The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar
Encyclopedia
The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar is a 1968 Canadian dramatic film directed by Peter Pearson
and written by Joan Finnigan
. The 49 minute drama stars Chris Wiggins
and Kate Reid
, along with Margot Kidder
in her first feature role.
Set in a logging community in the Ottawa Valley
, the film focuses on a man who chooses the free but uncertain life of an itinerant bush worker, even though it means hardships for his family. Produced by John Kemeny for the National Film Board of Canada
, the film won eight awards at the Canadian Film Awards, including Film of the Year.
Produced for the NFB's Challenge for Change
program, the film had initially been "pushed aside and ignored by CBC TV," according to Canadian film scholar Gerald Pratley, who called it: "A brilliant example of what our filmmakers could do if they had the opportunities and the material to replace the run-of-the-mill American films that dominate our theatres and television – the kind of inexpensive creativity private broadcasters continue to say they cannot afford."
Peter Pearson (director)
Peter Pearson is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.-Biography:Pearson studied Political science and Economics at the University of Toronto and Television Production at Ryerson University before attending film school in Rome. Upon his return to Canada his first job was as a journalist for...
and written by Joan Finnigan
Joan Finnigan
Joan Helen Finnigan was a Canadian writer and poet. She won a Genie Award for Best Screenplay in 1969. She wrote over 30 books, many of them oral histories of the Ottawa Valley.-Personal life:...
. The 49 minute drama stars Chris Wiggins
Chris Wiggins
Chris Wiggins is an English actor.He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952....
and Kate Reid
Kate Reid
Kate Reid, OC was a Canadian stage, film and television actress.-Life and career:Daphne Kate Reid was born in London, England, the daughter of Canadian parents, Helen Isabel and Walter Clarke Reid, who was a former Bengal Lancer in the Indian army and a retired colonel...
, along with Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
in her first feature role.
Set in a logging community in the Ottawa Valley
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
, the film focuses on a man who chooses the free but uncertain life of an itinerant bush worker, even though it means hardships for his family. Produced by John Kemeny for the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
, the film won eight awards at the Canadian Film Awards, including Film of the Year.
Produced for the NFB's Challenge for Change
Challenge for Change
Challenge for Change was a participatory film and video project created by the National Film Board of Canada in 1967, the Canadian Centennial...
program, the film had initially been "pushed aside and ignored by CBC TV," according to Canadian film scholar Gerald Pratley, who called it: "A brilliant example of what our filmmakers could do if they had the opportunities and the material to replace the run-of-the-mill American films that dominate our theatres and television – the kind of inexpensive creativity private broadcasters continue to say they cannot afford."