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How theFIDDLEFLOWS
contentsSynopsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Production Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Key Bios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Credits including Featured Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Awards and Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quotes from the Documentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quotes about the Documentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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synopsis
From the Gaspé Peninsula north to Hudson Bay and west to the Prairies, How the Fiddle Flows reveals how a distinctive Metis identity and culture were shaped over time. Featuring soaring performances by some of the best-known fiddlers and step dancers in the country and narrated by award-winning actor Tantoo Cardinal.
It's high summer in southern Saskatchewan and a rollicking tune fills the night. Four master Metis fiddlers play to the tapping toes of a lively crowd.
How the Fiddle Flows follows Canada's great rivers west along the fur-trading route of the early Europeans. The newcomers introduced the fiddle to the Aboriginal people they intermarried with along the way. A generation later, their mixed-blood offspring would blend European folk tunes with First Nations rhythms to create a rich and distinct musical tradition.
a one-hour documentary special
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production notes
Growing up in central Alberta, Metis filmmaker Gregory Coyes knew that the fiddle flows from your ears to your feet.
"Whenever the fiddle came out at our house, somebody started dancing. Every time!" he recalls with a chuckle. It was in the family kitchen, with his grandmother and mother dancing along, that Coyes learned to accompany his father's fiddle on the guitar.
"It always happens in the kitchen - this is definitely kitchen music."
These homespun musical traditions happened in many Metis homes, but it was later in life that Coyes would discover just how far the fiddle had flowed to get to his family's kitchen.
At a Quebec festival called "Le Grande Rencontre" (The Big Reunion) in 1996, Coyes was amazed to hear the folk melodies he was raised on coming out of fiddles and accordions reared thousands of kilometres away from his prairie home. "I was dancing, and suddenly I realized, this is the same rhythm, the same spirit- there's a connection here and it should be celebrated."
And with that spark of awareness flowing from his ears to his feet to his heart, this documentary began its journey.
Coyes approached renowned Vancouver arts documentary producer Leigh Badgley. She got the funding flowing with energetic Edmonton producer Ava Karvonen, winning a coveted BRAVO! license, bringing the National Film Board onboard as co-producing partners and securing additional licenses with APTN, SCN and ACCESS and the Knowledge Network. Meanwhile Coyes began investigating the pockets of Metis culture across Canada. Coming across a vivid Frances Hopkins painting of Metis Voyageurs running the rapids in their big canoe, Coyes was inspired to let Canada's river system drive the film.
"So much of the early migration was on the rivers. It's a romantic, historic connection, and it's how the tunes moved," he says, comparing the way fish spawn with the way melodies were spawned along those same river routes in the days of the fur trade.
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production notes
The style of the show developed in a similarly organic way for Coyes. "It's all about rhythm, the rhythm of the paddlers, of the Native drums, of the feet dancing - in Quebec the music is called 'la musique de la terre' - music of the earth."
This music of the earth formed the roots of Metis culture that grew like the trees that sprung up and shaded Metis settlements along the banks of the rivers. These communities later became the towns and family names of Canada. Coyes wanted to highlight these forgotten Metis roots. For example, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan got its name from a broken down Metis caravan. It was originally christened in French, and translates as "The place where we fixed the cart wheel with the moose jaw."
"There are strong roots that connect us," Coyes explains. "But they've been severed by the English language of law. Nobody speaks French in the west, but we have names like L'Hirondelle, Dorian, Arcand - there is a lot of work to be done connecting us to our Eastern roots."
The production took on this task quite literally, beginning the shoot last summer in Quebec and journeying west through 12 cities in a span of 27 days to retrace the flow of Metis culture to Alberta.
Coyes felt the echoes of his history in his role as filmmaker.
"In Metis and Native society, the storyteller was nomadic, going from community to community, bringing information. Stories evolved as they traveled, and filmmaking is an extension of that oral tradition."
Broadcasting the story of Metis culture was also important for Canadians in general.
"This is truly Canadian history, but you're not going to find it in the textbooks," Coyes enthuses. "It enriches all of us to know it."
So the music that brings Coyes' family together, the same music that connects the larger Metis family, now brings Canada together; inviting us back for a little fiddle music and surely some dancing on that well-worn kitchen floor.
