A history of the Canadian film industry from its inception to 1980s, providing a chronological record of the conflicting priorities between American capital, which seeks to shape the Canadian film industry to its own image, and Canada's stated goal, which is to serve the Canadian people with films autonomously conceived, produced, and exhibited.

Containing 24 essays, each on a different film, this work provides a fascinating historical account of the development of film and documentary traditions across the diverse national and regional communities in Canada.