Screening Dates
  • November 17, 2017 7:00
Free Admission

“Back to God’s Country is notable for its romantic naturalism, activist heroine, scenes of Shipman interacting with a bear in its natural habitat—and, of course, the first nude scenes in Canadian cinema.”

TIFF/Canada on Screen

Victoria-born silent film star and female film pioneer Nell Shipman had her greatest international hit with this Far North adventure, Canada’s most successful silent feature. Shipman plays Dolores LeBeau, a ​“nature girl” living with her father in the remote Canadian wilderness. Falling in love with Peter, a writer and government official, then fleeing villainous Rydal, who attempts to rape her, Dolores boards a whaling schooner bound for the Arctic—captained by none other than Rydal. Shipman reworked the original story to change Dolores from a damsel in distress to a brave and capable action heroine.

DCP courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.

Note

Live musical accompaniment by Gabriel Thibaudeau, Canadian composer, pianist, and conductor, and silent film pianist in residence at the Cinémathèque Québécoise in Montreal. Mr. Thibaudeau will perform the original score he wrote to accompany the restoration of the film.