In Nadia’s Songs, the Canadian filmmaker Nick White reflects on the music that defined him as a teenager growing up in small-town Ontario. Having bought most of his music from a secondhand shop, White discovered that many of the CDs he loved, including albums by Blur and the Beastie Boys, had previously belonged to someone named Nadia. Eventually, he began seeking out Nadia’s pre-owned music, both to find new songs and to try to piece together her story. Set to a 1990s-infused alternative rock soundtrack, White’s short documentary contemplates what these CDs, which became a vital part of his young life, might have meant to Nadia before she sold them. White tells a touching and relatable story about how the music we share shapes our identities and, while brief, the video may well double as a welcome trip down nostalgia lane for viewers of a certain age.
Director: Nick White
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Music
A riveting audiovisual dive into what makes sounds harmonious, or not
28 minutes
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Life stages
Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers
15 minutes
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Progress and modernity
Moving from Tibet to Beijing, Drolma reconciles big dreams with harsh realities
31 minutes
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Gender
A catchy tune explains the world’s ‘isms’ – according to your mum doing the laundry
5 minutes
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Consciousness and altered states
‘I want me back’ – after a head injury, Nick struggles with his altered reality
7 minutes
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Virtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
16 minutes
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Language and linguistics
Why Susan listens to recordings of herself speaking a language she no longer remembers
5 minutes
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Family life
One family’s harrowing escape from postwar Vietnam, told in a poignant metaphor
10 minutes
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Animals and humans
The wild tale of a young animal keeper, an angry tiger and a torn circle net
10 minutes