Coming Events

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Wed Sep 28, 20227:30 at the OAC

Opening Night Concert
Featuring
David Hart & Band
Presented by Lawnya Vawnya

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Thu Sep 29, 20223:00 P.M. at the OAC

Becoming Labrador -- 2018 film by Rohan Fernando, Tamara Segura, and Justin Simms
In the stark Labrador interior, a growing number of Filipino workers have recently landed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, travelling halfway around the world for jobs they hope will offer their families new opportunities and a better life. "Becoming Labrador" follows a handful of those women and men as they make a place for themselves in Labrador while dealing with the unexpected costs of living far from their family.

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Thu Sep 29, 20227:30 P.M. at the OAC

An Evening with Labradorian filmmaker Byron Hamel - Writer & Producer

A Cycle Broken -- Byron's documentary about the Guardians of the Children, tough bikers who accompany abused kids when they go to court.

Virtual Q&A with Byron, hosted by John Gaudi.

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Fri Sep 30, 20223:00 P.M. at the OAC

On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation we are screening:

Unitas Fratrum: The Moravians in Labrador" -- 1983 film by Hubert Schuurman
The Moravians, an early Protestant group, founded missions on the Labrador coast in the 18th century. Serving as a buffer between the Indigenous people and the whalers, the Moravians laid the basis for a new society that blended traditional European and Inuit cultures. This film shows a year in the life of the Moravian mission of Nain and describes some of the stresses the modern world has brought to this isolated Arctic community. Interviewed are a retired teacher who came with the last European mission, and the first Native Moravian minister.

Eye of the Storm -- 1997 film by Nigel Markham
A documentary about Nain, a Labrador Inuit community located near the world’s largest nickel and copper deposits. As commercial mining interests prepare to exploit the resources, local residents consider the potential environmental and cultural impact. Meanwhile longstanding Aboriginal land claims are unsettled.

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Fri Sep 30, 20227:30 P.M. at the OAC

This evening of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation we are screening;

If I Go Missing -- 2018 film by Byron Hamel
A teenage girl fights for equal treatment and care for Indigenous kids who go missing.

The Last Days of Okak -- 1985 film by Anne Budgel & Nigel Markham
This short documentary tells the story the once-thriving town of Okak, an Inuit settlement on the northern Labrador coast. Moravian missionaries evangelized the coast and encouraged the growth of Inuit settlements, but it was also a Moravian ship that brought the deadly Spanish influenza during the world epidemic of 1919. The Inuit of the area were decimated, and Okak was abandoned. Through diaries, old photos and interviews with survivors, this film relates the story of the epidemic and examines the relations between natives and missionaries.

Hunters and Bombers -- 1991 film by Hugh Brody & Nigel Markham
The "hunters" are the Innu people and the "bombers" are the air forces of several NATO countries, which conduct low-level flights over the Innu's hunting terrain. The impact of the jets is hotly debated by peace groups, Indigenous people, environmentalists and the military. But what is often overlooked are the many complex changes underway in Innu society, as social and technological changes confront a traditional hunting culture.

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Sat Oct 1, 20223:00 P.M. at the OAC

A Celebration of "Labrador Cinema

Screening of two never-before-seen-in-Labrador rare films curated by Mark Turner and Morgen Mills. Titles to be announced.

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Sat Oct 1, 20227:30 P.M. at the OAC

Launch of the book "LABRADOR CINEMA" by Mark Turner and Morgen Mills

Labrador Cinema presents a history in rare and significant images gathered from filmmakers and archives across Europe and North America. This first book published by Brack and Brine, a new imprint based in Labrador and Ontario, tells the story of the region’s cinema through its imagery.

Along with a comprehensive filmography of 225 items, each of the book’s twelve chapters focuses on one decade of film-making in the region or by its people. This makes the book essential for collectors, researchers, and anyone interested in the development of this unique cinema.

With design by renowned Newfoundland and Labrador-based artist Graham Blair, cover design by St. John’s-based firm Perfect Day, and 88 images from significant films and television shows between 1901 and 2022, Labrador Cinema is an important addition to all collections.

