Island Observed

A report on sub-Arctic developments in the 1.3 million square km District of Mackenzie. In communities such as Hay River, Yellowknife and Port Radium modern technology and methods of winter transport opened up new possibilities in mining, lumbering, and other industries, and new opportunities for the Inuit and Indian populations.

Baymen, no matter where they go, remain above all else Newfoundlanders. They were born to the sea, to a place in the life of their cliffside village, but many of the younger generation are now looking to the city for their future. The film, produced in 1965, follows a bayman's family to St. John's, showing what such a change means to father, daughter and grandfather.

This short 1948 documentary focuses on the people of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, and their efforts to create a recreation center. People from every section of the community contributed their services to planning and establishing this center, which then offered activities as varied as softball and library services.

Made in 1957, this film glamorizes a service job in which minor emergencies appear as serious and absorbing challenges. Marriage is assumed to be the natural end of the middle-class woman's working life. No. 97 in the Eye Witness film series.

Get an up-close look at daily life among the Longhouse People with this short documentary from 1951. It depicts the rites and rituals of this Indigenous community, including a rain dance, a healing ceremony, and the celebration of a newly chosen chief.

Abnormal shyness in children, its causes and treatment, is discussed in this film. Profiled are three shy children and the confidence-destroying demands of parents that made them that way. Together, teacher, psychiatrist and parents bring about changes.

Sailing ships on an open sea make an attractive sight, all the more to be valued because of their rarity. This film shows one of the Portuguese schooners that fished the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. From the moment the townsfolk turn out for the blessing of the ship and crew, to the time when the ship turns homeward with the season's catch--leaving one crewman in a Newfoundland grave--this film holds the viewer's attention on an ancient calling that will soon disappear.