Oct 13, 2021 | International
Halifax – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
Powerful local stories from Newfoundland and Labrador and acclaimed Indigenous works from across Canada—that’s what the National Film Board of Canada is bringing to the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (October 13–17, 2021) this year in a selection of four outstanding new films.
Two works boast strong ties to St. John’s:
Jennie Williams is an Inuk visual artist and a throat singer from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, now based in St. John’s, whose short film Nalujuk Night was produced through the Labrador Documentary Project.
Physician/filmmaker Monica Kidd divided her time between St. John’s and Calgary while creating The Storm, working with St. John’s animator Duncan Major.
Along with Jennie’s short, the rest of the NFB selection amplifies powerful stories by Indigenous women creators, with two festival award winners:
The feature-length documentary Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy by Kainai First Nation/Sámi filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers.
The short doc Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again by Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) director Courtney Montour.
NFB titles will be available for streaming in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario.
Films from Newfoundland and Labrador
Nalujuk Night by Jennie Williams (13 mins.)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/nalujuk-night
Jennie Williams plunges audiences directly into the action in this bone-chilling black-and-white short documentary about a winter night like no other. Every January 6, from the dark of the Nunatsiavut night, the Nalujuit appear on the sea ice. They walk on two legs, yet their faces are animalistic, skeletal and otherworldly as they approach their destination: the Inuit community of Nain.
Nalujuk Night is produced through the Labrador Documentary Project, which supports Indigenous storytelling by working with first-time Labrador Inuit filmmakers to create and distribute Inuit stories from Inuit perspectives.
The Storm (4 mins.)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-storm
Making her NFB directorial debut, Monica Kidd collaborates with animator Duncan Major on a film that reflects on what it means to bring a baby into a world under a pandemic lockdown, evoking memories of wild summer storms to amplify a sharply etched tale of disruption and rebirth.
Acclaimed documentaries
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (125 mins.)
Co-produced by Seen Through Woman Productions and the NFB
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/kimmapiiyipitssini-the-meaning-of-empathy
A member of the Kainai First Nation and the Sámi in Norway, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers creates an intimate portrait of her community and the impacts of the substance-use and overdose epidemic. Witness the change brought by community members with substance-use disorder, first responders and medical professionals as they strive for harm reduction in the Kainai First Nation.
Awards:
Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award and Rogers Audience Award for Canadian Feature Documentary, Hot Docs 2021
Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director, DOXA 2021
Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again by Courtney Montour (34 mins.)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/mary-two-axe-earley-i-am-indian-again
Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again shares the powerful story of Mary Two-Axe Earley, who fought for more than two decades to challenge sex discrimination against First Nations women embedded in Canada’s Indian Act, becoming a key figure in Canada’s women’s rights movement. Using never-before-seen archival footage and audio recordings, Mohawk filmmaker Courtney Montour engages in a deeply personal conversation with the late Mohawk woman, who challenged sexist and genocidal government policies that stripped First Nations women and children of their Indian status when they married non-Indian men.
Award: Best Director, 2021 Weengushk International Film Festival
– 30 –
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Curator’s perspective | Director’s notes
About the NFB
Lily Robert
Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
C.: 514-296-8261 | l.robert@nfb.ca
Aug 10, 2021 | International
Targeted ACOA support for the St. John’s region air ecosystem will help maintain jobs, re-establish regional connections
August 9, 2021 · St. John’s, NL · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Regional air transportation is crucial to local economic growth, the movement of goods and the connectivity of Canadians across the country. The pandemic has had major impacts on regional air transportation ecosystems, impacting communities and local businesses from coast to coast to coast.
The Government of Canada’s Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI), launched in March 2021, supports access to air transportation and regional ecosystems. In particular, it enables the continuation of existing air routes and ensures airports remain operational and able to contribute to regional economic growth, while adapting to new post-COVID-19 realities and requirements.
Federal government supports operating capital, establishing routes
With this in mind, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for St. John’s South-Mount Pearl, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for ACOA, today announced $11.8 million in financial support for the St. John’s International Airport Authority (SJIAA). Ken McDonald, Member of Parliament for Avalon, also spoke at the event.
The SJIAA operates the St. John’s International Airport, providing safe and accessible aviation services and facilities to the travelling public and businesses of Eastern Newfoundland. The airport is the main gateway for Newfoundland and Labrador and is a catalyst for economic development. This non-repayable contribution will enable the SJIAA to maintain operations and essential services and continue collaborating with various carriers to re-establish routes to the region, while at the same time maintaining 85 jobs.
