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NFB and Shorefast Foundation E-Cinema in English Canada

Press Release from The National Film Board of Canada and the Shorefast Foundation

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, June 17, 2009 -- have reached a partnership to deliver Newfoundland's first e-cinema installation and the NFB's first English-language e-cinema partnership in Canada.

This distribution system exploits new digital technology that will give Fogo Island residents and visitors access to great works of Canadian cinema from the NFB as well as independent filmmakers. The new e-cinema venue will be a unique state-of-the art forum for cinema and discussion and an integral part of Shorefast's geotourism project.

It is part of a limited number of pilot projects that the NFB has undertaken to deliver unique cultural offerings -- documentaries, animation and alternative dramas -- to underserviced communities. The films can be delivered overnight via a high-speed Internet line or via hard drives. Digital cinema allows an enormous flexibility to establish or modify programming to suit the needs of audiences.

Mr. Tom Perlmutter, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson, and Ms. Zita Cobb, president of Shorefast Foundation, made the announcement on June 16 in St. John's. The Fogo Island e-cinema theatre is an important cultural investment in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The NFB is always exploring ways to make our rich collection available in all regions of Canada," said Tom Perlmutter. "E-cinema has great potential to deliver high-quality films that touch on important local issues, especially in communities that do not normally have access to a true cinematic experience. More than three decades ago, the NFB made a difference in the lives of residents of Fogo Island with our Challenge for Change program. Today, we're proud to be working with Shorefast to do so again, with this e-cinema initiative."

Zita Cobb said Shorefast is proud to be a partner in the NFB's first English-language e-cinema partnership for Canada:

"Fogo Island and the NFB have a rich history together. Thirty years ago, in a collaboration with the Extension Service of Memorial University, the NFB produced a series of innovative films that captured Fogo Islanders during a period of deep social change," Zita Cobb said. "Today, as we work to carve our niche in the worldwide geotourism market, film continues to be an essential learning and communication tool for us. Gaining access to the National Film Board's extensive collection is an extremely valuable asset to the people of Fogo Island and Change Islands."

The Fogo Island e-cinema theatre is a collaboration between the NFB and the Shorefast Foundation, a charitable organization working to enable vibrant and self-sufficient communities on the Fogo and Change Islands using a model of social entrepreneurship. The project will be launched in November 2009.

The NFB's e-cinema network began as a pilot project in five French-speaking Acadian communities in 2007, with the support of IPOLC, Canadian Heritage's Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official-Language Communities.

"The Fogo Process"

The NFB's roots in Fogo Island run deep, back to a groundbreaking community media initiative called "Challenge for Change," which saw legendary filmmaker Colin Low working with island residents to create 28 short films about their lives -- and spark a process of community development that continues to this day.

It has, appropriately enough, come to be known as the "Fogo Process." Instead of producing a single documentary on conditions in the small, then-struggling community, Low and the NFB produced over two dozen documentaries, where people of all ages and walks of life had the opportunity to tell their own stories, and voice their hopes and concerns. It was a turning point for the island: a chance for friends, neighbours and relatives to see each other in a new light, and appreciate the power they all shared to transform their lives, if they worked together.

Now Fogo Islanders will have another chance to enjoy these films again, as part of a wide range of NFB and independently produced programming.