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key biosLeigh BadgleyA Vancouver-based producer whose films cover the globe, Leigh has a special flair for cultural documentaries. Her one-hour performing arts piece for CBC and A&E, True Prince: Vladimir Malakhov won a slew of prestigious awards including best arts documentary at the Hot Docs Festival 1997, and has sold around the world. Her documentary-producing credits include the one-hour Icetime for Old Guys for CTV, Knowledge Network and SCN (1999), the one-hour Voices of Ayacucho, Peru, for Vision TV, CFMT, Knowledge Network and SCN (1998); the one-hour performance documentary Inside Italy: Paul Horn & Friends, for Bravo!, Knowledge Network and CFCF (1997); the one-hour Sacred Waters of Cambodia, for Vision TV, Knowledge Network, CFCF, and CFRN (1997) and Quiet Heroes: Story of a Forgotten Squadron, a one-hour historical documentary for Vision TV, Knowledge Network, CFCF, CFCN, and WTN (1995). Her associate producer credits include Opre Roma: Gypsies in Canada, a one hour cultural documentary on the Romany people in Canada for The National Film Board of Canada and CBC (1999), and Secret War, a one-hour documentary for History Television (2001). She also produces drama, with her 1998 half-hour comedy Does That Make Me a Bad Person? winning awards at the New York Expo of Short Film and Video, Salerno International Film Festival and Worldfest Flagstaff; and airing on CBC, WTN and as in-flight entertainment onboard Air Canada. She has a feature in development set in the U.K., a romantic comedy entitled Set the Date.
Ava KarvonenAva Karvonen has been an active member of the Alberta film community for over 15 years. Her Edmonton-based production company, Reel Girls Media Inc., specializes in producing documentaries, children's television series and new media that celebrate the arts, examine social issues and explore the human relationship with the natural world. Ava is the producer, co-host and story editor of WildFiles.TV, a 13-part half-hour interactive TV series for children, exploring mysteries of the animal kingdom. As a companion to this series, Ava also produced www.wildfiles.tv, an interactive version of the series where kids conduct their own explorations of the science and the 13 animals featured in the TV series. Ava's most recent credits include producing the one-hour TV documentary Return of the Peregrine; the entertaining kids CD-ROM series, Zoology Zone: Bears, Raptors and Spiders, and 7 award-winning episodes for Karvonen Films' television series, Treasures of the Wild. Ava recently wrote/directed/produced two one-hour live events: Up Close and Palaeo and Wildlife Wired, which she also hosted, both live webcast and TV broadcast. She has also directed/produced six segments for CBC's kids' series
Producer
Producer
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key bios
Producer
Producer
Street Cents. With her partners in Storytellers Productions Inc., she produced the four part, half-hour animated and live action children's series, Stories from the Seventh Fire, based on the four seasons, and the companion documentary Shared Visions: The Art of Storytelling. To date, these award-winning programs have been selected for screening at 40 international festivals and received a total of 14 awards including "Best Animation" at both the San Francisco American Indian Film Festival and the 2003 Japan Wildlife Film Festival in Tokyo.
Bonnie ThompsonBonnie Thompson is Producer at the National Film Board of Canada's studio in Edmonton, working with Alberta and NWT documentary filmmakers. Thompson's producer highlights at the NFB include producing Unsuitable Actions and Appropriate Actions (1997/98) two award-winning educational videos, which deal with sexual harassment in junior high schools. She produced Beaverman, a quirky film about a man's obsession with beavers broadcast on CBC Rough Cuts (2002). Thompson associate-produced The Honour of the Crown which tells the story of a century-long battle for an Aboriginal land claim for CBC Witness (2002); Worst Case Scenario, about an Alberta community's opposition to a sour gas well for CBC's The Nature of Things (2001), Donna's Story, about a remarkable Aboriginal woman who overcame a life of addiction and prostitution (2001); Red Run, which documents spectacular and dangerous fishing methods used by Aboriginal bands netting salmon along the Fraser River Canyon (2001); and Truckers, which looks at the life of long-distance truckers (2001).
