Cinema Canada (Dec 1974-Jan 1975)

into documentary. Ramona Macdonald has been doing some very interesting things with improvised drama. Just now, she’s editing a film she shot at Portuguese Cove, using the local inhabitants — she discovered some genuine characters. A Newfoundland filmmaker, Bill Doyle, is doing a documentary in Super-8 about the celebrations of the Province’s entry into Confederation. Ken Pittman of Halifax is doing a treatment of the work of a Newfoundland sculptor who takes as his model a sea snake’s nest called the devil’s purse. It’s found washed up on the shore, and there is quite a lot of folklore and superstition about it. In P.E.I., Niall Burnett is doing some experiments in videoto-film transfers. Two people in Moncton, Monique Leger and Normand LeBlanc, are making a film in Super-8 about Acadian lifestyles. How much contact is there with the people outside of Halifax? We phone; we write letters. And we lend some equipment. The people in New Brunswick have a Super-8 camera, editor and splicer of ours, and they are also receiving technical assistance from the Film Board there. We’ve sent film stock to Bill Doyle, but the equipment he uses is his own. Are there any signs that co-ops may be established elsewhere in the Maritimes? About 3 months ago, the Film Board sponsored a meeting in P.E.I. for all interested in film making, but I’m not sure if that group has developed further. It’s very difficult to function unless you have a definite goal in mind and an agency whose support you are aiming for. Do you have much contact with other co-ops? Yes, when I lived in Toronto I was a member of the Co-op there, and recently I went back for a visit to try to keep in touch with what is being done. We also have some contact with Vancouver. One of our new members, Jeff Wall, is here finishing a film which he began when he lived in Vancouver. Do you feel any sort of regional commitment? Only one, and that is a desire to extend the Co-op beyond the core group in Halifax. Part of our mandate is that we assist people throughout the Atlantic provinces. For example, Bill Doyle applied to the Council for a grant and they directed him to us for assistance. Christine Ritchie, an independent Canada Council recipient, has requested use of our equipment in her work. RS Chuck Lapp, co-ordinator What is your personal feeling about what’s happening here? It’s exciting to see the fulfillment of something that some of us have been thinking about for a long time. More things have happened to film here in the past year than I had ever expected. And a very genuine feeling of community has evolved here. When Lionel was doing his film, most of us were up at Dalhousie at 4 a.m. working on his sets — including one guy who had only joined that week. And when John Brett needed someone to go down to Yarmouth for a day’s shooting, Ashley Lohmes and Art McKay were prepared to go — just like that. Film making is a communal art; even the most solitary film maker needs the assistance of others. And what is happening here is a very positive experience in co-operation. I’m very happy with it all. Talking with Chuck, Lionel, and John has not only focused on the present state of film activity in the Atlantic Provinces and what the future might hold; it also says something about the filmic sensibility, at least in this neck of the woods. A filmmaker must develop his/her own style and point of view as well as an eye that is critical and always changing when it comes to evaluating his work and that of others. However, there is a sense of collective experience that is equally penetrating. New and young filmmakers need to share ideas, frustrations, even their eccentricities sometimes. Here in the Altantic Provinces the film Co-operative is no longer a concept, it is a working entity. Lon Dubinsky teaches film and education at Dalhousie University and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. Liz Mullan studied English and Film at Queens University, Kingston and has recently settled in Halifax. Cinema Canada 29