Home / Arts and Entertainment / Canada's Lost Silent Film Inspires New Production
Canada's Lost Silent Film Inspires New Production
8 Apr
Summary
- New film adaptation draws inspiration from Canada's first dramatic feature.
- Story centers on a young woman's search for her fiancé during 1755 expulsion.
- Production aims for a large-scale period piece as an international co-production.
Canada's pioneering silent film, 'Evangeline' from 1914, is serving as the muse for a new feature film produced by Ocean Playground Productions. This historic original, now considered lost, was based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem and chronicled the 1755 expulsion of the Acadians.
The silent film followed a young woman's arduous, decades-long journey across North America to reunite with her fiancé following their forced deportation from Nova Scotia. This migration narrative is credited with influencing the development of Cajun culture.
Filmed in Nova Scotia starting in 1912, the original 'Evangeline' is widely recognized as Canada's first feature-length dramatic film. The upcoming adaptation is being developed as a substantial period production and is planned as an international co-production. The poem itself had previously inspired other silent films, including a 1919 American version also titled 'Evangeline'.
