Confederation Film
2021 Β· 9m Β· Documentary Β· History
Short doc/essay film exploring Newfoundland's relationship to film before and after confederation.
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1949
With simple ceremony on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Newfoundlanders are welcomed as fellow-Canadians. Prime Minister St. Laurent starting off the carving of Newfoundland's coat of arms in the tenth and formerly blank shield over the entrance to the Parliament Buildings, writing in stone another chapter of Confederation. So begins this survey of Canada's tenth province, Newfoundland, its resources and how its people live. The film takes us to St. John's, Corner Brook, Bell Island, and includes a visit to Labrador where we see the giant airport at Gander.
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A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story
1970 Β· β 8
This feature-length documentary paints a lively portrait of Father of Confederation and first premier of Newfoundland Joseph Roberts Smallwood, or "Joey," as he is known to most Canadians. Following one of Canadaβs most colourful political figures during a two-and-a-half-month period that included a stormy Liberal leadership convention, the film reveals a man misunderstood even by his close associates.
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The Little Church That Could
2022 Β· β 10
Amidst a mostly Catholic community, a small tiny Anglican church offers more to the community of Placentia than people may think, and holds many connections and history to the rest of the world.
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1979 Β· β 7
The Priory is a public extended-care hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, for people suffering from chronic geriatric illnesses. Treatment is innovative. It is based on the theory that even the ordinary activities of a patient's life contain elements of therapy. The film shows us how patients are encouraged to do as much as they can for themselves despite their confinement to wheelchairs.
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A Blustery winter's night - a warm trapper's cabin up ahead. The dark, cold woods might prove safer lodging. A true story from Cow Head Newfoundland 1809.
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Tous Les Jours
2019
In rocky Newfoundland, renowned French artist Jean Claude Roy gathers his paints and sets off to face the day. Whether it be freezing snow, violent wind, or pouring rain, he commits vibrant colors to canvas and conquers the day by weaving crooked beauty out of difficulties.
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My Village in Nunavik
1999
Shot during three seasons, Kenuajuak's documentary tenderly portrays village life and the elements that forge the character of his people: their history, the great open spaces and their unflagging humour. Though Kenuajuak appreciates the amenities of southern civilization that have made their way north, he remains attached to the traditional way of life and the land: its vast tundra, the sea teeming with Arctic char, the sky full of Canada geese. My Village in Nunavik is an unsentimental film by a young Inuk who is open to the outside world but clearly loves his village. With subtitles.
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Raise Her Up: Celebrating a Century of Votes
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Raise Her Up follows the historian, advocate, and artist creating a statue of Armine Gosling, marking 100 years of womens suffrage in Newfoundland.
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Herd: Inuit Voices on Caribou
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Through Inuit voices, HERD: Inuit Voices on Caribou tells the story of the social, emotional, and cultural disruptions from ecological change by putting an essential human face to the caribou declines - including a 99% decline of the once-massive George River Caribou Herd. The film was developed over four years of collaboration between filmmakers and 11 Inuit communities across Labrador. It cinematically explores an array of lived experiences, from youth to Elders and hunters to cooks, to ensure that the stories of those living on the frontlines of this ecological crisis are HERD. It is a portrait of the deep connections that exist between humans and non-humans, a glimpse of heartbreaking loss felt by entire communities, and a lasting testament of cultural resilience in the context of ecological uncertainty.
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The Death of Jack Astor
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This short documentary looks at the government relocation of the Labrador Inuit and the effects on their culture and social structures.
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