Shipbuilder

19856 min 5 secFilm: Fiction

G

Direction: Stephen Surjik

Production: Charles KonowalMichael Scott

Script: Ken Mitchell

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada with the assistance of CBC Saskatchewan.

Tom Sukanen was an eccentric Finnish immigrant who homesteaded in Saskatchewan in the 1920s and '30s. He had a dream. He spent ten years building and moving overland a huge iron ship that was to carry him back to his native Finland. The ship never reached water. This film, based on a true event, recreates the story of a man of passion and tenacity.

Subject categories


  • Transportation > Boats
  • Cultural Diversity and Multiculturalism > European OriginsHistorical PerspectivesPrairies
  • History - Canada - 1920-1945 > SettlementWestern Canada
  • History > Early Colonization/Settlement
  • Family Studies/Home Economics > Family Diversity and Challenges
  • History and Citizenship Education > Imperialism and Colonization (1800s-1900s)
  • Health/Personal Development > Mental Health/Stress/Suicide

Credits


director
Stephen Surjik
producer
Charles Konowal
cinematography
Charles Konowal
executive producer
Michael Scott
script
Ken Mitchell
editing
Norm Sawchyn
sound editing
Carol Wenaus
re-recording
Jean-Pierre Joutel
narrator
Kristjana Gunnars
music
Marcelle Nokony
Greg Zuck
cast
Sasha Konowal
Galen Wahlmeier