Ján Kadár’s landmark 1975 Canadian film Lies My Father Told Me is now finally out on DVD, and it’s a wonder it took this long. But here it is, beautifully restored by Gerry and Hila Feil. Mile-Enders will get a huge kick out of the film, shot in Montreal and set in the 1920s Jewish quarter. We see the lives of Jewish immigrants through the eyes of a six-year-old boy, as he learns about the world primarily through his raconteur grandfather. It’s poignant and at times hilarious, based on the autobiographical short story by brilliant Montreal scribe Ted Allan, who also appears in the film.

To mark the film’s 35th anniversary, the Lies My Father Told Me DVD launch will be feted with two screenings of the film at the Segal Centre’s CinemaSpace, this Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 26 and 27, at 7 p.m.. Each screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s producer, local movie legend and mensch Harry Gulkin. This really is an example of one of the first Canadian films that ever made a splash internationally, back in the days when we really didn’t have anything resembling an actual industry. (Amazingly, there was also an Irish hour-long film version of Allan’s story made in 1960, which sadly is not an extra on this DVD.)

In other local DVD news, several documentaries produced by Montreal’s Bunbury Films are being released this month, all well worth checking out. Leaving the Fold (2008) is a glimpse into the lives of several Hasidic Jews who have left their communities to lead less religiously observant lives. Once a Nazi (2006) explores the complex questions surrounding a professor who some see as a criminal, and others see as a reformed man. Bigfoot’s Reflection (2007) profiles several scientists who, despite extensive ridicule, persist on researching and exploring the very real possibility (at least to them) that the Sasquatch actually exists.