Regional air transportation is key to the economic development of communities and businesses right across Canada. It is essential to connecting Canadians living in rural and remote communities to urban centres, delivering Canadian goods to the global market and welcoming international visitors to all parts of the country, when it is safe to do so.
Jun 10, 2021 | Books, Business
Saint James Church: Worshipping in the Presence of the Past:1720-2020, a new book by Virginia Brown Bartels, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
This three-hundred-year history of an Anglican church on James Island, near Charleston, South Carolina, portrays details of its priests and its people, beginning in a small, primitive building in a very rural area, and expanding over the years into a three-structure center of worship in a modern suburban community. Worship began when a priest rowed his boat to James Island to conduct services for fewer than twenty people once a month. Today, the church has several priests and several daily worship activities for a congregation consisting of hundreds of members. The account is fascinating as it incorporates almost four hundred pages of historical details based on evolving current events and societal changes, yet the parishioners remain faithful to an unchanging God of grace. Who we are in present times is rooted in past times, and the details gathered within this work from multiple primary and secondary sources come together to portray both a sequential and a topical story of people first living in a colonial agricultural society and eventually adapting to a modern technological era. Readers will be more aware of how faith perpetuates persistence and problem-solving in whatever circumstances arise.
About the Author
Virginia Brown Bartels moved to James Island when she was twelve years old and grew to know and love the area, its people and its history. She has worshiped at Saint James since 1982 and has been blessed to know many of the priests and parishioners personally. As a Winthrop graduate and an English teacher in Charleston County’s public schools for over thirty years, Bartels was privileged to teach primarily American literature and help create and sustain the Teacher Cadet Program. Her educational career, which spanned over a period of forty years, included initiatives in teacher recruitment and teacher training. Together, she and her husband Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” Bartels, have five children and ten grandchildren. They treasure their family gatherings, mountain cabin, traveling, gardening and worshiping at St. James.
Saint James Church: Worshipping in the Presence of the Past:1720-2020 is a 392-page paperback with a retail price of $35.00 (eBook $30.00). The ISBN is 978-1-6480-4597-4. It was published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, or to request a review copy, please go to our virtual pressroom at www.dorrancepressroom.com or our online bookstore http://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com.
Apr 21, 2021 | Books, Business
Saint James Church: Worshipping in the Presence of the Past:1720-2020, a new book by Virginia Brown Bartels, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
This three-hundred-year history of an Anglican church on James Island, near Charleston, South Carolina, portrays details of its priests and its people, beginning in a small, primitive building in a very rural area, and expanding over the years into a three-structure center of worship in a modern suburban community. Worship began when a priest rowed his boat to James Island to conduct services for fewer than twenty people once a month. Today, the church has several priests and several daily worship activities for a congregation consisting of hundreds of members. The account is fascinating as it incorporates almost four hundred pages of historical details based on evolving current events and societal changes, yet the parishioners remain faithful to an unchanging God of grace. Who we are in present times is rooted in past times, and the details gathered within this work from multiple primary and secondary sources come together to portray both a sequential and a topical story of people first living in a colonial agricultural society and eventually adapting to a modern technological era. Readers will be more aware of how faith perpetuates persistence and problem-solving in whatever circumstances arise.
About the Author
Virginia Brown Bartels moved to James Island when she was twelve years old and grew to know and love the area, its people and its history. She has worshipped at Saint James since 1982 and has been blessed to know many of the priests and parishioners personally. As a Winthrop graduate and an English teacher in Charleston County’s public schools for over thirty years, Bartels was privileges to teach primarily American literature and help create and sustain the Teacher Cadet Program. Her educational career, which spanned over a period of forty years, included initiatives in teaching recruitment and teacher training. Together, she and her husband Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” Bartels, have five children and ten grandchildren. They treasure their family gatherings, mountain cabin, traveling, gardening and worshipping at St. James
Saint James Church: Worshipping in the Presence of the Past:1720-2020 is a 392-page paperback with a retail price of $35.00. The ISBN is 978-1-6480-4597-4. It was published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, or to request a review copy, please go to our virtual pressroom at www.dorrancepressroom.com or our online bookstore http://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com.
