''Blackfly'' is a 1991 Canadian animated short from
Christopher Hinton, produced by the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
and based on "
The Black Fly Song" by
Wade Hemsworth
Albert Wade Hemsworth (October 23, 1916 – January 19, 2002) was a Canadian folk singer and songwriter.Alan Hustak, "Canadian composer dies at 85". ''Calgary Herald'', January 20, 2002. Although he was not a prolific composer, having writt ...
. It was nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and
Genie Award
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
for Best Animated Short. The song is performed in the film by Hemsworth with back-up vocals from
Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.
Music ca ...
.
Synopsis
Wade Hemsworth's popular song, written in 1949 while he was working in
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...
, is used as the source material for this delightful cartoon from the NFB. A young man goes to work for a survey crew in what is now
Little Abitibi Provincial Park
Little Abitibi Provincial Park is a non-operating provincial park north of Cochrane, Ontario. It holds a network of small lakes which run into the Little Abitibi River. The Little Abitibi River runs about up into the Abitibi Canyon, where the ...
and encounters
blackflies everywhere he goes. Over and over again, he encounters those pesky little bloodsuckers. He even goes to the moon, only to be swarmed there as well. His only recourse is to leave the North, vowing never to return.
References
External links
* (requires
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...
)
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1991 animated films
1991 films
Films directed by Christopher Hinton
National Film Board of Canada animated short films
Animated musical films
Films based on songs
Animated films about insects
Films set in Northern Ontario
1991 short films
Canadian animated short films
Quebec films
Canadian musical films
Films about flies
1990s Canadian films
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