Job's Garden

Job’s Garden (Cree language, English Sub-titles)

James Bay Quebec 1972

We decided to make a film in which the Crees were able to express how they felt about this monstrous project that was being built on their land: and the two people who agreed to work with us, Job and Mary Bearskin, were wonderfully expressive, wise and profound.

The film expresses the vision of the Crees. Nowadays, it is a valuable historical document that contains the opinions of a group of elders (including Samson Neacappo, David Cox, and Job Bearskin) who represent the wisdom of the Cree at its best. I think that's why the movie is still popular among the James Bay Crees.

Boyce Richardson

Note: Shot in 16mm, Job's Garden was lost for years, found by filmmaker Mark Zannis in the late 1990s; he transferred the original to digital format. A French-language version is posted on YouTube; a DVD is also available (see www.rtscanada.ca for more details)