Coal Face, Canada Runtime: 20 min National Film Board of Canada
On being discharged from the army, a young man returns to his
coal mining home town and finds life and conditions much as he
left them. He takes a room with a miner who had known his father
and who recalls the tragedy of his death in the mines. The young
man attends a union meeting where work conditions and the war
effort are discussed. Convinced that the social injustices of
the Depression will not be repeated and realizing the importance
of coal to victory, he joins a night shift and goes to work in
the mine. Coal Face, Canada is a remarkable dramatized
documentary, acted by non-professionals, whose theme is
characteristic of the period: social injustices will end with
the winning of the war, since Canadian workers have learned to
work together for the common good. Director Robert Edmonds began
his career with the NFB, but is better known in the United
States as a filmmaker, teacher and writer. He is the author of
About Documentary: Anthropolog