The launch will be accompanied by silent screenings and discussions and will featuring a post-event improvisational dance performance brought to us by Neighbourhood Dance Works.

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Sun Oct 2, 20223:00 P.M. at the OAC

An afternoon of Labrador short films

NunatuKavut Inuit and the Dogteam
The Place I Call Home
Homeland Adventures
A Taste of Home
The Value in What I Was Taught
My Home Away From Home
The above films were created by youth involved in the NunatuKavut Youth Community Engagement Project.

Shaman -- 2017 animanted film by Echo Henoche
This animated short tells the story of a ferocious polar bear turned to stone by an Inuk shaman. The tale is based on emerging filmmaker Echo Henoche's favourite legend, as told to her by her grandfather in her home community of Nain, Nunatsiavut, on Labrador's North Coast. Hand-drawn and painted by Henoche in a style all her own, Shaman is the first collaboration between the Labrador artist and the National Film Board.

Evan's Drum -- 2121 film by Ossie Michelin
An adventurous young boy and his determined mother share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Evan’s Drum is a joyful visit to a family’s loving home, and an uplifting story of cultural pride. After generations of silence, the rhythm of the traditional Inuit drum has returned to Labrador, and seven-year-old Evan is part of the new generation that will keep its heartbeat strong.

Nalujuk Night -- 2121 fillm by Jennie Williams
An up close look at an exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, Labrador Inuit tradition. Every January 6th 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. Snow crunches underfoot as they approach their destination: the Inuit community of Nain.

Despite the frights, Nalujuk Night is a beloved annual event, showing that sometimes it can be fun to be scared. Rarely witnessed outside of Nunatsiavut, this annual event is an exciting chance for Inuit, young and old, to prove their courage and come together as a community to celebrate culture and tradition.

Inuk filmmaker Jennie Williams brings audiences directly into the action in this bone-chilling black and white short documentary about a winter night like no other.

BIG LAND FILM FESTIVAL

Sun Oct 2, 20227:30 P.M. at the OAC

HERD: Inuit Voices on Caribou

In the startling collapse of the once massive George River Caribou Herd - and a subsequent total hunting ban - Inuit in Labrador, Canada, were abruptly confronted with a new reality: life without a fundamental source of food, culture, and well-being.

Through Inuit voices, HERD: Inuit Voices on Caribou tells the story of the social, emotional, and cultural disruptions from cascading ecological change by putting an essential human face to the caribou declines. The film, which was developed over four years of intimate collaboration between filmmakers and communities, cinematically explores an array of lived experiences, from youth to Elders and hunters to cooks, to ensure that the stories of those living on the front-lines of this conservation crisis are HERD. It is a portrait of the deep and delicate interconnections that exist between humans and non-human life, a glimpse of heartbreaking loss and pain felt by entire communities, and an unforgettable testament of cultural endurance, hope, and resilience in the context of ecological uncertainty.

Rube & Rake

Sun Oct 30, 20227:30 P.M. at the OAC

ECMA 2022 Songwriter of the Year and 2020 Music NL Folk/Roots Artist of the Year award winners Rube & Rake engage audiences with storytelling, intricate guitar work, and rich vocal harmonies. Based in St. John’s, NL, the folk duo comprising Josh Sandu and Andrew Laite have formed an intimate musical connection that shines through in every new song and performance. Following their award-winning 2017 debut "Back and Forth", their sophomore album "Leaving With Nothing" expanded the band’s sound to include more instrumentation, pleasingly surprising time changes, and an overall expansion of intention to add to the chemistry they had already established as musical collaborators and storytellers in the finest folk music tradition. Tickets: Regular $30 Senior/Student $25

William Prince

Wed Nov 2, 20227:30 P.M. at the OAC

William Prince approaches the big questions with humility and curiosity, and his songwriting is a masterclass in skillful simplicity. Since his JUNO Award win in 2017, Prince’s momentum has continued to build, with each new album adding depth and dimension to an exceptional body of work that has received international acclaim. From national network television appearances, top tier media coverage and performances at major international festivals, William Prince has become one of the country’s most respected and celebrated songwriters. Tickets: Reg. $37 Senior/Student $32