Unikkausivut - Sharing our Stories

The Living Stone

John Feeney,
1958,
32 min 35 s

Synopsis
Point Of View
Education

This 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.

From the playlist : The 1950s: Television and the Move to Montreal

When director John Feeney set out for Cape Dorset, Baffin Island in the spring of 1957, it was with the intention of shooting two documentaries, one on Eskimo stone carvers and one on the community itself. Bad weather and other factors made it impossible to complete the shooting of the community film. Instead, Feeney concentrated on the carvers’ film. This short film would be blown up to 35 mm and distributed theatrically in Canada and abroad and would eventually earn an Oscar® nomination.

— Albert Ohayon

Pedagogical evaluations and study guides are only available to CAMPUS subscribers.

CAMPUS

Features designed specifically for teachers

Learn more Already subscribed? Sign in.

Comments

“I just love this film... Have long loved Eskimo ways of being/living, since childhood; saw Nanook of the North aged ?7 in New York City. Oldest friend (from Montreal) and another Canadian friend, have / had many Inuit carvings in their homes, so in a way I 'grew up' with this as a hidden internal world of how people should be and relate in the world, and the sensory experiences of the carvings and their makers. ” — christiane, 23 Jun 2010
“hello fellow viewers! i am very intrigued by this film; i remember watching it as a child in about grade 4 or 5! the only question i have is - is the tattoo on his wrist real or "poetic license"?” — jasonshiwak@hotmail.com, 2 Mar 2010