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Carving and Sculpture (30)
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Aki'name (On the Wall)David Millar 1968 22 minWhen Canada was preparing to welcome the world to Expo 67 in Montreal, two artists who contributed their talents were Inuit stonecarvers Kumukluk Saggiak and Elijah Pudlat. They decorated a giant mural in the Canadian pavilion, Katimavik (the meeting place). This film shows the two carvers at work on their wall and also conveys some of their impressions of life in suburbia.
Please note that this is an archival film that makes use of the word “Eskimo,” an outdated and offensive term.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. -
Bill ReidJack Long 1979 27 minBritish Columbian Haida artist Bill Reid, jeweller and wood carver, works on a totem pole in the Haida tradition. The film shows the gradual transformation of a bare cedar trunk into a richly carved pole, a gift from the artist to the people of Skidegate on Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). Particularly moving is the raising of the pole by the villagers, as Bill Reid stands by.
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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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Bill Reid RemembersAlanis Obomsawin 2021 24 minBill Reid Remembers is a beautiful tribute from Alanis Obomsawin to her friend’s remarkable life and rich legacy. Despite spending his early life away from his nation’s culture, renowned Haida artist Bill Reid always kept Haida Gwaii close to his heart. While working for CBC Radio, he started learning how to make jewelry, then later sculpture, using Haida techniques and images, a move that would forever change his life and the Canadian artistic landscape. Reid’s powerful narration in the film—interspersed with Obomsawin’s own—recounts his complex childhood, his emergence as an accomplished artist, and his profound connection to his homeland. Decades after his passing, Bill Reid remains an enduring force and one of Canada’s greatest artists.
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Eskimo Artist: KenojuakJohn Feeney 1963 19 minThis documentary shows how an Inuit artist's drawings are transferred to stone, printed and sold. Kenojuak Ashevak became the first woman involved with the printmaking co-operative in Kinngait (formerly known as Cape Dorset). This film was nominated for the 1963 Documentary Short Subject Oscar®.
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Eye Witness No. 41Thomas Farley & Walford Hewitson 1952 11 minSabres at the Ready: At British training centres Canadian airmen and Sabre jet fighter aircraft join Royal Air Force and American squadrons in NATO defense preparations. Midnight Sculptors: Nightly, in the centre block of Canada's Parliament Buildings, William Oosterhoff and his crew of skilled artisans carve beautiful Canadian motifs on limestone walls and cornices. Crime Detection at the Double: Montréal's motorized crime detection laboratory aids police detective squads in the rapid apprehension of criminals.
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EnigmaticoDavid Mortin & Patricia Fogliato 1995 51 minInterweaving poetry, painting, photography, music and sculpture, this feature documentary is an innovative look at the lives and work of Canadian men and women artists of Italian origin. Broaching issues of identity and culture, the film explores the relationship between the immigrant experience and the creative process.
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Giv'em a Half TurnReevan Dolgoy 1979 10 minThis short documentary introduces us to Saskatchewan sculptor Russ Yuristy and one of his funky creations: a three-ton wooden buffalo commissioned by the city of Swift Current. The film chronicles the buffalo’s 240-kilometre trip from studio to park and captures the comments of bystanders who react to its strange appearance. A light-hearted look at one of the Prairies’ most unusual artists.
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Haida CarverRichard Gilbert 1964 12 minOn Canada's Pacific coast this film finds a young Haida artist, Robert Davidson, shaping miniature totems from argillite, a jet-like stone. The film follows the artist to the island where he finds the stone, and then shows how he carves it in the manner of his grandfather, who taught him the craft.
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Hands of HistoryLoretta Todd 1994 51 minIn this acclaimed 1994 documentary, Loretta Todd, a leading figure in Indigenous cinema in Canada, profiles four contemporary female artists—Doreen Jensen, Rena Point Bolton, Jane Ash Poitras and Joane Cardinal-Schubert—who seek to find a continuum from traditional to contemporary forms of expression. Each artist reveals her practice and journey in her own words. The film is a moving testimony to the vital role Indigenous women play in nurturing Indigenous cultures.
