2020-03-01
Unstable
Tried on my iPad and Apple TV’s. Shuts down every time I try to use it. It does work on my iPhone.
Updating
NFB Films
Released: 2010-06-29
© National Film Board of Canada
iPhone Screenshots
iPad Screenshots
Description
FEATURES:
* WATCH over 4000 films from Canada's National Film Board
* Download films to WATCH OFFLINE (up to 48 hours)
* Add films to your FAVOURITES
* SEARCH the prestigious NFB film collection
* Browse films by thematic CHANNELS
* FIND NFB Events in your area
* READ blog posts about NFB works and behind-the-scenes
* KIDS' channel with fun and educational content for children
* LEARN about NFB Interactive Projects
* SHARE your discoveries with your friends by email, on Twitter or Facebook
* AirPlay and Chromecast support, allowing you to stream films to television
The NFB Films app requires iOS 9.3 and above.
Please send your feedback by email to support@nfb.ca, or by Twitter to http://twitter.com/TheNFB.
Love the app? Please write a review for the App Store!
The National Film Board is Canada's public film producer and distributor. Find out more at http://www.nfb.ca/
What's New in Version 3.2.3
• Film Downloads status bar
• Usability and performance improvements
Seller
Name
National Film Board / Office national du film
Information
Categories
Version
3.2.3
Size
32 MB
Game Center
No
VPP Device Licensing
Yes
Rating
Rated 12+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content and Nudity
Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes
Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humour
Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence
Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References
Compatibility
iOS 9.3 or later
Devices
iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPad 2 (Wi-Fi), iPad 2 (3G), iPad (3rd Generation) (Wi-Fi), iPad (3rd Generation) (4G), iPad (4th Generation) (Wi-Fi), iPad (4th Generation) (4G), iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro, iPad Pro (Cellular), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPad Pro (9.7-inch) (Cellular), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (10.5-inch), iPad Pro (10.5-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (11-inch), iPad Pro (11-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air, iPad Air (Cellular), iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 (Cellular), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini (Wi-Fi), iPad mini (4G), iPad mini Retina, iPad mini Retina (Cellular), iPad mini 3, iPad mini 3 (Cellular), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 4 (Cellular), iPad mini (5th Generation), iPad mini (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (7th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPod touch (5th generation), iPod touch (6th Generation), iPod touch (7th generation)
Languages
English, French
App Store: Customer Ratings
Ratings & Reviews
4.0 of 5 (3 Ratings)
App Store: Customer Reviews
2020-02-18
No Longer Works on Apple TV
No longer works on Apple TV. App launches then closes again right away.
2020-01-08
Offline viewing is broken
Tried to download movies for offline use. The downloads complete but they disappear as soon as the application is restarted. Wasted bandwidth and got nothing to watch on the plane now :(
2019-10-10
Chromecast Support
Are there plans to add Chromecast to the app? Would make it 5/5 for me.
2019-03-08
National film board
Sometimes it is impossible to access a download. It will stream it without me realizing it. A week’s worth of data gone in 20 minutes.
2019-03-02
No play in landscape position
I must be missing something. The videos only show in the top 1/3 of my phone screen in portrait mode. Need a magnifying glass to watch. Is there a way to watch full screen in landscape mode?
2019-03-01
iOS on iPad
White screen of death, nothing loads, white page. Restarted, same thing.
2019-02-12
One key bug fixed
The NFB and it’s library of films is a national Canadian treasure. I have subscribed to this app for many years, and have assembled a list of favorites over the years. Each update until this version has wiped out my favorites list, so this version update has apparently fixed this bug and preserved my list. Thank you, and let’s keep the progress moving forward!
2019-02-07
Super glitchy
This is a truly terrible app.
I love NFB films. Its a shame to see that the board has settled for this poorly constructed, limited, thoughtlessly flawed app designed by developers with no merit. I wish someone had the fortitude to look into fixing the dozens of glitches in this app.
Unfortunately it takes a great product and renders it nearly useless to the user. Typical of the Canadian government.
2019-01-24
Faultless app and quality content
This app worked without problems right “out of the box“. The vaults contain historic films, including the NFB‘s 1941 Oscar, Churchill‘s Island, the first documentary to win. Their length ranges from one minute vignettes to two-hour features in English and French and a 1918 silent too. The subjects are diverse, Canadian history, culture, and natural history for the past 60 years. And it’s all free without advertising. While films are adequately categorized by subject, the app’s search function could be improved by adding a choice of sort order.
2018-12-17
L’app ne fonctionne plus! NFB app no longer works!
Quel contrôle de la qualité chez le développeur de cette app?
Quel dommage! Ma petite fille de 2 ans et moi sommes terriblement deçus.
L’application ne présente qu’une page blanche sur iPad.
Sur iPhone, le film ne peut être vu qu’en tout petit format, à la verticale, autrement : plantage assuré.
À l’aide!!!
2018-10-11
Come on NFB, push a little harder...