Jerry KrepakevichJerry Krepakevich is a director, writer, editor and producer whose filmography now lists more than 95 films, including animation, documentary and dramas. He joined the National Film Board in 1967 and opened the NFB Prairie Studio in Winnipeg in 1974. He recently retired as a producer with the NFB in Edmonton where he worked extensively with Alberta filmmakers and animators. Past credits include three CBC Witness television documentaries: The Sterilization of Leilani Muir, an examination of a dark period in Alberta history; In My Own Time: Diary of a Cancer Patient (Gemini Award winner, Best Science program, Best Director) and My Healing Journey: Seven Years With Cancer (Gemini Award winner, Best Direction in a Documentary and Best Science, Technology, Nature, Environment or Adventure Documentary). He also produced several award-winning films on war and the military which have premiered on national CBC: Protection Force, a
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key biosthree-part series exploring the daily lives of Canada's peacekeepers; Forgotten Warriors, a one-hour television special dealing with the contributions of Canada's Aboriginal veterans; and Lost Over Burma, a Remembrance Day special about six young Canadian airmen who disappeared in the jungles of Burma in the Second World War. Other production highlights include Cactus Swing, a toe-tapping animated short that played in theatres across the country, and the educational videos Unsuitable Actions (winner of the Amtec Award of Excellence and the Canadian Educational Association Award) and Appropriate Actions (Bronze Apple Award winner, National Educational Media Network). Recent productions with Aboriginal filmmakers include: Silent Tears, The Gift and The Little Trapper. Highlights of his work as NFB producer on numerous co-productions include: Land of the Ice Bear, a nature documentary co-produced with Karvonen Films; Beating the Streets, a documentary about street kids, with Lorna Thomas Productions; and Manon Rheaume: The Woman Behind the Mask, co-produced with Voice Pictures.
Graydon McCreaExecutive Producer of the National Film Board of Canada's western Canadian documentary strand, Graydon McCrea is an award-winning filmmaker who has produced or executive produced more than 100 films. His productions have been broadcast in more than 75 countries, and have been honoured with an array of awards at festivals around the world, including four Gemini Awards from the Canadian Academy of Film and Television, a Blue Ribbon for first place at the American Film Festival in New York, and a Special Jury Award at the Banff International Television Festival. Based in Edmonton, McCrea's recent credits include executive producing My Mother's Village (2001), director John Paskievich's personal exploration of the impact of immigration which weaves the reminiscences of Ukrainian refugees with images of the village his mother left behind; and Obachan's Garden (2001), a docudrama which traces the compelling story of award-winning filmmaker Linda Ohama's 102 year-old, Japanese-born grandmother. Past credits include: Jeni LeGon, Living in a Great Big Way (1999), which was honoured by the National Black Programming Consortium in the U.S.; Through a Blue Lens (2000), a powerful portrait of a police program in Vancouver's drug-infested downtown Eastside; The Pill (1999), a look at the hidden history of the oral contraceptive that changed the world; John McCrae's War: In Flanders Fields (1998), a chronicle of the poet's life and a tribute to the Canadian soldiers who died in Belgium during the First World War; and "Ah...the Money, the Money, the Money" - Battle For Saltspring (2001), director Mort Ransen's look at his community's opposition to clear-cutting.
Executive Producer
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key biosExecutive Producer
Writer-Director
Kirk ShawKirk Shaw is the president of Insight Film & Video Production, an award-winning film, television and multi-media company he founded in 1989. One of Vancouver's most prolific producers, Kirk has four national television series, several documentaries, over a dozen music videos and numerous commercials to his credit. He is also executive producer of the feature film Downtown, and producer of the made-for-TV movie Maximum Surge. For television, Kirk has produced nine seasons of Global's Driver's Seat starring Ted Laturnus and Tony Whitney. Kirk is currently executive producer for the Ghost Towns of Canada series set to air on History Television in the fall of 2002. His past productions include Automotive Morning for the Life Network, Race World for SportsNet and the interview talk show Pacific Profiles for CTV plus two seasons of the travel adventure show Wings Over Canada. Kirk brings 20 years of business experience and project management to the Insight team. In his early career, Kirk produced over 30 experiential audio tour productions for museums, art galleries and historic sites including the Smithsonian, the Museum of Civilization and the Royal Tyrell Museum. Several of these productions won international awards of excellence and merit. In 1993, the National Screen Institute's Local Heroes competition selected Kirk's Quiet Morning. Kirk used the NSI experience to guide him in his company's evolution into film and television. At the 2002 New York Festival, Kirk was awarded a gold medal as executive producer of the one-hour documentary Secret War. His productions are now seen around the world.
