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Rural Life (25)
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Alexis Tremblay: HabitantJane Marsh 1943 37 minThis short documentary illustrates rural French Canadian life in the early 1940s. The film follows Alexis Tremblay and his family through the busy autumn days as they bring in the harvest and help with bread baking and soap making. Winter sees the children revelling in outdoor sports while the women are busy with their weaving, and, with the coming of spring young and old alike repair to the fields once more to plough the earth in preparation for another season of varied crops. One of the first NFB films to be produced, directed, written and shot by women. -
The CurlersWilliam Davidson 1955 27 minThe local curling club, one of rural Canada's most esteemed social institutions, exerts diverse influences on the affairs of its members. In this film we see how an ingenious small-town lawyer employs the team spirit to settle a rift between two neighbouring farmers, just in time for an all-important turkey bonspiel.
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HolidaysBlake James 1978 1 minThis very short film from the Canada Vignettes series presents a montage of watercolor images depicting the work and occasional play of a farm family.
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Country AuctionRoy Nolan & Ron Tunis 1964 10 minHousehold effects and farm implements under the hammer. Here is the auctioneer's cajoling patter, the jostling crowd, pungent observations from one or two old-timers and, over all, the kindly curiosity of folks who gather to see the end of a neighbour's life on the farm.
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Country FairsJean Roy 1962 27 minFor farm folk it is a day of judgment, for town folk a day of fun, in the Eastern Townships of Québec. Drum majorettes and cattle shows, pipes and drums and homemade pickles--the country fair has something for everyone, and in this film the probing camera is everywhere to capture its essence to the full.
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Cornet at NightStanley Jackson 1963 14 minBased on a short story by Sinclair Ross, this short film recalls rural life on the Prairies in the 1930s. In the film a farmer's young son, sent to town to hire a man for the harvest, readily accepts when an itinerant trumpet player, down on his luck, begs a chance. He is hardly the kind of man the boy's father had in mind, but that night his trumpet speaks from the shadows and everyone pauses to listen.
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DrylandersDon Haldane 1963 1 h 9 minThis epic drama looks at the opening of the Canadian West and the drought that led to the Depression in the Thirties. It is the saga of a family who left Eastern Canada to stake their future in the Prairies. Principle roles are played by Frances Hyland and James Douglas.
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Don't Knock the OxTony Ianzelo 1970 13 minThe International Ox Pull, highlight of the Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, annual fair, is a holdover from the pioneer past when oxen cleared the land and tilled the soil. These beasts of burden have lost none of their pulling power, as demonstrated when they drag tons of weight loaded on sleds (the winner pulls up to 6 tons!). Competing teams come from various parts of the Maritimes and the Northeastern United States.
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Eye Witness No. 341951 11 minEye Witness was a series of short monthly newsreels produced by the NFB during the post-war period. Each installment included several short reports on issues dear to Canadians. In episode No. 34, we see: The Fireman Is a Grocer, which takes a closer look at the voluntary fire department in Kentville, Nova Scotia; Artistry in Clay and Cloth, which introduces us to a Czech artist skilled in ceramics and a group of artists from Montreal who create novel designs with silk screens and colourful dyes; and Winter Morning, which offers a glimpse of a day in the life on the Wiebe farm in Saskatchewan.
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FarmingAlanis Obomsawin 1975 1 minThe farming practices of residents of the Líl̓wat Nation near Mount Currie, B.C., are presented in a series of snapshots that illustrate the fertility of their territory and the people’s deep connection to their land.
This short is part of the L’il’wata series. In the early 1970s, at the outset of her documentary career, Alanis Obomsawin visited the Líl̓wat Nation, an Interior Salish First Nation in British Columbia, and created a series of shorts that provide personal narratives about Líl̓wat culture, histories and knowledge. -
Farming - Lep'cál (Salish Version)Alanis Obomsawin 1975 1 minThe farming practices of residents of the Líl̓wat Nation near Mount Currie, B.C., are presented in a series of snapshots that illustrate the fertility of their territory and the people’s deep connection to their land.
This short is part of the L’il’wata series. In the early 1970s, at the outset of her documentary career, Alanis Obomsawin visited the Líl̓wat Nation, an Interior Salish First Nation in British Columbia, and created a series of shorts that provide personal narratives about Líl̓wat culture, histories and knowledge. -
Farm ElectrificationEvelyn Cherry 1946 21 minA farming community organizes to obtain hydro power under Manitoba's rural electrification plan. Energetic canvassing wins over those hesitant to share, for the good of all, the initial expense. The abundant return in comfort, convenience, efficiency and financial advantage is described in concluding sequences.
