Mise en scène

Deepa Mehta describes herself as a cultural hybrid. She finds her passion and her stories in India and the freedom to choose how to make her films in Canada. A woman in a gold and maroon sari stands next to a window, looking out onto the chilly blue light of a snowy Toronto landscape. The image (from the film Heaven on Earth) dissolves to reveal Deepa's profile as she talks about moving between the two worlds of Canada and India. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

Imaginary Heroine layers archival photographs of downtown St. John's and evocative imagery to tell the remarkable story of a little girl who grew up next door to her family. Inspired by Mary Walsh's one-woman play Dancing with Rage, this short film reveals the heart of the unique characters created by Newfoundland's grand dame of comedy. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

The performing arts capture and depict all that is human. Generous and thoughtful, Toronto philanthropist Earlaine Collins (recipient of the 2012 Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts) speaks of her bond with performers, the importance of giving, and how much music has meant to her and her late husband since their earliest days together. The film elegantly evokes the anticipation, excitement and splendour offered by the communal experience of the arts and the extraordinary spaces that enable them to delight us. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.