Gregory CoyesGregory Coyes is a Metis filmmaker with Cree and Mohawk ancestry. His films explore the modern Native experience, seeking to build bridges between communities and cultures. Greg was born and raised in central Alberta. After graduating from Yale University with a Bachelor of Science and lettering in hockey, he was about to pursue a career in geology when his lifeís path took a serious detour. He landed a principal role in the feature film Running Brave, a dramatized biography of Billy Mills, a Lakota Sioux who won the 10,000 meters race at the 1964 Olympics. Bitten by the film bug, Coyes then got behind-the-camera experience working on some of the biggest films to come out of Western Canada during the 1980s, including My American Cousin, Cowboys Donít Cry and Life After Hockey. He formed a partnership with Gil Cardinal at Great Plains Productions, where Coyes worked as a writer/director on the ground-breaking Native documentary series, My Partners, My People. He also worked in the roles of producer, production coordinator and writer/director on a number of award winning feature length documentaries, including Our Home and Native Land, Learning With Love and Healing Journey. He was also the executive producer of All My Relations, the nationally broadcast Native news magazine series for CBC television.
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key biosNarratorTantoo Cardinal
One of North America's best-loved aboriginal actors, Tantoo Cardinal has appeared in numerous films, plays, TV and radio programs. Hailing from northern Alberta, Cardinal's ancestry includes Metis, Cree, Chipewyan and Lakota; a wealth of voices which inspire her work and guide her life. Her feature film credits include Dances with Wolves, Legends of the Fall, Smoke Signals, Black Robe, Where the Rivers Flow North, A Wilderness Station, and Loyalties. Her TV series work includes roles in North of 60, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and Lonesome Dove. She has also appeared in TV movies such as Looking for Lost Bird, and her acclaimed theatre work includes the plays Widows, All My Relations and Jessica. She has lent her voice to documentaries, radio dramas, and the animated TV series Stories from the Seventh Fire, for which she was also associate producer. Known to be a strong campaigner for more realistic portrayals of First Nations peoples, she has been honoured both in the aboriginal and mainstream film communities for her work on and off camera. Her awards include a Gemini for Best Actress in a Guest Role (North of 60), an Elizabeth Sterling Award in Theatre (Best Actress- All My Relations), two First Americans in the Arts Totem Awards (Widows, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman), a Rudy Martin Award (Where the Rivers Flow North), an Alberta Motion Picture Award (Best Actress- Loyalties), two American Indian Film Festival awards(Loyalties, Where the Rivers Flow North), an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Toronto Women in Film and Television, an honourary doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Rochester and an Eagle Spirit Award for lifetime achievement.
creditsWritten and Directed by
Producers
Executive Producers
Narrator
Editor
Cinematography
Production Manager
Production Coordinator
Costumes and Props
Location Sound
AdditionalCinematography
Sound Designer
Foley Artist
Foley Recordist
Graphics and Title Design
Post ProductionSupervision
Assistant Editors
Gregory Coyes
Leigh BadgleyAva KarvonenBonnie ThompsonJerry Krepakevich
Graydon McCreaKirk Shaw
Tantoo Cardinal
Bonni Devlin
Daron DonahuePaul Rickard
Naomi Bock
Janet Macko
Cindy Burgess
Nick HuardJamie KiddBrenda DonahueWayne Griesbrecht
Gregory CoyesGeorge Hupka
Marc Benoit
Greg Watrych
Mario Loubert
Richard Mintak
Erin Haskett
Paul TourneurJoel SnowdenDave Blomme
Research and Clearances
Transcripts
Translations
Cultural Consultants
Stills Photography
Unit Publicity
Legal
NFB Business Affairs
Post ProductionAccounting
Production Assistants
Online Editor
Colourist
Closed Captioning
Video Post ProductionFacility
Audio Post ProductionFacility
Anthony PavlicDave Ingram
Amanda WadeIan Gariepy
ITN CanadaIan Gariepy
John LeclairJean MorissetJohnny Waniandy
Kevin HogarthDan PowerLeigh BadgleyAva Karvonen
Reel Girls Media Inc.
