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Iceland on the Prairies

Accession number: 
1941.0007
Alternate Titles: 
Les Islandais du Canada
French version
Islande au Canada
French version
Production Years: 
1941

Languages:

Film Properties: 
Length (feet): 
750 (16mm)
Length (minutes): 
22
Holding Institutions: 

Library and Archives Canada: 16mm, VHS.
"Three generations of Icelandic settlers on the Prairies."

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta: 16mm.
"A picture of the Icelandic communities in Western Canada where an old culture survives in a new land. In their prairies homes, the descendants of settlers from Iceland preserve their traditional legends, cookery and festivals. The film ends with scenes of the picturesque ceremony of the Fjalkonnia."
From the Catalogue of 16mm Educational Motion Pictures. Published by the Educational Media Division, Department of Extension, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1967.

Bibliography: 

Online Database National Film Board of Canada.
"This film tells the inspiring story of the rise of the Icelandic communities in western Canada and their fine contribution to the Canadian heritage. Like many people who have emigrated to Canada and become true Canadians, the prairie Icelanders have retained many of the customs and traditions of their ancestral land. Their food, for instance, is prepared in Icelandic fashion; and although their children go to Canadian schools, they also learn the sagas and legends of their forefathers"

"D'abord installés dans l'Ouest canadien vers 1875, les divers groupes islandais contribuèrent depuis ce temps â l'enrichissement du pays. En 1941, un cinquième de tout le peuple islandais habitait les Prairies canadiennes. Cependant, ils sont demeurés très fiers de leurs traditions : les scènes finales du film montrent la pittoresque cérémonie du Fjalkonna qui symbolise les liens unissant le pays des ancêtres au pays d'adoption."

Film News (April 1942): 8.
"Iceland on the Prairies (22 min.) Canadian Icelanders represent fusion of two cultures. While playing leading parts in academic, medical and civic life, they also learn the saga and legends of their forefathers. Each year they celebrate the picturesque Fjalkonna, a ceremony symbolizing the bonds between the old world and the new."

Film News (April 1944): 12.
"Iceland on the prairies. 22 minutes, color. The inspiring story of the rise of the Canadian Icelandic communities and their fine contribution to the Canadian heritage. $90.00."

"Previews and Reviews," Film News (February 1950): 8.
"Canadian films draw their inspiration from a unique geographical background; also from the cultural heritage of many peoples. The dominant Anglo-Saxon and French are interspersed with settlements of Ukrainians, Poles, Icelanders (Ukrainian festival; peoples of Canada; Icelanders of the prairies)."

"Iceland on the Prairies," 16mm Motion Picture Films - Canadian Travel Film Library (Chicago/New York, 1954): 5.
"A picture of the Icelandic communities in Western Canada, where an old culture survives in a new land. In their prairie homes, the descendents of settlers from Iceland preserve their traditional legends, cookery and festivals. The film ends with scenes of the picturesque ceremony of the Fjalkonna."

Gouvernement du Québec: Ministère des Communications, Direction générale du cinéma et de l’audiovisuel, Catalogue des films d’archives, volume 2 (Québec: Éditeur officiel du Québec, 1978), 28, 29.
"Un aperçu de la vie et du travail accompli par trois générations d'Islandais dans les prairies de l'Ouest canadien. Pêcheurs réputés et excellents fermiers, ils se placent parmi les premiers producteurs du Canada. L'assimilation des coutumes canadiennes ne les a pas empêchés de conserver leur folklore, leurs traditions et leur langue. Journaux et livres sont maintenant publiés en islandais, à Winnipeg. Le couronnement de la reine des montagnes, au début du mois d'août, symbolise les liens qui les unissent à leur pays d'origine. Egayée de concours sportifs, de chansons et de danses islandaises, la cérémonie du Pjalkonna se termine par une visite au monument qui honore les premiers colons de ce valeureux pays."

Catalogue des films 16mm, Service de Ciné-photographie de l'Office provincial de publicité-Québec, éd. 1947, p. 214-15.