Resource type
Date created
2015-11-13
Authors/Contributors
Author: Curtis, Edward
Author: Browne, Colin
Author: Cranmer, Bill
Author: Everson, Andy
Author: Underhill, Owen
Abstract
SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement hosted a screening and panel discussion on In the Land of the Head Hunters, the first feature film made in B.C. and the oldest surviving feature made in Canada. It is also the first feature made with an entirely indigenous North American cast. A portrait of the Kwakwaka’wakw (formerly Kwakiutl) people of northern Vancouver Island and the central coast, it was directed by Edward S. Curtis, the renowned American photographer of First Nations life. The film mixes documentary and dramatic elements, recording authentic traditions and rituals, including the potlatch ceremony, but also offering an epic tale of love, war, and adventure set in pre-European times. It premiered in New York and Seattle on December 7, 1914. This beautiful restoration features John J. Branham’s original 1914 score performed by Vancouver’s Turning Point Ensemble.
Description
Panelists:Bill Cranmer is a Hereditary Chief of the N’amgis First Nation.Andy Everson is a contemporary First Nations artist from the K’omoks First Nation on Vancouver Island. Holding a master’s degree in anthropology, Andy is the grandson of one of the film’s stars—Margaret Frank—who played the role of Princess Naida.Owen Underhill lives in Vancouver where he is a composer, conductor, artistic director and faculty member in the School for the Contemporary Arts at SFU and is the artistic director of Turning Point Ensemble.
Published as
In the Land of the Head Hunters: Film Introduction and Panel
Publication details
Document title
In the Land of the Head Hunters: Film Introduction and Panel
Copyright statement
Copyright is held by the author(s).
Scholarly level
Peer reviewed?
No
External links
Language
English
Member of collection