Films
private: the secret history of erotic art
No Way To Die
BORN BAD
YEAR OF THE GUN
FAMILY CAMERA
SONG OF EXTINCTION
Beauty And Ruin
Transforming Gender
Life After Digital
How We Got Gay
Why Men Cheat
Who’s Sorry Now
The End of Men
Surviving The Future
The Disappearing Male
Blood Sweat and Code
A Perfect Fake
The Disciples
The Murder of John Lennon
private:
the secret history of erotic art
2025
In development
Erotic art is as old as art itself. From the tantric temples of Rajasthan, India, to the highly detailed bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, the erotic woodblock prints of Edo Period Japan, and the pornographic paintings of Pompeii, depictions of sexual activity are a central element in the history of human civilization. However in 2000 years of the Christian era, the explicit depiction of human sexual behaviour was ruthlessly suppressed and subject to strict prohibition.
This started to change in a very big way in the late 19th century, when erotic art went through a phase of extraordinary flowering, with artists throughout Europe, but mainly in France and Germany, began devoting themselves to depicting human sexuality in every imaginable permutation. It was a deeply emancipatory and revolutionary activity, and laid the groundwork for sexual modernity and the eventual explosion of erotic imagery into mainstream culture in the era of the “sexual revolution”.
No Way To Die
2024
Broadcaster: CBC
In 2016, Canada become one of a handful of countries in the world to offer Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to terminally ill patients. Since 2021, the Canadian government has been planning to further extend MAiD to people whose sole underlying medical condition was a mental disorder. It became one of the most toxic and contentious debates in Canadian medical history, and it highlighted a striking lack of compassion, empathy and understanding towards people who have been suffering from profound mental anguish for decades.
NO WAY TO DIE follows two deeply mentally ill individuals, both of whom had been planning to apply for MAiD, watching in sadness, anger and torment as a phalanx of politicians, psychiatrists and bioethicists launch a ferocious effort to halt the government’s plan to offer relief to people like them, people who are out of resiliency and out of options.
Born Bad
2021
Produced By Parabellum Pictures
Broadcaster: CBC
BORN BAD tells the story of a network of 18 provincially run residential training schools for “delinquent” and “incorrigible” boys and girls aged 8 to 16 that operated for over 50 years in Ontario. Tens of thousands of children were sent to these institutions, and the reality of what went on in them is one of Canada’s most shameful and sinister secrets.
So sinister that a $600 million class action lawsuit has been filed against the Ontario Government, alleging that they were places where degrading and humiliating treatment of children was the norm, and physical, sexual and psychological abuse was rampant.
BORN BAD is the story of four survivors of Ontario’s training school system, now all in their late 50s and 60s as they struggle with what happened to them decades ago, and struggle for justice as part of the class action lawsuit. None of them have told their stories—until now.
YEAR OF THE GUN
2019
Produced By Parabellum Pictures
Broadcaster: CBC
The city of Toronto markets itself as a world-class, diverse, and equitable metropolis. But scratch beneath the surface and one finds a story of immense disparities, because the reality is that Toronto is a deeply divided city of immense wealth and vast poverty. In this iteration, Toronto is not only the child poverty capital of Canada, it is also a city where poverty is highly concentrated along racial lines.
The most damning evidence of the social and economic fissures that mark this version of Toronto are the gun crimes that shake the city on an increasingly regular basis. YEAR OF THE GUN is a powerful look at the incendiary problem of gun violence that not only threatens the well-being and safety of the people living in all areas of Toronto, but also one whose roots in poverty, disenfranchisement and racism act as a profound indictment of Toronto’s self-image as an open, progressive and tolerant place.
FAMILY CAMERA
2017
Feature Documentary
Spanning from the first photographs taken in Upper Canada in the 1840s to the Instagram and Snapchat photos of 2017, FAMILY CAMERA will be a unique and moving look at 150 years of Canadian history through the unique prism of a single technology—the camera, and the most important product of that technology: the family photograph. Premiering in the fall of 2017, FAMILY CAMERA is a co-production of TVOntario, The Knowledge Network in BC, in collaboration with Royal Ontario Museum.
