Since its beginning in 1912, the Calgary Stampede has been about more than rodeo. Along with the cowboys are livestock, agricultural equipment and the latest technology. The first colour television in Calgary was showcased at the Calgary Stampede, said Christine Leppard, manager of exhibits and experience with the Sam Centre, a year-round Calgary Stampede attraction […] Read more
Tag Archives NFB
Standing Alone offered unique perspectives
There comes a time, usually in middle age, when a person wishes they had paid more attention to their parents’ and grandparents’ stories. It was no different for Pete Standing Alone, who thought the dances, ceremonies and traditions on his southern Alberta Blood Reserve were dull and unimportant. “I was just a spectator. I thought […] Read more
Three documentaries capture farm life on the grasslands
It’s not often a movie director arrives in a community and the ideas for the upcoming film come from the community and not the director. After director Scott Parker met community members in town halls and farms across southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan, it was the residents who came up with the themes for the […] Read more
Film told story of women farmers in B.C.’s Peace district
A retired farmer who lost her fight to save some of what she calls British Columbia’s best farmland says an important lesson Canadians need to learn is reflected in the title of a 40-year-old documentary. “It came from a quote I had said,” said Ruth Veiner. Related stories: ‘They can’t stop us’: farmers dig in […] Read more
Documentary remembers black cowboy legend from Alta.
A former American slave who became an Alberta icon because of his skills as a cowboy and rancher helped inspire a black filmmaker to understand her own place in the real history of Western Canada. “It was very confusing for me as a child to be aware that black roots in the country were long […] Read more
Drylanders film depicted homesteaders’ prairie gamble
How did a pioneer family with no farming experience find the courage to gamble everything on an uncertain new life as homesteaders in Western Canada? “I tried to look cheerful when we got off the train, and when he bought the wagon,” said Liza Greer about her husband, Dan, as they slowly travelled with their […] Read more
Wheat Country film highlights the prairie gamble
A film made six decades ago that featured farmers as the actors in a fictional but true-to-life story is being streamed online for the 100th anniversary of The Western Producer. Wheat Country focused on Lloyd and Thelma Smith and their sons Allan, Murray and Barrie as they hurried to get their crop harvested before a […] Read more
