 |
The British Columbia Archives Program |
| Home | Features | Shorts | Documentaries | Showcases | Schedule | |
| Monday, February 1 at 7:15 pm
Conference Centre Theatre $7.00
Stanley Park Suite Two In the Daytime The Fraser Valley CREATIVE FILMMAKERS IN 1940s VANCOUVER The British Columbia Archives is pleased to co-sponsor this presentation of four significant and appealing independent Vancouver films from its collections, preserved and restored for viewers of today and tomorrow |
|
| Since it began collecting film and videotape in 1980, the British Columbia Archives has become a leading force in preserving the province's audio-visual heritage. Its film holdings include productions from the British Columbia government, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, numerous B.C. corporations, and several production companies and independent producers, as well as amateur filmmakers. Collectively, these holdings comprise one of the largest regional film collections in Canada. | |
| STANLEY PARK
(Coast Films, 1939) Musical Accompaniment by Karel Roessingh
Directed by Malcolm C. Morrison, with D.E. Lytle, O.C. Burritt, W.F. Houston & J.R. Pollock. 15 min., silent, colour. This well-observed and cleverly-photographed film captures -- in excellent pre-war Kodachrome -- a day in the life of Stanley Park. It was an early effort at independent documentary production by a group of Vancouver film enthusiasts, including amateur cinematographers Oscar Burritt and Don Lytle. The Coast Films group hoped to produce a series of films that could be distributed by the fledgling National Film Board of Canada, but World War II intervened and this was their sole group effort. Stanley Park was restored in 1987 by the British Columbia Archives. |
|
| SUITE TWO: A MEMO
TO OSCAR (1947) Musical Accompaniment by
Karel Roessingh
By Dorothy Burritt and Stanley Fox. 11 min. [at sound speed], silent, black and white. Just a block from Stanley Park was the home of film enthusiasts Dorothy and Oscar Burritt. An offbeat study of light and life at their apartment in an old mansion, Suite Two was conceived by Dorothy as a gift to her husband, who was making industrial films in Toronto at the time. As their friends gather for an evening of drinks, music, film and dancing, we are given a privileged and charming look at "the artsy scene" in 1940s Vancouver. Dorothy's guests include film workers, a painter, a clairvoyant, a future film director -- and a mysterious servant who looks like the grandfather of Big Bird. Honourable Mention (Amateur Category), Canadian Film Awards, 1949. |
|
| IN THE DAYTIME
(1949-50)
Directed & photographed by Stanley Fox & Peter Varley; commentary by Norman Newton. Presented by the National Film Society of Canada (Vancouver Branch). 22 min., sound, black and white. A remarkable portrait of postwar Vancouver emerges in this impressionistic study of city life on a summer day in 1949. In the Daytime was inspired by the "city symphonies" made by European cineastes from the 1920s through the 1940s, depicting the rhythm, tempo, pattern and variety of urban life. The film abounds with intimate glimpses of Vancouverites in their favourite haunts, including Victory Square, Chinatown, a busy beer parlour, an Interurban streetcar, the Belcarra ferry and many familiar city streets. The "insider's" viewpoint, coupled with Norman Newton's poetic commentary, makes this documentary a unique departure from the Vancouver portrayed in countless travelogues. In the Daytime was restored for National Film Week '86 through the cooperation of the British Columbia Archives and Canadian Filmmakers Distribution West, with funding from the British Columbia Heritage Trust. Honourable Mention (Amateur Category), Canadian Film Awards, 1950. |
|
| THE FRASER VALLEY, BRITISH
COLUMBIA (BC Government Travel Bureau, 1948)
Directed and photographed by Clarence Ferris. 20 minutes, sound, colour. From 1939 through 1984, the majority of provincial government travelogues were produced in-house by the BC Government Travel Bureau and its successors. Clarence Ferris was the original one-man staff of the Photographic Branch, and continued to run it until 1955. The late 1940s saw a surprising number of films produced for domestic and international distribution. Though they may seem unsophisticated and perhaps even naive to modern eyes, films like Ferris' THE FRASER VALLEY reflected a growing awareness of film's value in promoting tourism. It was restored in 1986 by the British Columbia Archives, in cooperation with the BC Ministry of Tourism. --Dennis Duffy |
|
| Back to Top of Page |