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I Don't Have to Work that BigMichael McKennirey 1973 27 minThis short documentary focuses on prairie sculptor Joe Fafard. If there's one thing Joe knows, it's cows. He knows the way they tuck in their forelegs to lie down to ruminate and the way a calf romps in the barnyard. He also knows his friends and neighbours in the farming community of Pense, Saskatchewan—and he sculpts them all in clay, as eloquent and quirky miniatures. Joe's work has been exhibited throughout Canada as well as in Paris and New York, and this film offers a glimpse into his process, his aesthetic, and the charming prairie community in which he lives.
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Like Kai ChanJane Churchill 2005 11 minIn this short film, sculptor and textile artist Kai Chan shares his artistic philosophy of economy and repetition with young artists who build extraordinary, complex 3D structures using simple materials and basic techniques. Part of the I Can Make Art ...series.
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I Can Make Art ... Like Ron NoganoshJane Churchill 2005 15 minThis short film introduces kids to sculptor Ron Noganosh, who transforms items like rusted hubcaps and computer parts into art. Inspired by Ron's found-object sculptures, a group of primary school students discover how to turn "junk" into art. Part of the I Can Make Art series of 6 films that take a kids'-eye view on a diverse group of Canadian visual artists.
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In Search of InnocenceLéonard Forest 1964 27 minA questioning filmmaker from Québec finds out how Vancouver's poets and painters look at life and art. Among the people seen are sculptor Donald Jarvis, painters Jack Shadbolt, Joy Long and Margaret Peterson, and printmaker Sing Lim.
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KubotaJonny Silver 1982 20 minA film featuring architect, sculptor, and musician Nobuo Kubota in a sound-sculpture performance. From within a cage-like structure filled with traditional musical instruments and sound-making devices fashioned from ordinary objects and toys, Kubota creates an aural/visual montage of musical notes and noises. Praised by music educators as a valuable tool for teaching creativity in sound exploration and musical innovation, the film reveals the infinite percussion possibilities of simple objects and presents a portrait of a versatile performer whose imagination has led him far beyond the confines of conventional music.
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Leo Mol in Light and ShadowElise Swerhone 1994 48 minFor almost 50 years, sculptor Leo Mol hid his past behind a veil of half-truth and deliberate misdirection. Torn from home and family by Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, Mol found himself adrift with only his art to save him. This emotional documentary sets the public story of his artistic success against a private drama of loss, exile and guilt.
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The Living Stone (Inuktitut Version)2011 32 minThis documentary shows the inspiration behind Inuit sculpture. The Inuit approach to the work is to release the image the artist sees imprisoned in the rough stone. The film centers on an old legend about the carving of the image of a sea spirit to bring food to a hungry camp.
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. -
LypaShelagh Mackenzie & Sharon Van Raalte 1988 29 minThis short documentary is a portrait of Inuit hunter and artist Lypa Pitsiulak, who decided to return to the land several years ago. His goal was to rediscover his culture, teach his family survival skills in the harsh Arctic environment, and pull himself and his family away from the negative influences of white culture. The film portrays his lifestyle, his love for his family, and some of the sources of his artistic inspiration. It also highlights his beautiful prints and sculptures, with their fantastic interweaving of figures from the animal, spirit and human worlds.
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The Living StoneJohn Feeney 1958 32 minThis documentary shows the inspiration behind Inuit sculpture. The Inuit approach to the work is to release the image the artist sees imprisoned in the rough stone. The film centres on an old legend about the carving of the image of a sea spirit to bring food to a hungry camp.
