Challenge for Change: Activist Documentary at the National Film Board of Canada Book

Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xi

Foreword Putting Ideas into the World: A Conversation with Naomi Klein about Starting Conversations with-Film Ezra Winton Naomi Klein xv

1 Introduction: Forty Years Later ... a Space for Challenge for Change/Société nouvelle Michael Brendan Baker Thomas Waugh Ezra Winton 3

Part 1 Historical Spaces: In the Heat of the Action

2 Grierson and Challenge for Change (1984) Colin Low 16

3 In the Hands of Citizens: A Video Report (1969) Dorothy Todd Hénaut Bonnie Sherr Klein 24

4 Saint-Jérôme: The Experience of a Filmmaker as Social Animator (1968) Fernand Dansereau 34

5 A Voice for Canadian Indians: An Indian Film Crew (1968) Noel Starblanket 38

6 Fiction Film as Social Animator (1971-72): Interview with Léonard Forest By Dorothy Todd Hénaut 41

7 Working with Film: Experiences with a Group of Films about Working Mothers (1975) Kathleen Shannon Elizabeth Prinn Doris Mae oulton Irene Angelico 52

8 Memo to Michelle about Decentralizing the Means of Production (1972) John Grierson 61

9 Can We Evaluate Challenge for Change? (1972) Dan Driscoll 66

Part 2 Community Spaces: Filming at the Margins

10 Media for the People: The Canadian Experiments with Film and Video in Community Development (1992) Peter K. Wiesner 73

11 Cities for Change: The Housing Challenge Gerda Johanna Cammaer 103

12 The En tant que femmes Series, the Film Souris, tu m'inquiètes and the Imaging of Women's Consciousness in 1970s Quebec Marie-Éve Fortin 117

13 Le mouton noir: Vidèographe and the Legacy of Société nouvelle Scott Mackenzie 136

14 The Things I Cannot Change: A Revisionary Reading Brenda Longfellow 149

Part 3 Screen Spaces: Spotlight on the Films and Filmmakers

15 You Are on Indian Land: Interview with George Stoney (1980) Alan Rosenthal 169

16 Cree Hunters of Mistassini: Challenge for Change and Aboriginal Rights Michelle Stewart 180

17 "Nation Time" at Kwacha House: The Transitional Modalities of Encounter at Kwacha House-Halifax Kass Banning 190

18 The Films of Maurice Bulbulian: Science and Conscience Thomas Waugh 201

19 The Curious Case of Wilf: Popular Music in Canadian Documentary Michael Brendan Baker 210

20 Portapak as Performance: VTR St-Jacques and VTR Rosedale Brian Rusted 218

21 Bonnie Klein, Saul Alinsky, and the American Experience Stephen Michael Charbonneau 234

22 Michel Régnier's "Films-Outil" Liz Czach 242

23 Léonard Forest and Acadia Jeanne Deslandes 251

24 Filmmaker as History: The Interventionist Films of Martin Duckworth Michael Lithgow 259

25 Les filles du Roy Jerry White 269

26 In Praise of Anomaly: Le bonhomme and Rose's House Kalli Paakspuu 277

27 Getting Close and Staying Far: Pierre Lasry and the Solo Moms Jason Lindop 285

28 Paper Wheat: Alternative Theatre Meets Alternative Filmmaking Christopher Meir 295

29 "Would I Ever Like to Work": The "Working Mothers" Films and the Construction of Community Rina Fraticelli 303

30 O, Canada! George Stoney's Challenge (1999) Deirdre Boyle 314

Part 4 Discursive Spaces: Theorizing Challenge For Change/Société Nouvelle

31 Société nouvelle: The Challenge to Change in the Alternative Public Sphere (1996) Scott Mackenzie 325

32 Meeting at the Poverty Line: Government Policy, Social Work, and Media Activism in the Challenge for Change Program Zoë Druick 337

33 Amateur Video and the Challenge for Change (1995) Janine Marchessault 354

34 Video: The Politics of Culture and Community (1996) Ron Burnett 366

35 Winds and Things: Towards a Reassessment of the Challenge for Change/Société nouvelle Legacy Marit Kathryn Corneil 389

36 "If a Revolution Is Screened and No One Is There to See It, Does It Make a Sound?" The Politics of Distribution and Counterpublics Ezra Winton Jason Garrison 404

Part 5 Conclusion: Contemporary Reincarnations

37 Filmmaker-in-Residence: The Digital Grandchild of Challenge for Change: Interview with Katerina Cizek Liz Miller 427

38 Thirty Years and Twelve Thousand Miles Away Vijaya Mulay 443

Challenge for Change/Société nouvelle: The Complete Filmography 453

Comprehensive Bibliography 513

Contributors 539

Index 549