This Was the Time

This Was the Time (1970)

When Masset, a Haida village in Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), held a potlatch, it seemed as if the past grandeur of the people had returned. This is a colourful recreation of Indigenous life that faded more than two generations ago when the great totems were toppled by the missionaries and the costly potlatch was forbidden by law. The film shows how one village lived again the old glory, with singing, dancing, feasting, and the raising of a towering totem as a lasting reminder of what once was.

Date of release
1970-01-01
TMDB
8.0 / 10 (1)
Runtime
16m
Genres
Documentary
Director
Eugene Boyko

Casting

Interesting facts

This Was the Time is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Eugene Boyko and released in 1970. Created for the National Film Board of Canada, the film portrays the renaissance of Haida culture through its depiction of a potlatch ceremony in Haida Gwaii, culminating in artist Robert Davidson carving and erecting a totem pole in the community for the first time in nearly a century.

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