SONG OF EXTINCTION
2017
Multimedia performance
SONG OF EXTINCTION is a 50-minute collaboration between composer Rose Bolton and filmmaker Marc de Guerre, from an original text by Order of Canada-appointed poet Don McKay. The monumentally scaled piece is a visual and sonic exploration of the anthropocene: the rapidly accelerating calamity that Homo sapiens have unleashed on the planet and their fellow creatures. Created for the 10th anniversary of the Luminato Festival in June 2016 and premiering at the massive Hearn Generating Station, SONG OF EXTINCTION features stunning large-scale projections and a tightly enmeshed score for chamber orchestra, chamber choir, live electronics and youth chorus.
Website: songofextinction.com
Beauty And Ruin
2016
Feature Documentary
Broadcasters: ARTE France | Super Channel | AVRO Netherlands
The Detroit Institute of Arts is one of America’s great art museums. Since its founding in the late 19th century has accumulated a collection of European masterpieces that rival any museum in the world—all of them purchased at a time when Detroit was the phenomenally wealthy white-hot center of American industrial power.
But when the city of Detroit went bankrupt in 2013, a fight over whether these masterpieces should be sold as city assets began—shaking the city and the global museum community to the core. With access to all the major players, BEAUTY AND RUIN is the untold story of the history of an amazing art museum in the context of a troubled city, and the definitive behind the scenes look at the crisis that almost destroyed it.
Transforming Gender
2015
Produced By Mad Hive Media
Broadcaster: CBC
We live in a society defined by the always-spreading embrace of minority or disenfranchised groups. The last 100 years have seen one excluded group after another pursue equality in the public square. Immigrants, women, blacks, gays and lesbians, one by one these groups permanently shifted the balance of power, overhauled our values—and redefined the meaning of normal.
Now a new community is rising in prominence. And while the pursuit of rights and protection for transgendered people is decades behind that of gays and lesbians, blacks or women, few doubt that the era of transgendered enfranchisement is upon us. TRANSFORMING GENDER tells that story through a series of intimate portraits of transgendered people from all walks of life.
Life After Digital
2014
Feature Documentary
Broadcasters: TVOntario | The Documentary Channel
We live in a world remade by a “desire to share”. It is a world facilitated by our involvement with illuminated screens, with handheld wireless computers called smartphones, and a ubiquitous “always-on” connection to social networks. Life After Digital is a chilling look at the a whole host of new realities that have emerged from this new way of life. They are realities that no one saw coming and no one predicted.
From the end of privacy, to revenge porn, cyberbullying and trolling attacks, to a new generation of facial recognition technologies that effectively turn the face of every social media user into a barcode, this desire to share our lives online has unintended consequences we are only just beginning to understand.
How We Got Gay
2013
Broadcaster: CBC
The gay rights movement that began with the Stonewall Riots in 1969 took gay people from being shunned outlaws, to the heart of the halls of political and social power. And it accomplished many of its goals in a fraction of the time that it took the women’s movement and the civil rights movement to achieve similar ends.
But at the heart of that revolution is a tragedy. Because what drove the gay community to finally demand power in our world was a disease that was decimating its ranks: AIDS. It was one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history and it would forever redefine the relationship between the gay and straight world.
Why Men Cheat
2012
Broadcaster: LOGO TV | CBC
We live in a world permanently awash in stories of influential men who risk everything in pursuit of that most simple and lowly of goals: sexual gratification. WHY MEN CHEAT investigates the truth behind the murky motivations of supremely powerful men who endanger marriages, reputations, and careers in their quest for illicit moments of sexual pleasure.
Featuring interviews with sex columnist Dan Savage, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred and noted experts on human behaviour and sexuality, the film looks at the evolutionary, cultural and psychological underpinnings behind why men of great influence who ‘have it all’ are drawn moth-like to risky affairs, and how they come to believe that the rules now longer apply to them.
Who’s Sorry Now
2011
Broadcaster: CBC
WHO’S SORRY NOW is an in-depth examination of the crisis management industry set against a backdrop where powerful people and powerful interests have less privacy and less control over their image then ever before. With a mobile phone camera in every pocket and an online audience instantly riveted to fresh scandals, it’s harder than ever for public figures to hide mistakes and misdeeds.
