Canada is internationally recognized for its excellence in documentary film, and in recent years several of Canada's finest documentary makers have come from this province. Some of them work primarily in Newfoundland and Labrador while others take their cameras around the world. Their films often tell highly personal stories that reflect universal themes, and many are characterized by an unmistakable passion for grass-roots politics, social change and human rights.
For most of this century Newfoundland and Labrador stories and events were interpreted through the eyes of visiting filmmakers. Producers from Great Britain and the United States arrived as early as 1907 to do brief pieces about hunting, fishing and wildlife. The National Film Board of Canada (N.F.B.) made several short films here in the 1940s and came regularly after Confederation, eventually building a library of over 100 films about the province. Local directors and producers did not contribute to that library until the 1980s.
A few Newfoundlanders were shooting footage in these early years, but usually out of personal interest and with no intention of creating narrative films. Finished projects by local cameramen and editors began to appear after the second World War. They included The Golden Jubilee of Archbishop Roach (1947) by W.J. Ryan and The Land We Love (1955), a travelogue of the Avalon Peninsula by Len Earle.
By the late 1960s the CBC and CJON television stations were filming news, entertainment and information programs. Memorial University's Extension Service established a "media unit" to make educational films and documentaries and record significant public events. The unit also worked with the NFB on several projects, including a series of short films on Fogo Island that incorporated input and feedback from local residents.
CJON at Buckmaster's Circle, 1952.
Jack Squires loads CJON's mobile transmitter van in preparation for an important outside broadcast.
Photo by C.F. Ruggles. From Newfoundland Radio in Pictures, 1952 (St. John's, Nfld: Guardian Press, © 1952) 43.
(51 kb)
In the early 1970s the first generation of independent filmmakers was beginning to emerge. Fourteen of them formed the Newfoundland Independent Filmmaker's Cooperative (NIFCO) in 1975. although dedicated to the making of dramatic and artistic films, NIFCO has also been vital to the development of a home-grown documentary industry.
The early NIFCO documentaries focus on the province's history and heritage and are only a few minutes long. Stone's Cove (1980) profiles a resettled community through contemporary footage and old photographs. Dig At Cow Head (1982) is a brief portrait of an archaeological dig.
Joseph C. Cope to Harry Piers, 14 January 1914. Nova Scotia Museum Printed Matter File.
Government of Canada. Legacy of Sir John A Macdonald. 29 Apr. 2005. Library and Archives Canada. 29 May 2011
Grainge, P., Jancovich, M., & Monteith, S. (2012). Film Histories; An introduction and reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
A Cree filmmaker named Neil Diamond directed Reel Injun. At a young age, he always cheered for the cowboys but never realizing that he was the Indian. He explores the portrayals of North American Natives through a century of cinema. These images of Natives have shaped people's opinions and views about Aboriginals. Through these depictions, it has led to stereotypes that caused discrimination among the First Nations. Reel Injun emphasizes not to generalize indigenous people through media and films.
‘12 years a Slave, award winning film director Steve McQueen associates making a film to, "writing a novel – you're telling a story. " This message is powerful and defines the true purpose of filmmaking that is, ‘to tell a story.’(Victorino) Hollywood has capitalized on the aspect of visual storytelling first introduced in 1985 by the Lumiere brothers with their first movie ever made for projection -- Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory. They (Hollywood), then designed a Studio System called Classic Hollywood Cinema to Finance, Organize, Produce, Market, Distribute, and Exhibit movies for financial gain while entertaining movie goers. This term was coined by David Bordwell, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson to define Hollywood’s film making during the period of 1913 to 1960. From the D.W. Griffith successful 1913 first movie ever shot in Hollywood, ‘In Old California’, to the James Cameron’s 2009 movie Avatar grossing over 760 million in the box office, this process continues to be effective and lives on today.
Zaslow, Morris. The Defended Border, Upper Canada and the War of 1812. Toronto: MacMillian of Canada, 1983
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
Canadian history has shaped Canada's future for centuries now. Without the great explorers of their time, and maybe even our time, provinces and territories, gulfs, bays, rivers and land would be lost and undiscovered for many years. Our great country can thank many brave and brilliant explorers and their crew, for founding our name, and creating such an amazing land. Jacques Cartier, John Cabot and Henry Hudson, all managed to explore much of Canada. Through discovering the islands of Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island to locating the Hudson Bay, these 3 explores endure Canada's harsh winters, famine, scurvy and much more, to begin the great discover of all of Canada.
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, making it the most recent province to became part of the country. Some historians argue that the delay is diffcult to understand, since Newfoundland had the chance to enter into Canada in 1867. This paper explores why Newfoundland did not join Confederation in 1867 and remained an independent political entitiy. In was not in their best interest given the overarching political debacle which unfolded between the colony’s Conservatives and Liberals. The decision to remain an independent political entitiy or join the federal govenrment was hindered by opposing poltical views. Despite having two men, known today as the Fathers of Confederation, at the Quebec Conference who supported the idea of union, Newfoundland itself did not. A general election to decide the fate of the colony resulted in ongoing dissatisfaction with the idea of joining the new dominion. The question of higher taxation and terrifies that would hinder the success of the colony was a risk people were not yet ready to take. Most of Newfoundland’s core industries began to suffer and fall apart, while the colonies government continued to disagree, despite a concerted effort made by Canadian officials to have them join the larger nation.
Film Society of Lincoln Center , ND/NF Q&A: "Stories We Tell", Sarah Polley, online video, May 10 2013, viewed May 5 2014,
Throughout the documentary historical videos and photos are incorporated of the gathering of activists and volunteers
Nobody Waved Goodbye (Owen, 1964) and Le chat dans le sac (Groulx, 1964) are both canonized as “the beginning of a beginning” by Peter Harcourt. These two films were originally documentaries commissioned by the National Film Board (NFB) but made to be into feature films. In fact, they are considered to be the first real narrative films in Canada (Lecture 1). The reason they are “the beginning of the beginning” is because they reflect the different relationship of the French and English films to the documentary traditions of the NFB (Lecture 1) – essentially, the French versus the English tendencies of documentary film, and they are “distinguished representations of their respective cultures” (Harcourt 76). Nobody Waved Goodbye features the
Das, Trisha. How to Write a Documentary Script: A Monograph. USA: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.
Rossell, Deac. Living Pictures; The Origins of the Movies. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998.