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Newfoundland and Labrador as Seen by NFB Filmmakers
Newfoundland and Labrador comes to life in this sweeping roundup of films made across a span of nine decades.
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Nalujuk NightJennie Williams 2021 13 minNalujuk Night is an up close look at an exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, Labrador Inuit tradition. Every January 6th from the dark of the Nunatsiavut night, the Nalujuit appear on the sea ice. They walk on two legs, yet their faces are animalistic, skeletal, and otherworldly. Snow crunches underfoot as they approach their destination: the Inuit community of Nain.
Despite the frights, Nalujuk Night is a beloved annual event, showing that sometimes it can be fun to be scared. Rarely witnessed outside of Nunatsiavut, this annual event is an exciting chance for Inuit, young and old, to prove their courage and come together as a community to celebrate culture and tradition.
Inuk filmmaker Jennie Williams brings audiences directly into the action in this bone-chilling black and white short documentary about a winter night like no other. -
RadicalDeanne Foley 2019 6 minDeanne Foley profiles fellow Newfoundlander Mary Walsh, the Great Warrior Queen of Canadian comedy, musing on time wasted
Deanne Foley profiles fellow Newfoundlander Mary Walsh, the Great Warrior Queen of Canadian comedy, musing on time wasted as an object of desire and time well spent as the fearless agent of her own destiny. A joyous call to action.
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My Ancestors Were Rogues and MurderersAnne Troake 2005 55 minThis feature documentary is a thoughtful contribution to the debate on Canada's seal hunt. An exploration of the unique culture of Newfoundland's outports, the film revisits the PR coup that launched the animal rights movement onto the international stage: the 1977 Newfoundland visit, orchestrated by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, of French actress turned animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot to protest the area's ancestral sealing activities. Soon, inhabitants of the island's northern outports we're being introduced to the world as the epitome of brutality.
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Rain, Drizzle, and FogRosemary House 1998 49 minSt.John's, Newfoundland is North America's most easterly landfall. For half a millennium, its perfect harbour has provided a safe refuge in the middle of the treacherous North Atlantic. For 300 years of its history it was an actual crime to try and settle--Newfoundland was the private preserve of British fishing merchants. But people stayed, despite the colonial masters, despite the lack of law and order, despite hellish weather and raging seas. And the city grew--lurching through centuries of crisis, disaster, privation. For filmmaker, Rosemary House, 'This is still a hard rock land, a dirty old town at the back of beyond. And yet the St.John's townie is so proud, you'd swear we lived in Paris.' In this documentary, she explores her city with the help of six locals, Mary Walsh, Andy Jones, Anita Best, Brian Hennessey, Ed Riche, Des Walsh, writers and performers all, who walk through their home town and try to show what makes them love it so.
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The Last Days of OkakAnne Budgell & Nigel Markham 1985 23 minThis short documentary tells the story the once-thriving town of Okak, an Inuit settlement on the northern Labrador coast. Moravian missionaries evangelized the coast and encouraged the growth of Inuit settlements, but it was also a Moravian ship that brought the deadly Spanish influenza during the world epidemic of 1919. The Inuit of the area were decimated, and Okak was abandoned. Through diaries, old photos and interviews with survivors, this film relates the story of the epidemic and examines the relations between natives and missionaries.
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Labrador NorthRoger Hart 1973 37 minThis short documentary looks at the government relocation of the Labrador Inuit and the effects on their culture and social structures.
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. -
The DowryPeter Pearson 1969 20 minA little drama, almost a love triangle, filmed on the Canadian Atlantic coast, about a fisherman, his girl, and his boat. The boat needs a new engine but the owner lacks the cash. His girl's undertaker brother has money enough if he can be persuaded to lend it. What develops in the film is an object lesson showing that neither a boat nor a girl can be taken too much for granted.
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Salt CodAllan Wargon 1954 15 minFor four centuries cod has been fished off the coast of Newfoundland. This film shows the exacting work of splitting, salting, drying and grading the fish, as well as the more recent methods of quick-freezing.
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Atlantic CrossroadsTom Daly 1945 10 minThis short documentary focuses on Newfoundland's role in WWII. Due to its geographical position, Newfoundland became a central point of activity during the war, housing military air bases and becoming the link between the Allied forces and Europe. In stark contrast with the Depression in the 1930s, this film highlights Newfoundland's opportunities for economic growth during, and after, the war. Part of the Canada Carries On series.
