Throughout the past century, the Thunder Bay film industry has played a critical role in the socioeconomic and cultural development of the region, country, and international community.
The stories, images, themes, and ideas in these movies have allowed viewers to see the diversity of cultures worldwide and explore their traditions, rituals, values, and ways of life. Because of this, people, in many ways, have gained a greater appreciation and understanding of our world’s diversity. Daniel Nadaner, in “Art and Cultural Understanding: The Role of Film in Education,” emphasized the societal and cultural importance of the filmmaking sector and, specifically, examined its impact on education and students. In one section, he commented, “Encounters with works of art can also help students understand the thoughts and feelings of persons from cultures other than their own.”(1) With society becoming more technologized, the film industry plays a substantial role in educating people about different cultures and societies.
For the past century, filming in Thunder Bay has provided numerous opportunities and jobs to filmmakers, producers, writers, musicians, actors, and other industry professionals. Ella Myers in “Casting call gets wider with talent agency merger: increasingly centralized Northern film industry provides jobs for actors and those who manage them,” analyzed the increasing opportunities available in the film industry in the region. For example, she explained, “As more film projects head north to take advantage of provincial grants, tax credits and affordable production conditions, local actors and industry professionals are able to find or make work at home.”(2) With increasing support for the film and arts in Northern Ontario, more and more jobs are being created for artists, from working on film sets to audio and video editing to animation.
In 1911, the first film produced in what is now Thunder Bay was entitled “Port Arthur & Fort William: Canada’s Keys to the Great Lakes,” and so began Thunder Bay’s more than a century of filmmaking.
Some of the films produced in the twentieth century in the region or by regional producers include “Lakehead Grain” and “Lakehead,” produced in 1953 and 1962, respectively. These films documented grain handling at the Lakehead, including shots of ships loaded with grain.
Local filmmaker Robert Flaherty created the well-known “Nanook of the North” film, first screened in Thunder Bay. In 1926 he also directed “Moana” for Paramount Pictures, and a rough-cut preview was held at the Prince Arthur hotel before a private audience before its release.
In 1929, Harold Harcourt and Dorothea Mitchell produced Canada’s first amateur feature-length film, “A Race for Ties,” under the aegis of the new Port Arthur Amateur Cinema Society. Dorothea Mitchell, who emigrated from England, was the first independent filmmaker in Canada, and she shot entirely in Thunder Bay and the surrounding area.
In 1991, filmmaker Rhonda Kara Hanah created the moving documentary “Sleeping Children Awake,” which outlined the history of the Canadian residential schools and their horrific impacts on First Nations people from across the country. From the abuse children faced to the destruction of the traditions, values, languages, rituals, and ways of life of different Indigenous groups, residential schools were a painful part of Canada’s history.
Some films produced in the twenty-first century in Northern Ontario or by regional filmmakers include “In Security,” (2010), “Under the Red Star” (2011), “Northern Grown” (2011), “Long Walk Home: The Incredible Journey of Sheila Burnford,” (2017), “Where the Poppies Grow,” (2018), “Journey to our Homeland,” (2022) and “Le tireure d’élite/The Sniper,” (2022).
- Daniel Nadaner, “Art and Cultural Understanding: The Role of Film in Education,” Art Education 34,4 (July 1981): 6.
- Ella Myers, “Casting call gets wider with talent agency merger: increasingly centralized Northern film industry provides jobs for actors and those who manage them,” Northern Ontario Business 36,3 (2016): 1.
Flash Frame 