Men of the Deeps

200351 min 37 secFilm: Documentary

Direction: John Walker

Production: Terry Greenlaw (Picture Plant Limited)Kent Martin (National Film Board of Canada)John Walker (John Walker Productions Ltd.)

Script: John Walker

Produced by John Walker Productions Ltd. and Picture Plant Ltd. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, developed and produced in association with CTV with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit and developed with the assistance of the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation.

Men of the Deeps is a moving portrait of a group of former Cape Breton miners gathered together by their love of song. They are all members of the Men of the Deeps chorus, whose performances of traditional and contemporary songs evoke their working lives as miners.

The film shows Cape Breton as a land of astounding physical beauty: mountains dropping away dramatically into the ocean; stunning, luminous skies; rivers cutting their way through lush green valleys. Many of the men began working in the mines as teenagers, and this is the land they left behind every working day. We see them, coal dust filling the grooves on their faces, working side by side in a black pit where death can come at any time.

It's a job to which most of the miners would return without a moment's hesitation.

Featuring 16 outstanding songs, Men of the Deeps captures the grace and dignity of a group of men whose livelihood has been lost but who use their voices to inspire and uplift.

Availability


Subject categories


  • Mining > Atlantic RegionCoal
  • Music > Choral Music
  • Social Studies > Labour Studies
  • Arts Education > Music
  • Geography > Natural ResourcesTerritory: Regional

Credits


writer
John Walker
director
John Walker
producer
Terry Greenlaw
Kent Martin
John Walker
editor
Hannele Halm
cinematographer
John Walker
sound recordist
Alex Salter
production manager
Howard Hutton
researcher
Holly Conners
Wendie Muise
camera operator
Russell Gienapp
additional cinematography
Russell Gienapp
camera assistant
Kyle Cameron
Robin L.P. Bain
Dominique Gusset
music recordist
David Hillier
boom operator
Chuck Clark
gaffer
Robert Petrie
key grip
Kevin MacNeil
additional sound recording
Jane Porter
Savoy theatre
Donald Ferguson
technical director
Dave Bailey
location manager
Wendie Muise
conductor
John C. O'Donnell
business manager
Yogi Muise
choir
Tony Aucoin
Gerald Burke
Fred Gillis
Carmen Hughes
Mickey MacIntyre
Nipper MacLeod
Billy MacPherson
Don Matheson
Marshall Poirier
Eddie Tighe
Jackie Beaton
Kevin Edwards
Matt Hawley
Jude Kelly
Jim MacLellan
Shane MacLeod
Jack MacQueen
Melvin Mugford
Bob Roper
Tommy Tighe
Sen White
Matt Breski
Jerry Forbes
Ray Holland
Ike Lambert
John MacLeod
Philip MacNeil
Alf Matheson
Yogi Muise
Gordon Sheriff
Paul White
on camera interview
Charlotte Beaton
Michael Bresowar
Trudy Forbes
Jude Kelly
Jackie Beaton
Fred Currie
Joanne Stephenson-Gillis
Doe Lambert
Ken Boutilier
Wishie Donovan
Darrell Kelly
Ike Lambert
Mickey MacIntyre
Billy MacPherson
Henry Meery
Harvey Ross
Eddie Tighe
Jim MacLellan
Wesley Murphy
Marshall Poirier
Bill Ross
Nipper MacLeod
Eldon Meery
Bob Roper
Polly Tighe
Tommy Tighe
post-production coordinator
Brenda Kovrig
music clearances
Elizabeth Klinck
sound editor
Alex Salter
re-recording mixer
Lou Solakofsky
Martin Lee
colourist
Sue Chambers
Joanne Rourke
Judy Paul
online editor
Andrew Mandziuk
negative cutting
Catherine Rankin
assistant picture editor
Sandi King
production stills
Dan Callis
production accountant
Michael Foy
Jan Anthony
program administrator
John William Lutz
technical coordinator
Claude Cardinal
Patricia Coughran

Awards


  • Audience AwardHot Docs
  • Award for Excellence in Sound Design (David Hillier, Alex Salter) - with a cash prize of 500$ and 10,000$ services to directorAtlantic International Film Festival
  • Honorable MentionAtlantic International Film Festival
  • Gemini Award for Best Performing Arts Program or Seires or Arts Documentary Program or SeriesGemini Awards
  • Gemini Award for Best Sound in a Comedy, Variety or Performing Arts Program or Series - (Alex Salter, Dave Hillier, Martin Lee, Lou Solakofski)Gemini Awards
  • Gemini Award for Best Photography in a Documentary Program or SeriesGemini Awards
  • Award of Excellence for Documentary CinematographyCanadian Society of Cinematographers Awards