Linda CallaghanJolene O'Neill
Darin Clausen
Karen Nadon
Barbara ParisiLarissa Lazarowich
Paul Tourneur
Chris Drake
Line 21
Insight Film &Video ProductionRainmaker DigitalPictures
Airwaves SoundDesign Ltd.Knowledge NetworkTattersall Casablanca
Streaming Fiddles Media in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada presents How the Fiddle Flows
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featured musicBone Game SongComposed and Performed by: Cornelia Bowannie, Sadie Buck, Joyce Fossella, ElizaBeth Hill, Sharon King, Jennifer Kriesberg, Jani Lauzon, Soni Moreno and Flora WallaceCourtesy of the Aboriginal Arts Program at the Banff Centre for the ArtsCopyright 1997 Aboriginal Women's Voices
Isdzan Binadidzoli (Spirit/Immaculate Woman)Composed by: Soni MorenoPerformed by: Soni Moreno and the Aboriginal Women's Voices GroupCourtesy of Skywomyn MusicCopyright 1997
Darleneís WaltzComposed by: John ArcandPerformed by: John Arcand, Trent Bruner and Calvin VolrathCourtesy of John ArcandCopyright 1998
Min Fogalís WaltzComposed and Performed by: John Arcand and Calvin VolrathCourtesy of John Arcand and Calvin VolrathCopyright 1995
Reg Bouvette Memorial Two-StepComposed by: John ArcandPerformed by: Richard Callihoo, John Arcand, Gilbert Anderson,Mel Bedard,Trent Bruner, John Leclair and Ray BellCourtesy of John Arcand and Calvin VolrathCopyright 1995
Louis RielComposed by: Andy De JarlisPerformed by: Mel BedardCourtesy of De Jarlis MusicIn memory of Andy De Jarlis
Caribou ReelComposed by: Andy De JarlisPerformed by: John Arcand, Trent Bruner, John Leclair and Ray BellCourtesy of Star Quality MusicCopyright 1956
Reel des Chats Grafignes (Cat Scratch Reel)Composed by: Andy De JarlisPerformed by: Garry Lepine and Dave LavalleeCourtesy of Star Quality MusicCopyright 1962
Le Coq sur la Cloture (Rooster on the Fence)Composed by: Andy De JarlisPerformed by: Richard Callihoo, John Arcand, Gilbert Anderson, Mel Bedard,Ray Bell, Trent Bruner and John LeclairCourtesy of Star Quality MusicCopyright 1966
Ste. Adeleís ReelComposed by: Andy De JarlisPerformed by: Richard Callihoo and Trent BrunerCourtesy of Star Quality MusicCopyright 1963
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featured musicGreat Atlantic BreakdownComposed by: John DurocherPerformed by: Solomon BallantyneCourtesy of Star Quality MusicCopyright 1962
Waverly Two-StepComposed by: Graham TownsendPerformed by: Solomon Ballantyne and Antoine McleodIn memory of Graham and Eleanor TownsendCourtesy of Graham Townsend Publishing
La GrondeuseArranged by: Andre Brunet, Pierre Ballisle and Jean FrechettePerformed by: La Bottine SourianteCourtesy of SODRAC
Faded LoveComposed by: Bob WillsPerformed by: Mark Morisseau, Cliff Morisseau and Stan MorisseauCourtesy of Warner/Chappell Music Canada
Le Reel du PenduTraditionalPerformed by: Gilles Garand
La Gigue SimpleTraditionalPerformed by: Edouard Richard and Gilles Garand
Old Man and Old WomanTraditionalPerformed by: Garry Lepine
Old Time Soldierís JoyTraditionalPerformed by: James Cheechoo
Big John McNeilTraditionalPerformed by: Mark Morisseau, Cliff Morisseau and Stan Morisseau
Red River JigTraditionalPerformed by: Garry Lepine and Dave Lavallee
Tuckermanís JigTraditionalPerformed by: Caroline Von Grad and Johnny Waniandy
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creditsCast for Re-enactments
Paddlers
Red River Jig
Archival Images
Illustrations
Insurance
Gerald AugerShane ZwackWarren MichaelSean Wei Mah
Rod SutherlandKevin CoyesReal GagneRoy ScottTravis Dugas
Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Provincial Archives of ManitobaArchives of OntarioGlenbow Museum ArchivesNational Archives of CanadaMinnesota Historical SocietyNova Scotia Archives and Record Management
Sherry Farrell Racette
Jones Brown
Interim Financing Reel Girls Media Inc.Insight Film and VideoRogers Telefund
Produced with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, created by the Government of
Canada and the Canadian Cable Industry. Telefilm Canada: Equity Investment Program CTF License
Fee Program.
Produced in Association with BRAVO! Canada, a division of CHUM Limited.
Produced with the participation of BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM Television and Film Financing
Program.