But when a crisis comes, an elite brand of “reputation managers” and “crisis control specialists” springs into action, launching multi-million dollar campaigns in an effort to “protect the brand” and salvage the image and career of the philandering politician, the cheating or battering sports idol, or corrupt CEO.
The End of Men
2010
Broadcaster: CBC
In the not too distant past, many men had a sense of certainty that they could fulfill the idealized and archetypal societal roles that ‘being a man’ embodied. Men were rugged individuals. Resilient, brave and loyal. And most importantly, a man was the provider and protector of his family.
THE END OF MEN is the story of a rapidly transforming world, in a time when the established versions of manhood no longer work, and where it is clear that the only way forward for men lies in learning to adapt to a world they can no longer dominate. In the early 21st century, men are increasingly facing a choice: embrace the place the world is becoming—or live among the ruins of a place that no longer exists.
Surviving The Future
2009
Broadcaster: CBC
Fifty years ago, the future was a dreamscape of flying cars, robot servants, and holidays on the moon. But today, our high tech dreams are all about survival—finding a way to prevent the calamity we will face this century: nine billion people, climate chaos, and the extinction of up to half the species on the planet by 2100.
The paradox is, at the very same time, science has brought individual human life to the cusp of the most hopeful and transformative period in history. Scientists are now devising revolutionary new biotechnologies in the pursuit of immortality by eliminating the causes of aging, extending healthy life, and radically prolonging the human lifespan.
SURVIVING THE FUTURE is an unsettling glimpse into the human psyche right now, as we stagger between a fervent belief in futuristic utopian technologies on the one hand, and dreams of apocalyptic planetary payback on the other.
The Disappearing Male
2008
Broadcaster: CBC
THE DISAPPEARING MALE is about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system.
The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer. At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.
THE DISAPPEARING MALE takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products, carpet, cosmetics and baby bottles. Many believe they may be starting to damage the most basic building blocks of human development.
Blood Sweat and Code
2007
Broadcaster: CBC | Discovery Channel
Filmed in Syria, Norway, Romania, South Korea and the United States, BLOOD SWEAT AND CODE is an unprecedented look at the global culture of online games. From the Rock Star gamers of Seoul, to Syrian developers marketing a Jihadi-themed anti-Israeli shooter game, computer games are an art form with a multiplicity of meanings, and the first important new medium of the 21st century.
In North America, games have been embraced by everyone from the United States Army to the major Hollywood studios. And while debate rages over whether online games are unavoidably linked to the wave of mass killings at schools, or whether they might be giving their users a cognitive advantage in the job market of the 21st century, the message is clear: computer games are an unavoidable part of our future, whether we play them or not.
A Perfect Fake
2005
Broadcaster: Documentary Channel | CBC
The fantasy of creating life is as old as civilization. Myths and stories abound that speak to man’s desire to bring life to inanimate matter. Ovid, in the Metamorphosis, tells of the sculptor Pygmalion, a man who fell in love with his statue, the ‘ivory virgin’ Galatea.
A PERFECT FAKE looks at the persistence of this myth in the modern world. Filmed in Tokyo, this startling film takes us deep into the into the world of “dollers”—men who have chosen to reject the reality of human sexual companionship in order to pursue emotional and physical relationships with a variety of erotic surrogates and simulations.
The Disciples
2002
Broadcaster: CBC
THE DISCIPLES is startling behind the scenes look at the Christian music business, seen through the eyes of three good-looking brothers from a Bible College in Red Hills Alberta, as they attempt to make it in the heart of the billion-dollar Christian entertainment business based in Nashville Tennessee.
Evangelical youth culture in the Southern United States is a parallel pop universe, and it is very big business; one that is entirely fabricated to closely mimic the trends and fashions of the secular mainstream. The goal is to hang on to the young born-again Christians at constant risk of drifting or being swallowed whole by the alluring sights and sounds emanating from the Godless behemoths of New York and Los Angeles.
