The Dalai Lama – a 75th Birthday Tribute
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A leader. A teacher. An inspiration. VisionTV celebrates the Dalai Lama’s 75th birthday with a series of documentary and feature film presentations that examine his life and legacy and explore the many different aspects of the Buddhist tradition. Highlights include three VisionTV premiere documentaries: The Path to Shaolin, The Teacher and The Lost World of Tibet.

Five Roads to Freedom
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Until 1994, South Africa was reviled internationally for its system of institutionalized racial discrimination, or apartheid. Few who lived under this system could have imagined that South Africa would embrace civil rights and democracy in the course of their lifetimes, let alone win the respect of the international community. Five Roads to Freedom: From Apartheid to the World Cup is an original new Canadian documentary that looks at South Africa’s revolutionary transformation through the eyes of five men and women who lived under the shadow of apartheid.

The Gospel According to The Blues
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Momma-Lou Steele has lived her whole life in the North End of Halifax – but she barely recognizes the neighbourhood anymore. Drugs and violence have robbed the community of its soul. When these evils find their way into her home, Momma-Lou decides she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. This stark urban tragedy is based on Halifax-born playwright George Boyd’s drama Gideon’s Blues. Jackie Richardson, Canada’s premier jazz, blues and gospel performer, stars as Momma-Lou Steele.

Pentecost is one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar. Falling 50 days after Easter, it commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples of Christ. This event, described in The New Testament’s book of Acts, is said to mark the beginning of the Christian church. In honour of the occasion, VisionTV presents the Canadian television premiere of a new documentary that investigates the ancient origins and spiritual significance of Pentecost, and reveals how people all around the globe celebrate the birth of the Christian world. [more]

Investigating Easter
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Beginning on March 22, Canada’s multi-faith network VisionTV will mark the Easter season with two weeks of special programming that investigates the mystery and meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God, that his death upon the cross was atonement for the sins of humankind, and that his resurrection was a token of God’s forgiveness for all people. Each year, at Easter time, more than 1.5 billion Christian faithful around the world commemorate these events.

Remembering the King: Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday
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Canada’s VisionTV pays its own birthday tribute to Elvis in the New Year with a series of prime time documentaries, movies and music specials airing from Wednesday, Jan. 6 to Friday, Jan. 8. Elvis Aaron Presley was born on Jan. 8, 1935, into the humblest of circumstances. By the time of his death in 1977, he had rewritten the history of popular music. Today, more than 30 years after his passing, Elvis remains the undisputed King of Rock ’n’ Roll.

Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit
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VisionTV marks the passing of our annus horribilis and welcomes the arrival of 2010 with a marathon New Year’s Day presentation of this classic tale’s most acclaimed screen incarnation.

Inspirational Leaders
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This New Year’s, resolve to make a difference. VisionTV’s “Inspirational Leaders” event (airing from Monday, Dec. 28 through Wednesday, Dec. 30) features documentaries on Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Joan of Arc, John Lennon and many others whose words and actions have changed the world – and shown us the kind of greatness we can aspire to in our own lives.

VisionTV celebrates "The Real Meaning of Christmas"
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VisionTV rings in the 2009 holiday season with a lineup of prime time specials themed “The Real Meaning of Christmas.” The multi-faith and multicultural network has scheduled three weeks of movies and music programs celebrating all the things that make the holidays special: friends, family, giving and love. VisionTV’s Yuletide programming starts on Monday, Dec. 7 and runs through Christmas day.

Faith at the Summit
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The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (Dec. 7-18) represents a decisive moment in the battle against global warming. According to some, it is a last chance for world leaders to agree on measures to prevent catastrophic climate change. Beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 9, Canada’s VisionTV will present “Faith at the Summit,” a series of news reports from Copenhagen, airing weeknights throughout the summit at 6:57 p.m. ET / 3:57 p.m. PT. The concluding segment will air on Monday, Dec. 21.

Darwin and Beyond: The Battle of Faith and Science
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On Nov. 24, 1859, an English naturalist named Charles Darwin published a book that would change our understanding of life on earth, establish the basis of modern biology, and touch off a battle between faith and science that rages to this day. VisionTV marks the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species with documentary and movie specials that examine the revolutionary implications of Darwin’s idea, and explore the complex, often troubled relationship between the scientific and religious worlds.

Apocalyptic Visions
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The world will end on December 21, 2012. That’s the premise, anyway, of 2012, a big-budget, CGI-laden disaster flick from Independence Day director Roland Emmerich, which premieres this Friday. On Friday, Nov. 20, Canada’s VisionTV considers the end of the world, with an evening of specials that offer a faith-based take on global cataclysm and the fall of civilization. The fun begins at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.

Remembrance Day
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Each year, Remembrance Day honours the sacrifices of those, past and present, who have given their lives in battle. VisionTV marks the occasion with a series of special presentations. Today, along Ontario’s famous “Highway of Heroes,” men and women gather to pay tribute as the bodies of soldiers fallen in Afghanistan make their way home – a heart-rending reminder that the work of defending democracy is never done.

Holocaust Education Week
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Holocaust Education Week, which takes place this year from November 1 to 11, is a time to reaffirm our collective responsibility to oppose the kind of murderous hatred that claimed six million Jewish lives in World War Two. Canada’s VisionTV commemorates this solemn occasion with a series of special presentations airing on Tuesday, Nov. 10, starting at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.

20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall
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On November 9, 1989, after days of peaceful protest, East Germany’s Communist government opened up the gates of the infamous Berlin Wall, allowing East Berliners to pass freely to the West for the first time in 28 years. On Friday, Nov. 6, VisionTV will celebrate the occasion and mark the role of faith in these historic events with a series of special presentations, starting at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

I Prophesy: The Future Revealed: 2012
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Were we warned? VisionTV looks at the Mayan prophecy behind the forthcoming movie blockbuster 2012. On Dec. 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar ends. Is this be a prediction of the world’s doom? Could it be, quite literally, the end of time? That’s the premise of 2012 a big-budget disaster flick from Independence Day director Roland Emmerich, which premieres next month. In the half-hour documentary “2012,” VisionTV’s I Prophesy asks whether an ancient people actually foretold the end of the world.

Beyond The Lost Symbol
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VisionTV examines the truth behind Dan Brown’s latest thriller, The Lost Symbol, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT with the presentation of Supernatural Investigator: Occult Architecture, a documentary that reveals the facts behind Dan Brown’s fiction. Occult Architecture will be followed by Enigma: Masonic Conspiracies on Sept. 29, 11 pm ET/8 pm PT, which investigates the dark rumours of evil deeds that have surrounded the secretive Freemasons for centuries.

The National Catholic Mission 2009
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This annual television event, presented by the National Catholic Broadcasting Council, invites Catholic Church members across Canada to rekindle their faith and seek new direction for their lives. Bishop Paul-Andre Durocher of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall in Ontario leads this year’s mission, offering reflections for the Lenten season.