Janus Films: Paddle to the Sea

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Antoine Doinel · #1 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:23 pm

Based on Holling C. Holling's beloved Caldecott-awarded children's book, William Mason's stunning film follows the adventures of a tiny, wood-carved canoe as it forges its own path from Lake Superior through the Great Lakes and down to the Atlantic Ocean. Buoyed by beautiful photography and a sense of true wonder about the sun, Earth, and water, the Academy Award-nominated Paddle to the Sea is an unforgettable tribute to the forces of the natural world, as well as a thrilling journey across the waves and rapids of North America.

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Wow! Paddle To The Sea! I LOVED that film as a kid. I wonder how they managed to securing licensing for this as it is a National Film Board Of Canada film.

Fantastic surprise.

agnamaracs · #2 Post by **agnamaracs** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:36 am

Antoine Doinel wrote:I wonder how they managed to securing licensing for this as it is a National Film Board Of Canada film.

Couldn't have been too hard... Home Vision did just distribute the NFB's huge Norman McLaren box set in the US.

Hm... Image also released all those Eames DVDs... and those films are owned by Pyramid...

I'ma go suggest Why Man Creates!

Narshty · #3 Post by **Narshty** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:10 am

agnamaracs wrote:Couldn't have been too hard... Home Vision did just distribute the NFB's huge Norman McLaren box set in the US.

The 1976 Volcano documentary on Under the Volcano is also an NFB of Canada property.

MichaelB · #4 Post by **MichaelB** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:13 am

The NFB has been perfectly happy to licence titles to foreign distributors on loads of occasions - the BFI did at least two McLaren VHS compilations in the 1990s.

Antoine Doinel · #5 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:16 am

That's cool, I had no idea. I guess I just assumed that trying to license anything from a government funded organization would entail a sea of red tape.

MichaelB · #6 Post by **MichaelB** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:16 am

Antoine Doinel wrote:I guess I just assumed that trying to license anything from a government funded organization would entail a sea of red tape.

Trying to license anything from anyone entails a sea of red tape! You should see the contracts files my own projects ended up generating - the vast majority of rightsholders being proudly independent.

But government-funded organisations shouldn't be any harder to deal with than anyone else - in fact, in many respects they can be easier, as they probably have to issue publicly-accessible reports revealing the amount of income they've generated over and above their taxpayer funding. So if they're seen to be licensing their stuff abroad, that's very much to be encouraged. (They probably also have in-house sales and legal teams specifically for this purpose, which also makes things easier)

I can't speak for the NFB, but I know that the BFI licenses loads of stuff to international distributors. I have three near-identical copies of the Quay discs sitting on my shelves (I'm even credited as producer of the French one, which is flattering since I never had any direct dealings with the company!), and any edition of Greenaway's early stuff (the 1970s shorts up to ZOO) will also be BFI-sourced. Plus lots more.

LightBulbFilm · #7 Post by **LightBulbFilm** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:10 am

Amazon listing for Paddle to the Sea

Antoine Doinel · #8 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:59 am

Images and other information here.

criterionsnob · #9 Post by **criterionsnob** » Tue May 13, 2008 3:06 am

I vaguely remember seeing this as a child, but I think it was a short 5 or so minute version that aired between programs, maybe on CBC. Do any other Canadians remember this?

Person · #10 Post by **Person** » Tue May 13, 2008 6:18 am

I wonder if the smiling indian in his canoe still exists? He really ought to be preserved somewhere.

magicmarker · #11 Post by **magicmarker** » Tue May 13, 2008 10:15 am

criterionsnob wrote:I vaguely remember seeing this as a child, but I think it was a short 5 or so minute version that aired between programs, maybe on CBC. Do any other Canadians remember this?

I remember seeing this in school about twenty years ago. I'm pretty sure they showed the whole thing on 16mm to the entire school. I seem to remember seeing this on CBC as a kid too, but I don't think it was one of the NFB Vignettes. Oh, for a Criterion edition of the Longdriver's Waltz.

criterionsnob · #12 Post by **criterionsnob** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:19 pm

I definitely remember the wooden canoe, though I could be wrong about it being a CBC vignette.

What I remember most is being inspired to make paper boats to float down the street gutter in front of my house while it was raining. We lived on a hill, so they got going pretty fast! This movie was a treat and made me feel that childhood excitement all over again.

Gregory · #13 Post by **Gregory** » Tue May 13, 2008 11:20 pm

I was pretty sure I'd never seen this film. Nothing about it sounded familiar, but as soon as I saw that the canoe had "Please put me back in the water" carved on the bottom, I was instantly struck with a bolt of recognition. It's a nice film, but I think the rare experience of suddenly remembering something like this from so long ago was the best thing about seeing it.

#14 Post by **Matt** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 3:53 pm

You can now watch this film online for free, thanks to the NFB/ONF.

Janus Films: Paddle to the Sea

Janus Films: Paddle to the Sea

Re: Janus Films: Paddle to the Sea