The Murder of John Lennon
2000
Broadcaster: History Television
When news spreads that John Lennon has been murdered, there is an astonishing display of sorrow. In cities around the world, fans gather to weep and comfort each other. Not since the death of John F. Kennedy have people felt such a collective sense of loss. This film recounts Lennon’s life and the eerie consonances between the life of a genius and the troubled and angry young man who killed him on December 8, 1980.
Marc de Guerre
Writer & Director
Marc de Guerre is a two-time Gemini Award winning documentary director and writer who lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He has been making films since 2000. His films are reflective of his broad interests in the areas of art, human behaviour, social history, popular culture, sexuality, and technology. Marc de Guerre is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, and spent many years as a working visual artist, before transitioning to documentary film. His art background is a very important element of his filmmaking.
Curriculum Vitae
2025
PRIVATE: THE SECRET HISTORY OF EROTIC ART
In development
Produced by Material Pictures
2024
NO WAY TO DIE
One Hour Documentary produced by Material Pictures
Broadcaster: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
2021
BORN BAD
Produced by Parabellum Pictures
Broadcaster: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
2019
YEAR OF THE GUN
One Hour Documentary produced by Parabellum Pictures
Broadcaster: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
2017
FAMILY CAMERA
One Hour Documentary produced by Subject Chaser Films
Broadcasters: TVOntario | The Knowledge Network
2016
BEAUTY AND RUIN
A FEATURE DOCUMENTARY Produced by Films à Cinq and Subject Chaser Films for AVRO Netherlands ARTE France and Super Channel Canada
Commissioning editors: Ali Delici for ARTE, Marijke Huijbregts for AVRO and Maureen Levitt for Super Channel
2015
TRANSFORMING GENDER
1×60 MINUTES Produced by Mad Hive Media for CBC main network
Commissioning editor: Michael Claydon
2014
A.D. AFTER DIGITAL
Director and Writer
FEATURE DOCUMENTARY Produced by Mad Hive Media in conjunction with Shaftesbury Films for TVOntario and CBC Documentary Channel
Commissioning editors: Jane Jankovic and Bruce Cowley
2013
HOW WE GOT GAY
1×60 MINUTES Produced by Mad Hive Media for CBC main network
Commissioning editor: Michael Claydon
2012
WHY MEN CHEAT
1×60 MINUTES Produced by Shaftesbury Films for CBC main network and LOGO TV USA
Commissioning editors: Michael Claydon and Jonathan Pankratz
2011
WHO’S SORRY NOW
Director, Co-Producer and Writer
1×60 MINUTES Produced by Shaftesbury Films for CBC main network
Commissioning editor: Michael Claydon
2010
THE END OF MEN
Director, Co-Producer and Writer
1×60 MINUTES Produced by Frantic Films for CBC main network
Commissioning editor: Michael Claydon
2009
SURVIVING THE FUTURE
Director and Writer
1×60 MINUTES Produced by Red Apple for CBC main network
Commissioning editor: Michael Claydon
2008
THE DISAPPEARING MALE
Director and Writer
1X60 MINUTES Produced by Red Apple for CBC Main Network
Commissioning editor: Michael Claydon
*WINNER 2008 GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, NATURE, ENVIRONMENT, OR ADVENTURE DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
2007
BLOOD SWEAT AND CODE
Director, Producer and Writer
2X1 HOUR SPECIAL Produced by Red Apple for Discovery Times US and the CBC Commissioning editors: Gerry Mcintosh CBC, and Bill Smee Discovery Times
*WINNER 2007 GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, NATURE, ENVIRONMENT, OR ADVENTURE DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
2005
A PERFECT FAKE
1X60 MINUTES Produced by Primitive Entertainment for the Documentary Channel and CBC Newsworld
Commissioning editor: Michael Burns and Andrew Johnson
2002
THE DISCIPLES
Director, Writer and Producer
1X60 MINUTES Produced by Very Small Films for CBC Witness
Commissioning editor: Hilary Armstrong
2000
THE MURDER OF JOHN LENNON
Director and Writer
1X60 MINUTES Produced by Barna-Alper Productions for History Television
Commissioning editor: Sidney Suissa