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Northwest Territories as Seen by NFB Filmmakers
A rich selection of films from the Northwest Territories spanning eight decades, offering an invaluable look at life in this unique region of the country.
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Into LightSheona McDonald 2021 19 minWhen a child reveals who they truly are on the inside, how does a parent set aside their own expectations to help them become their most authentic self? Sheona McDonald’s documentary captures a season of change as a mother and child navigate the complexities of gender identity together. -
K'i Tah Amongst the BirchMelaw Nakehk'o 2020 10 minFilmmaker/activist Melaw Nakehk’o has spent the pandemic with her family at a remote land camp in the Northwest Territories, “getting wood, listening to the wind, staying warm and dry, and watching the sun move across the sky.” In documenting camp life—activities like making fish leather and scraping moose hide—she anchors the COVID experience in a specific time and place.
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Farewell TouchFrance Benoit 2012 7 minThis short documentary shines a light on the work of undertakers in a moving portrait that celebrates human touch at the seam of the mortal divide. When Peter dies in Yellowknife with no family members to claim his remains, he ends up in Janice's careful hands, where he is cleaned, shaved and dressed for his final resting place.
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CBQMDennis Allen 2009 1 h 6 minThis feature-length documentary pays tribute to CBQM, the radio station that operates out of Fort McPherson, a small town about 150 km north of the Arctic Circle in the Canadian Northwest Territories. Through storytelling and old-time country music, filmmaker and long-time listener Dennis Allen crafts a nuanced portrait of the "Moccasin Telegraph," the radio station that is a pillar of local identity and pride in this lively northern Teetl'it Gwich'in community of 800 souls.
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CoppermineRay Harper 1992 55 minThis feature documentary introduces us to the Copper Inuit of the Coronation Gulf region of Canada's Northwest Territories, one of the last aboriginal groups to be contacted by people from outside. When Doctor R.D. Martin arrived in Coppermine in 1929, he had to deal with one of the consequences of that contact: a full-blown tuberculosis epidemic.
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First Arctic Winter GamesDennis Sawyer & R.C. Gibson 1970 25 minA short documentary film about the first Arctic Winter Games, held in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, in 1970. The inaugural edition of this international event was attended by more than 8,000 participants and spectators, including 750 Canadian athletes and 250 athletes from the US. The Games included many sports typically included in Olympic competitions, with a specific focus on Indigenous sports as well.
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NahanniDonald Wilder 1962 18 minThis short film focuses on the legend of a lost gold mine and a river in the Northwest Territories that lured men to their doom. Albert Faille, an aging prospector, set out time and again to find hidden gold. His route took him through the wild and awesome land particularly suited to the mood of this Canadian odyssey.
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Strange Doings1964 9 minShark Hunt: Canadian Fisheries Patrol in the Pacific brings in a huge basking shark. Stringing a Line: A power line is strung by helicopter over mountains in Banff National Park. Arctic Town: Inuvik, a new town built on stilts inside the Arctic Circle.
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Down NorthHector Lemieux 1958 29 minThis short film serves as a report on sub-Arctic developments in the 1.3 million square km District of Mackenzie. In communities such as Hay River, Yellowknife and Port Radium, modern technology and methods of winter transport opened up new possibilities in mining, lumber, and other industries, and new opportunities for the local populations.
Please note that this is an archival film that makes use of the word “Eskimo,” an outdated and offensive term. While the origin of the word is a matter of some contention, it is no longer used in Canada. The term was formally rejected by the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1980 and has subsequently not been in use at the NFB for decades. This film is therefore a time-capsule of a bygone era, presented in its original version. The NFB apologizes for the offence caused. -
Eye Witness No. 291950 9 minThis installment of the Eye Witness series focuses on Indigenous children at Fort Simpson; a miniature naval battle between radio-operated vessels attended by the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets in Montreal; a drive-in theatre near Ottawa used to provide church services to passing motorists; and how Toronto's subway system is starting to take shape.
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Eye Witness No. 31948 11 minThe film takes us to a dispersal centre in Halifax for a close-up view of some new neighbours--homeless Europeans, eager to contribute their skills to a new homeland in Canada. The second part of the film tours the mushrooming community of Yellowknife, six hundred and seventy-five miles north of Edmonton. In five years, its population jumped from five hundred to five thousand, turning a mining camp into a permanent mining town.
