Paul Cowan
In this feature documentary, filmmaker Paul Cowan offers an innovative, moving account of the Westray coal mine disaster that killed 26 men in Nova Scotia on May 9, 1992. The film focuses on the lives of three widows and three miners lucky enough not to be underground that day when the methane and coal dust ignited. But their lives were torn apart by the events. Meet some of the working men, who felt they had no option but to stay on at Westray. And wives, who heard the rumours, saw their men sometimes bloodied from accidents and stood by them, hoping it would all turn out all right. This is a film about working people everywhere whose lives are often entrusted to companies that violate the most fundamental rules of safety and decency in the name of profit.
A snapshot of the porn industry in the San Fernando Valley focusing on a handful of people: Luke Ford, a reporter who breaks the industry's gentlemen's agreement and writes about actors who have HIV/AIDS; Kimberley Jade, a veteran actress who contracts AIDS; Katie June, who arrives in Los Angeles from the South, going on 20, with dreams of becoming a porn star and with her mother's approval; Jim South, who runs a talent agency; and, William Margold, an aging factotum. Others appear on camera to round out a portrait of a busy industry that's lucrative for some and dangerous for others.
In this Oscar Winning documentary short film, students in their final year at the National Ballet School of Canada are seen learning the flamenco from Susana and Antonio Robledo, who come to the school every winter to conduct classes which are held after the day's regular schedule has ended.
Paul Cowan's feature-length film combines fiction and reality to tell the story of how William Avery (Billy) Bishop became one of the leading fighter pilots of World War I. By no accounts a biography of Billy Bishop, the film uses a 'docu-drama' approach to show how one person goes from being a brash kid from Ontario to Canada's most decorated military figure.
Canadian documentary film directed by Paul Cowan about the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
This documentary records the extraordinary determination of Jungle Jim Hunter to be the best ski racer in the world. We witness his grueling exercise routines, pre-race tensions, trials and deep religious faith of this dedicated athlete.
