Lowly Barbed Wire Stars in Film - Historian Secures Funding for Documentary on Barbed Wire
(Thunder Bay - June 25, 2007) Professor Ron Harpelle of the Department of History has secured a total of $50,000 from two funding agencies for the production of a documentary film on barbed wire. The film's working title is Strands: Barbed Wire and the Control of People and Spaces.
Dr. Harpelle obtained $5,000 in the form of a Northern Arts Grant from the Ontario Arts Council, and $45,000 in the form of a Production Grant from the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund (CIFVF).
"This is a fund set up by the federal government to support non-theatrical film and video projects. CIFVF is unique because it funds artists for the sake of art, not for television sales," says Dr. Harpelle. He was previously awarded CIFVF grants to produce Banana Split, an award-winning documentary film about Canada's favorite fruit, and Dorothea Mitchell: A Reel Pioneer, a documentary about the first woman in Canada to make independent films.
"With Strands, I will once again make a film that presents an historical approach to something we take for granted. Barbed wire is so ubiquitous and is used to keep people and things both inside or outside. It can have positive or negative connotations. But none of us ever really thinks about the origin of barbed wire and how it evolved. I hope to make a film like Banana Split that will have a good shelf life --- one that changes the way people see an everyday object."
Graduate students will be involved in the research portion of the project.
Dr. Harpelle applied to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for a Research/Creation Grant for this project but was unsuccessful. "Faced with having to put the project aside or look for funding outside of academic funding sources, I chose to continue my quest for funding in order to realize my research objectives," says Dr. Harpelle. "In the Humanities we sometimes have to be creative if we are to get the funding we need for our research because there aren't too many places to go for support."
Filming for Strands: Barbed Wire and the Control of People and Spaces has already started and will continue in the fall or next spring, depending on locations.
Ron Harpelle teaches Latin American and Caribbean History at Lakehead University and he has a special interest in international development. His current research is on the social history of the West Indian diaspora to Central America between 1850 and 1950, and focuses on the struggles for recognition and acceptance of these people during the first half of the 20th century. Dr. Ron Harpelle and Dr. Bruce Muirhead of the University of Waterloo have recently been commissioned by the International Development Research Centre to write an intellectual history of the Centre, and they are also working with award-winning director Kelly Saxberg on a six-part documentary film series on Canada's role in international development.
Ron Harpelle teaches Latin American and Caribbean History at Lakehead University and he has a special interest in international development. His current research is on the social history of the West Indian diaspora to Central America between 1850 and 1950, and focuses on the struggles for recognition and acceptance of these people during the first half of the 20th century. Dr. Ron Harpelle and Dr. Bruce Muirhead of the University of Waterloo have recently been commissioned by the International Development Research Centre to write an intellectual history of the Centre, and they are also working with award-winning director Kelly Saxberg on a six-part documentary film series on Canada's role in international development.
Media Interviews - Media are invited to contact Ron Harpelle for an interview on June 25 or 26 at 807-345-0221 email: ron.harpelle@lakeheadu.ca
If you have any questions regarding this media release, please call Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 807-343-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca
About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca
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