Eye Witness No. 0

This documentary follows the migration of thousands of young Quebecers as they travel to British Columbia to harvest fruit in the lush Okanagan Valley. The camera follows several spirited youth into the orchards for seven weeks. As the rain sets in, reality unfolds: it's cold, the cherry crop is late, and money is short. But as they make friends and enjoy their independence, the promise of adventure is realized. Although their work is integral to the local economy, the youth find that the experience is not just about making money. It's about awareness, self-discovery and exploring the world.

This short film is an introduction to oyster farming in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Showing the various stages of oyster cultivation, the film highlights the sampling of larvae by Department of Fisheries biologists, the staking of oyster beds by farmers, the nurturing of spat, and underwater scenes showing the dragging of the seabed with cotton mops to ensnare starfish, which prey upon the oyster. Final sequences show the grading and shipping of oysters and their arrival at the seafood restaurant or family dinner table.

The NFB's 5th Oscar®-nominated film.

This film shows the growth of cooperatives in the Maritime provinces and how they brought new life and hope to poverty-stricken fishermen. While we glimpse many aspects of the cooperative movement in Cape Breton and all through the Maritimes, the major part of this story deals with the fishing folk (one-sixth of the Maritimes' population) and shows how, thanks to the cooperative effort, fishermen such as Willie Leblanc have come from the hungry, hopeless years of the 1920s to better times.

A taste of the sea and people who sail it from the ports of the Atlantic Bluenose coast. Some of the sailors seen and heard in this black and white film are famous: Bill Roue who designed the first Bluenose schooner (still on the Canadian dime) and Captain Angus Walter who brought her to victory.

In this documentary short, summer trippers line up for the famous local fried clams and whole families dig for the white mollusc in the tangy air of the sandbars. But as the clams dwindle, so do these tableaux from Maritime culture. For commercial fishermen it's the end of a livelihood; for others, it's the death of a tradition. Can this really be the end of a resource that used to be as plentiful as the air we breathe? In French with English subtitles.

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

These vignettes from 1949 cover various aspects of life in Canada and were shown in theatres across the country. Subjects included here are: Man-Made Niagara: the construction of the Des Joachims hydro plant on the Ottawa River adds to Ontario's power resources. Irrigation Revitalizes Dust Bowl: In the southern Alberta drylands, the St. Mary's River is being harnessed to provide life-giving irrigation for prairie crops. Underwater Harvest: Lobster season in New Brunswick provides choice seafoods for epicurean tables.

This short documentary depicts the harvesting of a large crop of potatoes in the St. John Valley, New Brunswick. The film documents the motor-driven machines that lay bare the rows of tubers, the crews of potato pickers at work in the fields as well as the sorting and grading of potatoes at a large Grand Falls warehouse.

This short documentary follows Alberta farmers Jack Sutherland and Ted Quaschnick as they travel with transport trucks and a crew down through the wheat-producing plains of the American mid-west all the way to Texas and back. During these years of machinery shortages, the American harvest could use all the help that’s available. Through picturesque shots of the golden prairies, this film captures a moment in time when new agricultural cultivation methods for greater yield and quality are being developed to sustain an ever-growing population.

Ferries, Tankers, Frigates - "Made in Canada": Craftsmen of Lauzon, Québec, carry on their forefathers' shipbuilding skills. Caviar Comes from Canada's Queerest Fish: Much in demand for export markets, sturgeon provide a profitable business for fishermen of the upper Ottawa River and for Mrs. Harry Donaldson of Temiscaming, who processes caviar. New Aircraft Joins Maritime Command: The Royal Canadian Air Force tests and approves the electronically equipped Neptune, the new medium-range aircraft of the Maritime Air Command.

In this installment of the Eye Witness series from 1948, we watch as Canada's long-time prime minister, Mackenzie King, retires and his successor, Louis St. Laurent, takes the reins. We then head to Manitoba's Netley marsh, where three of the continent's main duck breeds meet, creating a hunter's paradise. On the BC coast, whaling resumes after a five-year halt, and finally, all across Canada we watch children collect pennies and nickels to buy school supplies for European children.

This short documentary records the rural sights and sounds of the Chateauguay Valley of Quebec. The day of the big stationary threshing machine is almost over, as the machine is pushed into obscurity by the combine harvester. But there are still parts of Canada where crops are gathered in the old-fashioned way as the men work out in the fields and the women manage the kitchen. This film offers a rare and charming glimpse into mid-20th-century rural and family life in Canada.