Uganda.
Canadian author Farley Mowat was many things: brilliant storyteller, irreverent provocateur, lover of animals and all God’s creations. In this profile for CBC, he shows us his true nature.
As 25-year-old adventurers, montrealers Niels, Dave and John ventured to cross the jungle that breaks off the Pan American Highway between Panama and Colombia. They nearly died. To mark their 50 th , they return. But the Darien Gap has turned into a different kind of trap.
In a place like war-torn northern Uganda,  minor injuries can cause serious infections. The famous St. Mary’s Hospital, established by Montreal-born Dr. Lucille Teasdale and her husband Dr. Piero Corti, is there to help, but often people need encouragement to come for treatment. La Piqure (The Needle) is a short film for just that purpose.
Many people dream of traveling to Mars. NASA and the private Mars Society attempt to create a simulation of what might be involved. We join their ambitious base in a 23-million-year
asteroid crater in the Canadian High Arctic. Three young Canadian scientists lead our investigation.

Documentaries from the African continent

1995, 47 minutes.
For Le Point, Radio-Canada, 1993.
Apartheid South Africa attempted to destroy neighbouring newly-independent  socialist Mozambique. In the wake of the decade-long war, we meet a child soldier fearing for his life, a family who’s taken in a dozen orphans, a teenage village nurse and people working for Unicef, MSF, and various NGOs. They all ask, “Is the war truly over?”
1989, 30 minutes.
It’s 1988, the worst year of the war, which apartheid South Africa has launched to destroy its black-ruled neighbour Mozambique. 17 year-old Albertino Roda is ending his school year in the city of Nampula, and he has only one thing on his mind: to find his way back to his home villages and see his parents, whom he hasn’t heard of since last year.  It’s a perilous journey through  burnt-out towns, destroyed plantations, and a whole population fleeing killings and abuse. Albertino gets ever so close to his home, but then…
1989, 30 minutes.
Andimba Toivo-ya-Toivo was one of the first Namibians to organize against apartheid South Africa’s occupation of his country.
He was arrested, in 1963, tortured and spent nearly 20 years on Robben Island, in the company of Nelson Mandela and other South African freedom fighters. With my friend Magnus Isacsson as Director, I went to Namibia as Toivo returned home after all these years, and Namibia is on the cusp of independence, after a long and bloody liberation war. It’s a tense, explosive place, and emotions run high all around.
1995, 47 minutes.
Pour l’émission Le Point, Radio-Canada, 1993.
L’Afrique du Sud de l’apartheid a tenté de détruire le Mozambique socialiste, alors fraîchement indépendant. Au lendemain d’une guerre qui a duré dix ans, nous rencontrons un enfant soldat qui craint pour sa vie, une famille qui a recueilli une douzaine d’orphelins, une jeune infirmière de village et des intervenants d’UNICEF, de MSF et de diverses ONG. Tous se posent la même question : « La guerre est-elle vraiment finie ? »