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The GiftGary Farmer 1998 48 minThis short documentary examines the role of corn in the lives of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Before colonization, corn was widely used as a beverage, a food staple, an oil, and a ceremonial object. It was respected and revered as a critical part of creation. This film explores the powerful bond and spiritual relationship that continues to exist between people and corn. Combining interviews, dance, and song, The Gift captures the traditional, spiritual, economic, and political importance of this sacred plant.
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The Great ResistanceDenys Desjardins 2008 1 h 17 minIn the 1930s, in the throes of the Great Depression, the government relocated more than 80,000 citizens to found a new settlement in the virgin forests of Quebec's Abitibi region. After enduring backbreaking work to clear the land, however, many left, seeking a better life in the city or as labourers for the large corporations that had come to exploit the North's valuable resources. The Lalancette family, however, have persisted in forging their future on the land from one generation to the next, earning their keep from farming, and defying the constraints of globalization and the mining and forestry companies that control the area. Revisiting the heritage of Quebec filmmakers who documented Abitibi, following in the footsteps of Pierre Perrault, among others, this documentary traces a defining chapter of Quebec history and raises fundamental questions about regional development.
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A Good HarvestBogdan Stefan 2016 6 minViewer Advisory: This film contains scenes of animal slaughter.
In a rural setting, the bleeding of a pig is depicted plainly, as an autumn ritual. A just and moving tribute to the handing down of actions that, shared across families and generations, also perpetuate true social solidarity. -
HolsteinDon Owen 1979 27 minA portrait of a small Ontario town, this film introduces its audience to the people of Holstein by filming them in the old-fashioned general store, the blacksmith's shop and the town granary. Old-time residents reminisce, while old-fashioned sleighs travel down the main road bordered by beautiful old frame houses.
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Heavy Horse PullRoberta King & Ronald Squire 1977 15 minThis short documentary offers a humorous look at horse-pulling contests in Ontario and the people who prepare for them. We travel from the farm to the contest, where excitement runs high and the quips do not lack in local colour. Which of these magnificent creatures will be able to pull the heaviest load and win the prize?
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Hanging OnGermán Gutiérrez 1993 11 minThe deplorable situation of peasants who try to subsist in the overexploited land of the Northeastern Brazil.
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The HutteritesColin Low 1964 27 minThe followers of religious leader Jacob Hutter live in farm communities, devoutly holding to the rules their founder laid down four centuries ago. Through the kindness of a Hutterite colony in Alberta, this film, in black and white, was made inside the community and shows all aspects of the Hutterites' daily life.
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Jamie Really Liked to EatJocelyn Rehder 1985 6 minJamie Really Likes to Eat shows the life of a young boy living on a homestead around 1830 and how many pioneer parents depended on their children to help them gather and prepare the family's food. Jamie fishes, plucks ducks, and traps rabbits. He helps his mother churn butter, collect eggs and bake bread. Children can compare the food Jamie eats with the food they eat - some of it the same, like buckwheat pancakes and blueberry muffins, and some of it different, like rabbit stew and duck pie.
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Luckily I Need Little SleepKathleen Shannon 1974 7 minKathy worked as a nurse in Greece and then came to Canada. She and her family live in northern Alberta, where they are developing a farm. Kathy works outside the home as a nurse, sews for the children, maintains the house, and helps with the farm work.
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Maritime MontageJulian Biggs & Rollo Gamble 1955 30 minThere are two subjects in this film--the cooperative movement stemming from St. Francis-Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and a rural fair at Egmont Bay, Prince Edward Island.
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Out Beyond TownEvelyn Cherry 1948 11 minAfter a farm child becomes sick, a visit from the sanitary inspector points out various precautions for maintaining a clean water supply and preventing the spread of disease. The local school is also given pointers on better sanitation.
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Prairie WomenBarbara Evans 1986 45 minThis film illustrates the struggles of Canadian prairies women to achieve a more just and humane society within the farm movement and at large. During the early 1900s, women on the prairies looked for ways to overcome their isolation. Out of the resulting farm women's organizations grew a group of women possessing remarkable intellectual abilities, social and cultural awareness, and advanced worldviews.
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Sovereign SoilDavid Curtis 2019 1 h 31 minSet in the northern wilds surrounding the tiny sub-Arctic town of Dawson City, Yukon, Sovereign Soil is an ode to the beauty of this ferocious, remote land and the wisdom of those who’ve chosen to call it home.
