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54 Hours

54 Hours

This short animation is a remarkably vivid account of the 1914 tragedy in which 132 men were stranded on the ice during a severe snowstorm off the coast of Newfoundland. 78 men froze to death on the pack ice. In the spring of 1914, the last of the wooden seal hunting ships in a steel-dominated industry was the Newfoundland, manned by men from across the province. The ship was unable to reach a seal pack due to its lack of ice-breaking power, and 132 men were ordered off the boat and onto the ice to hunt. The ship had no radio equipment, and the men spent two unbearable nights on the ice. Survivor testimony, striking archival materials, weather visualizations, inventive animation and puppetry are seamlessly blended to recreate this harrowing ordeal.


Credits
  • director
    Bruce Alcock
    Paton Francis
  • writer
    Michael Crummey
  • producer
    Annette Clarke
    Michael Fukushima
  • cast
    Bryan Hennessey
    Teri Snelgrove
  • director of photography
    A A Scott McClellan
  • animator
    Kevin Langdale
  • additional animation
    Ryan Kane
    Bruce Alcock
    Paton Francis
    Nathan Boey
  • sound design
    Judith Gruber-Stitzer
  • musician
    Duane Andrews
    Patrick Boyle
    Bill Brennan
    Aaron Collis
  • storyboard artist
    Paton Francis
  • production designer
    Bruce Alcock
  • production manager
    Lynn Andrews
  • art direction
    Marty Sexton
  • key grip
    Sean Doran
  • script supervisor
    Jordan Canning
  • sound recordist
    Mark Neary
  • stills photography
    A A Scott McClellan
    Victoria Wells
  • production assistant
    Luke Crawford
    Tamara Segura
  • assistant editor
    Amanda Bell
    Chris MacIntosh
    Matt Sikka
  • music recordist
    Stephen Lilly
  • foley artist
    Lise Wedlock
  • additional musician
    Lance Neveu
    Dave Gossage
  • additional sound recording
    Chris MacIntosh
  • additional editing
    Chris MacIntosh
  • re-recording
    Jean Paul Vialard
  • production supervisor
    Roz Power
  • technical coordinator
    Jean-François Laprise
  • production coordinator
    Vanessa Larsen
    Jenna Ross
  • senior production coordinator
    Isabelle Limoges
  • studio administrator
    Leslie Anne Poyntz
  • marketing manager
    Kelley Alexander
  • publicist
    Pat Dillon
  • legal counsel
    Dominique Aubry
  • associate producer
    Jon Montes
  • executive producer
    Annette Clarke
    Michael Fukushima

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