White Thunder
Victoria King, 2002, English, 52 min, colour
Why
would a dashing young New York filmmaker find himself on the undulating
ice floes off Newfoundland in the 1920s? Victoria King's White Thunder is
an absorbing portrait of Varick Frissell and his perilous quest to capture
on film for the first time Newfoundlanders’ “struggle for existence
against an overwhelmingly cruel environment.” No one had ever used
the new sound technology—heavy and cumbersome, yet delicate and difficult
to adjust—to film a dramatic feature entirely on location. And what
a location: rolling, twisting fields of ice! Frissell’s quest for
authenticity would prove treacherous, but the resulting film was a remarkable
testament to the people of Newfoundland, as King’s film is to the
courage and integrity of Varick Frissell.
Awards
Rex Tasker Award for Best Documentary (2002)
Screening
Saturday, February 19, 7:30pm
Event: Cinema as Sacred Site panel discussion
Part of a double bill with
Total screening time: 2hrs, with a 15min intermisssion.
About the Director
Victoria King
An independent filmmaker based in St. John's, Victoria King studied film theory and new media at Concordia University. White Thunder is her first documentary. She is currently developing film projects on the Churchill River hydroelectric operation, the largest on the continent, and the social impact of the Newfoundland fishery crisis.
FILMOGRAPHY
White Thunder (2002)
About the Writer/Editor
Terre Nash
b 1949, Nanaimo, BC
Terre Nash gained international attention in 1983 when her anti-nuclear
film, If You Love This Planet, was denounced by the US Justice Department
as propaganda and went on to win an Academy Award. Often working freelance
with the NFB’s renowned Studio D, Nash has made a specialty of profiling
smart, politically engaging women in compelling and beautiful-to-watch films.
FILMOGRAPHY
If You Love This Planet, 1983, director, editor
Speaking Our Peace, 1985, director, screenwriter, with the Sunshine Coast’s
own Bonnie Sherr Klein
A Love Affair with Politics: A Portrait of Marion Dewar, 1987, director,
editor
Russian Diary, 1989, producer, director, with Bonnie Klein
Mother Earth, 1991, director, editor
Who’s Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies, and Global Economics,
1995, director, editor
My Left Breast, 2000, editor
Cast and crew
Producers
Annette Clarke, Kent Martin. A National Film Board of Canada and Factory
Lane Productions co-production
Writer
Terre Nash, Victoria King
Cinematographer
Nigel Markham
Editor
Terre Nash
Music
Jeff Johnston
Principal Cast
Narrators – Michael Jones, Sebastian Spence
Links
NFB and
Milestone Films publicity kit
NFB description and clips