The iOS app is lacking in many things but first and foremost it’s screen size is 2 generations behind. Time for an iPhone X update don’t you think. I realize I’m asking a publicly funded institution to spend more money it doesn’t have on non-artistic endeavours. But this is really important to stay relevant, especially these days. I’ll write my MP if you promise to push out another update.
2018-10-02
Chromecast?!!
La fonction chromecast devrait être implantée!!
2018-06-24
NFB misses the mark
As usual the National Film Board of Canada screws it up. Still no Chromecast support. Poor interface. There's gotta be thousands if not tens of thousands of films in the NFB archive but not here. And since this is government funded don't hold your breath on any improvements anytime soon.
2018-04-30
Crashes on iPhone 6, but ok on iPad and iPhone 8.
Crash on iPhone 6 has persisted through all recent OS updates. Will play selection if made quickly. Does not allow search or review of saved favourites.
2018-02-06
Buggy
The app crashes every time I try to remove a favorite. Switching the app language from English to French doesn’t work.
2017-12-20
A True Gem on the Apple TV
My husband and I love this app. Our favourites are the super creative and fun cartoons. Art, humour and originality that is hard to find these days.
Thank you, Canada!
2017-10-17
No casting, poor quality video
Doesn't work with chromecast or appletv.
2017-08-10
Not Up To NFB Standards
What gives NFB? Why release an app with so many obvious bugs. These inconveniences are not trivial. They're show stoppers.
Approximately 15 minutes of use revealed the following short comings.
login is not by user name (as the label for the text field suggests) but by email address, just like the browser experience
Videos play soundtrack with no video component. e.g. "The Colour of Beauty"
Feature Request: to be able to view and play all the movies that I've purchased
2017-07-14
Still pretty awful
Big upgrade, poor execution. Take offline viewing. If autolock kicks, your download stops for good with no option to restart. Which is going to be every time. New rentals feature is incomprehensible and also doesn't work. Search results still have no discernible logic. Nice job, NFB.
2017-07-08
Needs update to continue to work with iOS11
This is a 32bit app and will stop functioning when iOS11 is released. Please update it.
2017-06-26
In danger for iOS 11
Please update the app as it will not function once iOS 11 is installed...
2017-05-26
Updated ios10 app required
Great content but app has not been updated since 2015
2017-04-14
Onf
Lorsque je veux enlever un film de mes favoris; l'application se ferme et le film ne peut être retiré des favoris. Améliorer pour le nouveau iOS d'Apple svp.
2017-04-14
Amazing archive. Clunky app. Please update.
There's great potential in this app but it's too unreliable and not robust enough to mine the rich archive it serves. Please update it. Access to the NFB archives is pure gold but the app is freezing frequently. Also, would be great to be able to search by filmmaker, genre, duration, and to filter in order to browse award-winning films.
Fantastic resource for film lovers of all ages. Kudos for making the app. Please update.
2017-03-22
Memories
Fantastic works great with my iPhone 6splus most current update. Great trip down memory lane love it.
2017-03-19
Where's the update?
I'm giving the app 3 stars because although broken I still use it fairly frequent. Seriously enough though, where the hell is the next update? How hard can it be?!
2017-02-25
Great random film generator
If you want random results to your search queries, this is the app for you. Hilariously awful app.
2016-11-06
Constantly crashes
Not worth the time to download.
2016-06-14
Liked it until I got my data bill
Summary: "Watch offline" feature doesn't work, be wary of heavy data usage on LTE.
Review: I first used the NFB app several years ago. It was great for finding shorts, clips, and even PSA's I hadn't seen in years. It was also good for discovering lots of lesser-known Canadian films and shows.
A few weeks ago I re-downloaded the app in anticipation of a long car trip with our two young children, and I selected several items that my older child likes to save them for "offline use" as we were traveling through areas with limited cell coverage. I selected these items while I was on Wi-Fi the night before we left (more than 12 hours before leaving home). Halfway through our trip we stopped to allow the kids to play outside, and I decided to look at one of the shorts I had saved. I got less than 2 minutes into the movie before being interrupted by a series of text message alerts from my cell provider, Telus, about data use over my 1 GB monthly allowance, then that I had gone over my data limits and my data access had been restricted. At first I thought it was a mistake, because it was the first day of my new billing cycle, but I checked my cellular data settings and discovered that the NFB app had used up 1.8 GB of data in the couple minutes it had been running. I was horrified, and immediately turned off all cellular data for the app before calling Telus customer service. While they were kind enough to reverse the $50 in extra days fees incurred, I still had to pay an extra $15 for a 1 GB data add-on so that I would still have some data to use for the rest of the month.
