The National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI) is proud to announce the launch of NSI Films – an online screening archive of the many films developed and produced through NSI programs over the last 25 years.

The site currently showcases 120 short films which date back to 1993, including the Oscar®-shortlisted film Without Rockets from Gary Yates, and the 2001 film Rider Pride from Craig Courtice and Tony Hrynchuk which stars a young Brent Butt.

More recent NSI films are also available on the site, including CBC New Indigenous Voices film Outdigenous by Frances Koncan and NSI IndigiDocs film Cree Code Talker by Alex Lazarowich.

“Making The Rogers’ Cable in 1998 sparked my dream to become a creative producer and gave me the confidence to pursue my career long-term,” said Three Thousand and NFB producer Kat Baulu. “Watching my film again reminds me of the opportunities that opened up to me because of the training I received through NSI.”

As a repository of content from hundreds of NSI alumni, encompassing a variety of genres and NSI training programs, NSI Films is a years-in-the-making online resource. Short film fans and festivals, NSI graduates and those interested in the origins of Canada’s most respected filmmakers will find the site of particular value.

“I made A Breath Short of Less when I was just starting my career and wanted to gain skills that would help me in the long-term. Making my film was an eye-opening experience and the connections I made during that time were priceless,” said Katherine Kasirer, now librarian at the National Film Board of Canada. “It’s amazing to revisit A Breath Short of Less along with so many others from that period.”

“As an NSI faculty member myself now, it’s great to look back at the time I was an NSI student with the NSI Films site,” said Chokeslam co-writer/director Robert Cuffley. “I enjoy the success I have due in no small part to being in NSI Drama Prize and NSI Features First more than 20 years ago.”

Many of the films on the site were digitized by Deluxe.

“Making yesterday’s content accessible to today’s audiences is important to us at Deluxe. We recognize the value of NSI’s film archive,” said Stephen Gallop, General Manager, Deluxe Toronto. “We’re pleased to help make NSI Films a resource for the industry.”

NSI has trained content creators from across Canada since 1986. While NSI Films doesn’t currently encapsulate all NSI-developed content, the site will continue to be updated and is a starting point for archiving NSI’s film history.