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Atlantic Region (15)
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Brian Earle on Merchants and WelfareColin Low 1967 10 minA look at the relationships among the Fogo Island merchants and fishermen, and at the demoralizing effects welfare has on them. -
BlackwoodTony Ianzelo & Andy Thomson 1976 27 minThis short film studies the works of one of Canada's greatest contemporary etchers - Newfoundland-born David Blackwood. The artist himself guides viewers through a step-by-step explanation of the etching process. Scenes of his hometown, examples of his own work and vivid tales of an old mariner recall the tragic seal hunts and a way of life that has now vanished.
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Eye Witness No. 01947 11 minIn this edition of the Eye Witness series from 1947, we track the first shipment of milk heading out to Europe's starving children, witness millions of bushels of grain being loaded onto a boat on Hudson's Baby headed for Britain, and, in BC, we watch acres of seed being grown, tested, and loaded for the gardens of the world.
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Eye Witness No. 151949 11 minThese vignettes from 1949 cover various aspects of life in Canada and were shown in theatres across the country. Subjects included here are: Man-Made Niagara: the construction of the Des Joachims hydro plant on the Ottawa River adds to Ontario's power resources. Irrigation Revitalizes Dust Bowl: In the southern Alberta drylands, the St. Mary's River is being harnessed to provide life-giving irrigation for prairie crops. Underwater Harvest: Lobster season in New Brunswick provides choice seafoods for epicurean tables.
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Hunters and BombersHugh Brody & Nigel Markham 1991 53 minThe hunters are the Innu people and the bombers are the air forces of several NATO countries, which conduct low-level flights over the Innu's hunting terrain. The impact of the jets is hotly debated by peace groups, Indigenous people, environmentalists and the military. But what is often overlooked are the many complex changes underway in Innu society, as social and technological changes confront a traditional hunting culture.
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"I Just Didn't Want to Die": The 1914 Newfoundland Sealing DisasterJoe MacDonald 1991 19 minIn March 1914, the Newfoundland set sail from Wesleyville, taking 132 men out sealing. Miles from shore, the ship got stuck in the ice so the men went over the side to walk to the sealing ground. When a terrible storm struck, they were stranded. It took rescuers 3 days to arrive; by then, 78 men were dead and another 9 missing. This tragic story is told through the words of men who were there and the haunting prints of David Blackwood.
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Is the Crown at war with us?Alanis Obomsawin 2002 1 h 36 minIn this feature-length documentary by Alanis Obomsawin, it's the summer of 2000 and the country watches in disbelief as federal fisheries wage war on the Mi'kmaq fishermen of Burnt Church, New Brunswick. Why would officials of the Canadian government attack citizens for exercising rights that had been affirmed by the highest court in the land? Casting her cinematic and intellectual nets into history to provide context, Obomsawin delineates the complex roots of the conflict with passion and clarity, building a persuasive defence of the Mi'kmaq position.
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The Land of Jacques CartierRené Bonnière & Pierre Perrault 1960 29 minDid Cartier dream of making a country from this land of a million birds? In his records of his exploration he certainly marvelled at seeing the great auks that have since disappeared from Isle aux Ouaiseaulx, the razor-bills and gannets that are gone from Blanc-Sablon, and the kittiwakes from Anticosti, all the winged creatures of all the islands which he described as being "as full of birds as a meadow is of grass". And that's not even counting the countless snow geese.
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Oyster ManJulian Biggs & Jean Palardy 1951 17 minThis short film is an introduction to oyster farming in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Showing the various stages of oyster cultivation, the film highlights the sampling of larvae by Department of Fisheries biologists, the staking of oyster beds by farmers, the nurturing of spat, and underwater scenes showing the dragging of the seabed with cotton mops to ensnare starfish, which prey upon the oyster. Final sequences show the grading and shipping of oysters and their arrival at the seafood restaurant or family dinner table.
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The Rising TideJean Palardy 1949 29 minThis film shows the growth of cooperatives in the Maritime provinces and how they brought new life and hope to poverty-stricken fishermen. While we glimpse many aspects of the cooperative movement in Cape Breton and all through the Maritimes, the major part of this story deals with the fishing folk (one-sixth of the Maritimes' population) and shows how, thanks to the cooperative effort, fishermen such as Willie Leblanc have come from the hungry, hopeless years of the 1920s to better times.
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The Sea Got in Your BloodDavid Millar 1965 27 minA taste of the sea and people who sail it from the ports of the Atlantic Bluenose coast. Some of the sailors seen and heard in this black and white film are famous: Bill Roue who designed the first Bluenose schooner (still on the Canadian dime) and Captain Angus Walter who brought her to victory.
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Turning TidesMathieu D'Astous 2007 24 minIn this documentary short, summer trippers line up for the famous local fried clams and whole families dig for the white mollusc in the tangy air of the sandbars. But as the clams dwindle, so do these tableaux from Maritime culture. For commercial fishermen it's the end of a livelihood; for others, it's the death of a tradition. Can this really be the end of a resource that used to be as plentiful as the air we breathe? In French with English subtitles.
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Trappers of the SeaMargaret Perry 1945 13 minThis film presents the lobster fishing industry in Nova Scotia with a brief reference to the cooperative movement and how co-ops are used in the affairs of the people. Pierre, a fisherman, is shown as he sails forth to set his one hundred traps. The film shows both the problems of adverse weather and also the methods used to land the lobster and prepare them for market.
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Terra NovaRoger Blais 1964 18 minAmong these lively impressions of Newfoundland today, colored by history and by the sea, there are scenes of historic events, fishing on the high seas and squid jigging inshore, mining deep underground, and operations of the giant pulp and paper industry.
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The TrapLina Verchery 2007 19 minThis short documentary examines the unlikely interactions between French-speaking fishermen and Buddhist monks and nuns in a Cape Breton village. Seemingly divided by language, culture and religion, these people share more than meets the eye. The film delicately weaves a connection between the beliefs of the 2 groups, who both regard life as a cycle. In French with English subtitles.