After looking through the app's own settings, I think the problem may be that it has not been updated to account for LTE cell network data, so it seems to treat LTE as though it is Wi-Fi. (The app's internal data settings only allow you qto restrict the resolution of videos if you are on 3G wireless as opposed to Wi-Fi. Based on the rate at which it consumed data I can only conclude that it must have been streaming my 7-minute video at 1080p resolution.) The frustrating thing is that it still used cell data even though I ONLY accessed that one movie from the "watch offline" tab. There is obviously a glitch here, both in the watch offline option and the resolution settings when on cell network instead of Wi-Fi. (Before all this happened, the setting for the app on my phone was the default of 1080p resolution on Wi-Fi and 360p resolution on the 3G network.)
I contacted the developers through their online form but haven't received a reply after 10 days despite a promise in their auto-reply that communications would be replied to in 2-3 business days.
In summary, the app itself is great but make sure you turn off cellular data for the app unless you have unlimited data usage, or you could be in for a rude surprise.
2016-04-15
Good content broken app
NFB content is great. The actual app is broken. Frequent crashes and search rarely works even if you type the exact title in. Downloading for offline viewing seems broken. And no chromecast support. Needs lots of work.
2016-04-10
Crashes on 6+
Films play until flipped to landscape mode then the app crashes immediately.
2016-01-31
English menus not working
When I first ran this app everything was in French which I am not fluent in. I found the configuration area and set the top two options to 'Anglais' - now the film descriptions are in English but the entire 'More' section, the Rentals area, the top menus and what I'm assuming are the play and download buttons are still all in French. The pictures show these things in English so I'm not sure if there is a bug with this version or if something else needs to be changed.
If you cannot read French this app will be more frustrating than enjoyable for you.
2016-01-03
Malheureusement fonctionne mal
Super d'avoir accès aux archives. Malheureusement ça fonctionne très mal. Après avoir téléchargé pour accès hors ligne toujours pas possible de visionner, etc. La fonction recherche aussi très imprévisible..
2015-11-07
Great!!!
I don't know what the complainers are on about, this app works very well on my iPad, great selection, great search engine. You find find everything the NFB has made in the past but that is not the app's fault, probably to do with licensing. My only caveat is that the app will not 'mirror' via Apple TV but the NFB very quickly and graciously responded to my query, apparently the new version of Apple TV carries the NFB stream. Small complaint as I don't plan on updating just yet so I'll be watching on the iPad. Again, great selection of great films. Congratulations NFB!
2015-10-27
NFB
Just awful! Nothing works .They should be embarassed.
2015-09-13
NFB is simply one of the best.
I love the NFB.
2015-09-05
NFB films
Absolutely horrible. Used to be great but now crashes on opening. I'm so sorry I did the update. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.
2015-09-03
Problems
I like this app but please fix problems. My sign-in will not accept. Says incorrect. But works fine on website. And the search does not work. Tried to find film "The Horse Boy". Can't find it. No problem on web site. Get this fixed. Poor interface for such a great organization.
2015-07-31
Meh
This doesn't support chrome cast. deleted
2015-07-11
Annoying...
Je viens de charger l'application avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme, mais quelle déception, on n'arrive pas a l'ouvrir!... IPod 4 et IOS 6, ça ne marche pas!! Merci ONF de remédier au problème!
2015-07-03
NFB - wish I kept the old app
Can't open it, can't review it. Much like a lot of Independent Canadian Cinema, can't even see it.
2015-06-24
Crashes on iTouch 4
Don't update or you'll lose your Nfb app no way to reverse if you haven't backed up the old version
2015-06-07
Nice access but...
There is no history function in this app to restart a film that you have had to start watching or even find what you might have seen.
After watching 35 minutes of an excellent documentary I'd found I had to shut off my iPad to do something else. I then had to remind the video and also find where it might have left off. That kind of memory can't be very tough to addd, and it would make the experience much less frustrating.
There is a great selection of excellent, varied, and valuable films available so thank you for that. I am glad this app is here.
2015-06-06
Search engine broken.
This was a terrific app...unfortunately, it's almost impossible to find some films right now because the search engine is not working with this version. Hopefully this will be fixed quickly!!!
2015-05-31
Great app - thanks, NFB!
I came to this app via an article about blackflies in the Globe and Mail, and am I glad I did! Thousands of films, from animated shorts to full-length documentaries — there's something for everyone, from kid to adult. And the picture quality is excellent on my iPad Air. I foresee many, many hours of enjoyment ahead.
2015-02-19
You have no idea what treasures this app hides within!
The film and animation collection is superb, and it's there, well organized and free to watch.
If you like the independent cinema, this app has a lot of wonderful stuff to present.
The app itself works flawlessly.
2014-12-07
great content, app improved
With the latest version, looks like the gimpy "watch later" has been repaired. Some of the downloads have still taken a while, but I've been able to download and watch half a dozen shows with no glitches. The menu has been simplified and cleaned up too.
On my wish list: enable filtering when browsing the list of titles (e.g. filter out children's shows). It would also be nice to keep track of which shows I've already watched (and filter those out when I'm looking for the next thing to watch).
2014-09-14
What the?
New version seems to take forever to start a video and then it stalls part way through. Please fix this!