Le Dernier Glacier

Institute History

  • 1987 Sundance Film Festival

Description

The “quebecois” documentary has never been afraid to tamper with reality, having discarded notions of objectivity decades ago in its search to portray itself on film. Jacques Leduc and Roger Frappier’s film is a beautiful blend of fiction and documentary, structured around the shutdown of an entire town due to economic reasons.

Canada has always labored under the myth that our natural resources are boundless and that economic development goes hand-in-hand with beneficial social growth. Le Dernier Glacier questions this attitude with incisive perception. In 1982 the northern Quebec mining town of Shefferville has its fate sealed when Iron Ore of Canada closed its operations. As the company representative and future Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, puts it, “If there’s no iron ore, there's no salaries.” Industrial enterprise created the town and industrial common sense destroys it.

— Piers Handling

Screening Details

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]