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. -
Luben and ElenaEllie Yonova 2019 1 h 15 minLuben & Elena is a modern day love story that travels across continents and cultures in pursuit of what makes a place a home. Renowned artists, Luben Boykov and Elena Popova, whose formative years were in the midst of intellectual communist Bulgaria, entered adulthood in the “new world” of Newfoundland. Their work came to intimately define the culture and landscape of the province, underscoring in a very real and visual way how the immigrant experience shapes and defines place. Twenty five years later, they embrace transformation in Sicily. A timely immigration story, Luben & Elena is an expression of the imperative of inclusion and a poignant reminder of the impermanence of everything.
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M.C. Escher: Sky and Water 1Gayle Thomas 1998 3 minThis short animation mixes traditional and computer animation to explore one of M.C. Escher's most famous works, the woodcut Sky and Water I (1938). Accompanied by a stunning soundtrack, this mesmerizing film playfully explores and deconstructs the optical illusion within one of the Dutch artist's most recognizable pieces. This film has no dialogue.
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Waaydanaa (Haida Version)Christopher Auchter 2019 16 minWhen internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he carved the first new totem pole on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century. On the 50th anniversary of the pole’s raising, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps easily through history to revisit that day in August 1969, when the entire village of Old Massett gathered to celebrate the event that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.
This version has been re-recorded in the Skidegate (Xaayda Kil) and Old Masset (Xaad Kil) Haida dialects. -
Now Is the TimeChristopher Auchter 2019 16 minWhen internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he carved the first new totem pole on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century. On the 50th anniversary of the pole’s raising, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps easily through history to revisit that day in August 1969, when the entire village of Old Massett gathered to celebrate the event that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.
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A Quiet WaveBarry Perles 1971 20 minFor some people it is the later years that release the passion and confidence for self-expression in the arts. This film shows one of them, Cecil Richards, close to his seventieth year, who spends his time working alone at his Lakefield, Ontario, retreat, in what he calls the "honest" media of sculpture--wood, clay, stone and bronze. For anyone interested in the nature of an artist and his inspiration, here is a relaxed, absorbing study.
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Stories from Our Land Vol. 2 - Taking ShapeSarah McNair-Landry 2013 9 minThis short film tells the story of Isaci Etidloie, a man well-known in the Arctic for his pedigree and prowess in shaping old rocks. His creations often serve to recount taboo stories and Inuit myths. Stories from Our Land 2.0 is the latest edition of the NFB's Indigenous short film inititiative. This edition helped four Inuit youth hone the creative skills and tell their stories, offering viewers insightful perspectives on life in Nunavut.
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This Was the TimeEugene Boyko 1970 15 minWhen Masset, a Haida village on Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), held a potlatch, it seemed as if the past grandeur of the people had returned. This is a colourful recreation of Indigenous life that faded more than two generations ago when the great totems were toppled by the missionaries and the costly potlatch was forbidden by law. The film shows how one village lived again the old glory, with singing, dancing, feasting, and the raising of a towering totem as a lasting reminder of what once was.
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Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox PoleGil Cardinal 2003 1 h 10 minThis feature-length documentary traces the journey of the Haisla people to reclaim the G'psgolox totem pole that went missing from their British Columbia village in 1929. The fate of the 19th century traditional mortuary pole remained unknown for over 60 years until it was discovered in a Stockholm museum where it is considered state property by the Swedish government. Director Gil Cardinal combines interviews, striking imagery and rare footage of master carvers to raise questions about ownership and the meaning of Indigenous objects held in museums.
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Totem: Return and RenewalGil Cardinal 2007 23 minIn this follow-up to his 2003 film, Totem: the Return of the G'psgolox Pole, filmmaker Gil Cardinal documents the events of the final journey of the G'psgolox Pole as it returns home to Kitamaat and the Haisla people, from where it went missing in 1929.
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TotemsLaura Boulton 1944 11 minThis short film from 1944 presents the totem pole to a general audience, explaining its significance and how it fits into Indigenous culture. It was filmed in British Columbia, where these monuments, witnesses to an ancient and powerful culture, watch over us. This film is over 70 years old and should be viewed with an understanding that it is an uncensored historical document of its time.
