Film on Fogo Island

Fogo Island has a long history with film.

From The Fogo Process, a legendary community filmmaking project in the late 1960s, to Far Away from Far Away, Fogo Island’s latest collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada, our island and the people here have been the focus for many documentaries.

The landscape and spirit of this place have long drawn the attention of filmmakers. Here are a few films that offer a glimpse into the history of and life on Fogo Island.

The contemporary architecture of Fogo Island Inn is influenced by the vernacular structures and design motifs on Fogo Island. The Inn embodies the lived experience of the people who have resided on the northeast coast of Newfoundland for generations.

In Strange & Familiar, directors Marcia Connolly and Katherine Knight highlight how the Inn meets with the natural landscape, showcasing the use of natural materials throughout the highly collaborative eight-year design and construction process.

Directed by Justin Simms, HAND.LINE.COD follows a group of Fogo Island fishers who catch Northern Cod the traditional way: by hook and line, one at a time. While their livelihood is intimately connected to the sea, their secret mission is to drive up the price of fish. Using proven techniques from centuries past, these fishers are leading a new revolution in sustainability and bringing their premium product directly to the commercial market.

Beginning in the early morning hours, Simms takes viewers through a day on the ocean, showing the intricacies of a 400-year-old tradition that’s making a triumphant comeback.

Emerging from the National Film Board’s (NFB) “Challenge for Change” program, which used film to promote community collaboration and social change, The Fogo Process is a series of 27 short films documenting life on Fogo Island.

The NFB and Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Extension Service visited Fogo Island to give light and voice to Fogo Island’s individual communities that were struggling with the collapse of the inshore fishery. Facing the threat of resettlement, Fogo Islanders had to develop a new system of collaboration to hold on to their home.

After completing the films, Colin Low (filmmaker), Fred Earle (community worker), and Donald Snowden (head of Memorial University’s Extension Service) screened the documentaries for the island’s residents. Hearing their neighbours speak on the similar issues they were facing sparked dialogue across previously divided community lines.

This collaborative spirit led to the formation of the Fogo Island Improvement Committee, which was the catalyst for the Fogo Island Cooperative Society Ltd. The Co-op, owned by the local fishers and plant workers, spearheaded the adaptation to the midshore fishery and remains a mainstay of Fogo Island’s economy.

The Island Music Teacher is part of Ivy Lin’s Clavier Chronicle series, a global exploration of the quiet power of pianos.

Filmed on Fogo Island in September 2016, this short film shares the story of Catherine Hoven, Fogo Island Central Academy’s music teacher. Her story is one that speaks to the enduring role music plays in remote places.

The film features the grand piano at Fogo Island Inn, one of several pianos Ivy Lin captured over a four-year journey through nine cities and four countries, including several stories filmed here in Newfoundland.

Building on Fogo Island’s relationship with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Far Away from Far Away is an interactive and immersive piece of digital media that paints a portrait of outport Newfoundland life.

Written by author Michael Crummey, this story is inspired by the early life of our Founder, Zita Cobb, exploring her relationship with her father while growing up on Fogo Island in the 1960s and 70s. During a time of radical transformation in the fishing industry, families took extraordinary steps to survive in the face of a global technological change.

Designed for mobile devices, Far Away from Far Away was led by creative directors Bruce Alcock and Jeremy Mendes and filmed by Justin Simms, with assistance from Fogo Island high school students, Bradley Broders, Liam Neil, and Jessica Reid. With the skills of Sasha Ratcliffe (sound recordist), Shawn Cole (sound designer), and the web development agency Intergalactic, the crew created an experience where viewers can tap and swipe through the interactive prose.

Film continues to play a part in Fogo Island’s story. WINDWARD, a new art film installation by Sharon Lockhart and presented by Fogo Island Arts, is now open in our Gallery. Drawing inspiration from Children of Fogo Island, one of The Fogo Process short films, Sharon observes Fogo Island’s geography, capturing our youth engaged in unstructured play. 

The exhibition will be on view until October 31, 2025. 

WINDWARD is co-commissioned and co-produced by Shorefast/Fogo Island Arts, The Vega Foundation, and the National Gallery of Canada, with the support of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.