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Yukon as Seen by NFB FIlmmakers

Yukon comes to life through this sweeping roundup of films made across a span of eight decades.

  • Voices Across the Water
    Voices Across the Water
    Fritz Mueller 2022 1 h 24 min
    There is a moment during the construction of a canoe when its true form is revealed. A hull drops into place. The elegant arc of a bow cuts forth. A similar process sometimes occurs in life, when a person finally discovers their true path.

    The feature documentary Voices Across the Water follows two master boat builders as they practise their art and find a way back to balance and healing.
  • Sovereign Soil
    Sovereign Soil
    David Curtis 2019 1 h 31 min
    Set in the northern wilds surrounding the tiny sub-Arctic town of Dawson City, Yukon, Sovereign Soil is an ode to the beauty of this ferocious, remote land and the wisdom of those who’ve chosen to call it home.
  • How People Got Fire
    How People Got Fire
    Daniel Janke 2008 16 min
    This introspective short animation takes place In the village of Carcross, in the Tagish First Nation. Neighbourhood pillar Grandma Kay tell the local children the tale of how Crow brought fire to people. As the story unfolds, we also meet 12-year-old Tish, an introspective, talented girl who feels drawn to the elder. Here, past and present blend, myth and reality meet, and the metaphor of fire infuses all in a location that lies at the heart of this Native community’s spiritual and cultural memory.
  • Picturing a People: George Johnston, Tlingit Photographer
    Picturing a People: George Johnston, Tlingit Photographer
    Carol Geddes 1997 50 min
    This documentary, by filmmaker Carol Geddes, is a unique portrait of George Johnston, a photographer who was himself a creator of portraits and a keeper of his culture. Johnston cared deeply about the traditions of the Tlingit people, and he recorded a critical period in the history of the Tlingit nation. As Geddes says, his legacy was "to help us dream the future as much as to remember the past."
  • Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief
    Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief
    Carol Geddes 1986 28 min
    A tribute to Indigenous women everywhere, this short documentary focuses on 5 women from across Canada. Of varied ages and backgrounds, they have achieved success in a variety of careers: as the Yukon legislature's first Indigenous woman minister (Margaret Joe), as a deck hand on a fishing boat (Corinne Hunt), as a teacher (Sophie MacLeod), as a lawyer (Roberta Jamieson), and as a band council chief (Sophie May Pierre - St. Mary’s Indian Band of the Ktunaxa Nation off the Ktunaxa Nation).

    Each of these women talks about how she got to where she is today while emphasizing the importance of Indigenous culture - its values, art, and spiritual beliefs - in helping her to develop a sense of self and seeing through rough times, including residential school experiences.
  • Flash William
    Flash William
    John Laing  &  Thom Burstyn 1978 19 min
    This short documentary presents Flash William Shewchuck, a one-man movie industry operating in the Canadian wilderness. Combining the roles of film producer, director, cameraman, actor, promoter, projectionist and ticket taker, Flash finances his company by working on road gangs in the Yukon, or in the oil fields and pulp mills between projects. In this film, he discusses his latest feature, Dawson City Joe, and reveals some aspects of his style and technique.
  • Yukon Old, Yukon New
    Yukon Old, Yukon New
    John Howe 1961 19 min
    The old spirit of the Yukon returns as Dawson City prepares for its Discovery Day celebrations. Witness a round of nostalgic scenes: a main street parade, refurbished saloons, the can-can. Time recedes as the film explores the hazardous mountain passes and the golden creek of Eldorado.
  • City of Gold
    City of Gold
    Colin Low  &  Wolf Koenig 1957 21 min
    This classic short film from Pierre Berton depicts the Klondike gold rush at its peak, when would-be prospectors struggled through harsh conditions to reach the fabled gold fields over 3000 km north of civilization. Using a collection of still photographs, the film juxtaposes the Dawson City at the height of the gold rush with its bustling taverns and dance halls with the more tranquil Dawson City of the present.
  • Gold Rush Land
    Gold Rush Land
    Allen Stark 1955 30 min
    An excursion up the Yukon River along the trail of '98 to Dawson City, part of the Klondike gold rush. We visit a prospector who has never left the Yukon and see some of the city's famous sights.

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