''Cree Hunters of Mistassini'' is a 1974 documentary film produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

and co-directed by

Boyce Richardson Boyce Richardson, (March 21, 1928—March 7, 2020) was a journalist, author and filmmaker. Biography Richardson was born in Wyndham, New Zealand to Robert and Letitia Richardson, and grew up in Invercargill where, at age 17, he began his caree ...

and Tony Ianzelo. It chronicles a group of three Cree families from the Mistassini region of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

as they set up a winter hunting camp near

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

and

Ungava Bay Ungava Bay (french: baie d'Ungava, ; iu, ᐅᖓᕙ ᑲᖏᖅᓗᒃ/) is a bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik (far northern Quebec) from Baffin Island. Although not geographically apparent, it is considered to be a marginal sea of the A ...

. The film explores the beliefs and the ecological principles of the Cree people. Richardson had previously written a series of articles for the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...

'' on Native rights and the environmental damage done by development on their land. He traveled to Mistassini to speak with Cree friends, pledging that their film would allow Native people to tell their own stories, and filming went ahead with three hunting families in the bush, over five months from 1972 to 1973.

Awards

*BAFTA ( British Academy Film Awards), London:

BAFTA Award for Best Documentary This page lists the winners for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, formerly known as the Robert Flaherty Documentary Award, for each year. History The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts an ...

(Robert Flaherty Award), 1975 *

Canadian Film Awards The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of ...

, ON: Genie Award for Best Documentary, 1975 * Melbourne Film Festival: Silver Boomerang, Best film made specifically for TV, 1975

References

External links

* 1974 films Documentary films about First Nations National Film Board of Canada documentaries BAFTA winners (films) Cree culture Films directed by Tony Ianzelo Best Short Documentary Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Hunting in popular culture Films about hunter-gatherers Documentary films about environmental issues Eeyou Istchee (territory) 1974 documentary films Anthropology documentary films Films produced by Colin Low (filmmaker) Canadian short documentary films 1970s English-language films 1970s Canadian films {{1970s-Canada-documentary-film-stub