Produced in association with Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
Produced with the participation of Rogers Cable Network Fund.
Produced with the assistance of Canadian Film and Video Production Tax Credit.
Produced in association with
Knowledge Network
Canadian Learning Television
SCN
Special Thanks to:Lillian Coyes, Gilbert & Kaye Anderson, John &
Vicki Arcand, Mel Bedard, Oliver Boulette, Maria Campbell, Calvin Cairns, Caroline Von Grad, the
Cheechoo family, Darin Clausen, Terry Coyes, Leah Dorian, Yvon Dumont, Gilles Garand, Norman Guilbault, Julia D. Harrison, Shirley Lazaruk,
John Leclair, Annette Loiselle, Antoine McLeod, Jean Morisset, Brent Potskin-Donald, Ray St.
Germain, Johnny Waniandy, Edmonton Cultural Métis Dance Society, Canadian Native Friendship
Centre, Big! Canoe Adventures, Tracy Gillott, Daryl Mork, Parks Canada, Gaileen Erwin,
Dorothy Thibeault, Roger Vermette, University of Alberta Costume Department, Gray Townsend,
John Reil, Grant McEwan Community College, St. Albert Children's Theatre, Marjorie Scott, Myrtle
Calahaisin, Laura McLaughlin.
Dedicated to Sam Coyes, who first introduced me to Metis fiddle
© Streaming Fiddles Media Inc. 2002
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recognitionawardsRiver is Life Award - Rio River Film Festival, Spain, 2002
Finalist, Best Documentary Award - American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco, 2002
Finalist, Best Performing Arts Documentary - Leo Awards, Vancouver, 2003
screeningsMuseum of Civilization - New York, 2003
ImageNation Film Festival Opening Night - Vancouver, 2002
Metis Nation of Alberta Association, Annual General Assembly - 2002
Terres En Vue Film Festival - Montreal, 2002
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quotes"How do you drive a Metis crazy? You nail his shoes to the floor and put on a jig!" --Ray St. Germain, Winnipeg fiddler and radio broadcaster, relating an old joke
"The step dancing helps to keep warm, when you play the violin all winter."--Yves Lambert, Gaspé fiddler
"We call the Metis 'les enfants de l'amour', the children of love. They would meet a Cree, they would meet a Chipewyan, and they would fall in love. I think both their arms were opened to each other."--Jean Morisset, Quebec Author & Historian
"Because of our history, we were always moving. You always carried your home inside. And so home was those stories and that music."
"You really can't tell fiddle players what to do. Once you see that gleam come in their eye, you know that they, they're not playing the fiddle anymore. Somebody else is."
"In all cultures, the fiddle did something to people that nothing else did. That's why I call the fiddle player the Shaman."
"One of the stories about Riel is that just before his death he said that his people would sleep for a hundred years, but it would be the artist that would bring the people back up again."--Maria Campbell, Saskatchewan Metis Writer & Historian
"There was a time that it was against the law for the Metis to gather in numbers of more than 3 or 4. After the resistance in 1885, they thought that by hanging their leader, they would destroy the spirit of the Metis. By preventing them from getting together and sharing their music, their culture, their dance, that they would destroy their spirit: none of that has worked. In fact, the Metis spirit is probably stronger today than it ever was in the history of this country." --Yvon Dumont, Governor of the Metis Nation
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quotes"How the Fiddle Flows fills the screen with rich, full frame visuals of the flowing rivers of the Canadian landscape from east to west. Director Gregory Coyes of Vancouver weaves a toe-tapping soundscape, along with exhilarating visuals around a consistently told story line of the history of Métis fiddling.
Although this film is about history, it's not the usual boring experience of classrooms but an invigorating visual and auditory experience that has your toes tapping and disappointed when you know the film is over." --Dorothy Christian
"Coyes does both the music and the people who love it justice, following them with a quiet respect, and allowing them to tell their own stories in their own ways and with their own cadences.
...I love this film. It captures a unique piece of Canadian cultural history whose story has gone unchronicled for far too long."--John Bird
"This documentary is golden, overflowing with down to earth fun and heritage...This whole programme was enlightening, uplifting and well-presented to the viewer. Thank you."--William R. Priebe
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contact
For more information please contact:
Reel Girls Media2nd Floor, 9860A - 33rd AvenueEdmonton, AlbertaT6N 1C6CANADA
Phone: 780.488.0440FAX: 780.452.4980
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