Movies Similar to Pelts: Politics of the Fur Trade

Women in the Shadows(1991)

Filmed on location in Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle Valley to Hudson Bay, the documentary traces the filmmaker's quest for her Native foremothers in spite of the reluctance to speak about Native roots on the part of her relatives. The film articulates Métis women's experience with racism in both current and historical context, and examines the forces that pushed them into the shadows.

0.0

Teaserama(1955)

A collection of numerous burlesque acts from the 1950s, including strippers, and cult character Betty Page introducing the acts.

5.2

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Inside Fur(2014)

A group of highly motivated activists work for years with the goal of exposing the true face of the Nordic fur industry. They sneak into hundreds of fur farms. When their images are publicized it causes media feasts and public outrage, year after year. However, the industry always strikes back. Nothing changes. A new approach is needed. So, psychologist Frank Nervik tells the fur industry that he plans to become a fur farmer. He asks for training. Nervik is accepted as one of them, and starts learning the trade secrets. Without anybody knowing, he films his training with a hidden camera.

10.0

Angry Inuk(2016)

With "sealfies" and social media, a new tech-savvy generation of Inuit is wading into the world of activism, using humour and reason to confront aggressive animal rights vitriol and defend their traditional hunting practices. Director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril joins her fellow Inuit activists as they challenge outdated perceptions of Inuit and present themselves to the world as a modern people in dire need of a sustainable economy.

7.4

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How the Fiddle Flows(2002)

How the Fiddle Flows follows Canada's great rivers west along the fur-trading route of the early Europeans. The newcomers introduced the fiddle to the Aboriginal people they intermarried with along the way. A generation later, their mixed-blood offspring would blend European folk tunes with First Nations rhythms to create a rich and distinct musical tradition. From the Gaspé Peninsula, north to Hudson Bay and to the Prairies, How the Fiddle Flows reveals how a distinctive Metis identity and culture were shaped over time. Featuring soaring performances by some of Canada's best known fiddlers and step dancers and narrated by award-winning actress Tantoo Cardinal.

0.0

Okimah(1998)

This documentary focuses on the goose hunt, a ritual of central importance to the Cree people of the James Bay coastal areas. Not only a source of food, the hunt is also used to transfer Cree culture, skills, and ethics to future generations. Filmmaker Paul M. Rickard invites us along with his own family on a fall goose hunt, so that we can share in the experience.

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Up Against the Wall(2010)

A critical look at Norwegian fur production. The documentary follows a group of activists that in 2010 documented horrible conditions in Norwegian fur farms for the third consecutive year.

10.0

Land of Alaska Nellie(1939)

In this Traveltalk series short, we view the Inside Passage to Alaska, the longest protected waterway in the world. Traveling north, we enter the small town of Seward, gateway to the interior. One of the burgeoning industries is the raising of silver fox and mink. There are many road houses scattered throughout Alaska, but one of the most famous is twenty-three miles outside of Seward on Lake Kenai belonging to Nellie Lawing, better known as Alaska Nellie, who has a long and storied history in Alaska.

0.0

The Witness(2000)

Transformed by the love of a kitten, a tough New York City construction contractor is inspired to rescue abandoned animals, become a vegetarian, and take his message of compassion to the streets. A construction contractor who grew up on the mean streets of Brooklyn, Eddie Lama is probably the last person you'd figure to be an animal activist. Indeed, Eddie was raised with a deeply ingrained aversion to animals, as he explains in the award-winning documentary "The Witness." But when a pretty woman asks him to take care of her kitten, he finds himself reluctantly agreeing as a ploy to get a date, not knowing that his life is about to change forever. In the end, it is the kitten who captures his heart, opening his eyes to the wonder of other living creatures and awakening him to the richness of the human-animal bond.

5.8

101 Dalmatians(1996)

An evil, high-fashion designer plots to steal Dalmatian puppies in order to make an extravagant fur coat, but instead creates an extravagant mess.

5.9

Gremlins(1984)

After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.

7.1

Ninotchka(1939)

A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.

7.5

North of the Rockies(1942)

Morgan and his gang are smuggling furs across the border. Both the Mounties on the Canadian side and Tex Martin on the American side are after them. When Morgan sets up Tex to be found with furs, Mountie Bill arrests him. But he lets him go hoping he will lead him to the gang and eventually the two join forces.

0.0

Man in the Wilderness(1971)

In the early 1800s, a group of fur trappers and Indian traders are returning with their goods to civilization and are making a desperate attempt to beat the oncoming winter. When guide Zachary Bass is injured in a bear attack, they decide he's a goner and leave him behind to die. When he recovers instead, he swears revenge on them and tracks them and their paranoiac expedition leader down.

6.2

Make Mine Mink(1960)

In a mansion block in Knightsbridge, a gang of middle-aged biddies decide to brighten up "the dullness of the tea time of life" by staging a series of robberies on furriers, then donating the proceeds to charitable concerns. Terry Thomas as a retired army officer leads the gang, which includes Athene Seyler and Hattie Jacques, on a series of capers that nearly go awry when their maid, Billie Whitelaw, an ex-con and also a resident of the block, falls for a police officer.

7.1

Vacht(2022)

A girl pursues a connection with her sister, who is covered by a strange grey fur. It is soft and uncanny at the same time. It grows between them, and they drift further apart from each other.

0.0

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First Journey, Fort William(1987)

Set in 1815, this is the dramatic story of a child of the fur trade, son of a Native mother and a Scottish-Canadian fur trader. John Mackenzie's father is a wintering partner of the Montréal-based North West Company, which was for decades the wealthiest merchant enterprise in North America. To mark his entry into adulthood, twelve-year-old John is travelling for the first time to Fort William, the Company's lavish winter headquarters by Lake Superior. In following his journey, the film reveals the complex network of people--Scottish, French and Native Canadian--that made up fur-trading society and gave a unique flavor to the opening up of Canada's northwest.

0.0

Hudson's Bay(1941)

Highly fictionalized early history of Canada. Trapper/explorer Radisson imagines an empire around Hudson's Bay. He befriends the Indians, fights the French, and convinces King Charles II to sponsor an expedition of conquest.

6.2

Ikwe(1986)

A young Ojibwa girl from 1770 marries a Scottish fur trader and leaves home for the shores of Georgian Bay. Although the union is beneficial for her tribe, it results in hardship and isolation for Ikwe. Values and customs clash until, finally, the events of a dream Ikwe once had unfold with tragic clarity.

1.0

Mistress Madeleine(1986)

Part of the Daughters of the Country series, this film, set in the 1850s, unfolds against the backdrop of the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly of the fur trade. In protest, some Métis engage in trade with the Americans. Madeleine, the Métis common-law wife of a Hudson's Bay Company clerk, is torn between loyalty to her husband and loyalty to her brother, a freetrader. Even more shattering, a change in company policy destroys Madeleine's happy and secure life, forcing her to re-evaluate her identity.

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