Listed below are the Nova Scotian filmmakers who have works digitized in this project. They are listed in chronological order based on the range of years of their films. Simply click on a name to bring up a list of works by that filmmaker. Some were born here, while others found their way to Nova Scotia later in life. Through their work we are able to travel back in time to see the things they did, the places they went, and the people they cared about.
W.G. MacLaughlan (d. 1935) was raised in Charlottetown and moved to Pugwash in 1895 where he opened a photographic studio (he previously opened a studio in Boston, where he studied). He established the MacLaughlan Studio at Barrington Street in 1914. He was the official millitary photographer for Halifax.
William T. Gray (d. 1987) was a Nova Scotian who shot film depicting the daily life and amusements of people living in the 1920s and 1930s. He was employed by the Department of Agriculture and took films for them, as well as filming local/family activities.
Allen Fraser (1874-1941), a veteran of the Second Boer War ("South African War") and World War I, was a photographer for the Halifax Mail from the 1920s to the 1940s. His films include travel footage and local scenes and events. He drowned at Lake Timberlea, 15 years after his brother drowned in the same lake.
John Loré (b. 1892) immigrated from Corleone, Sicily, to New York City, NY, in 1897. A noted physician, he became chairman of Ear, Nose, & Throat at St. Vincents Medical Centre in New York City. He was one of the pioneers in the use of the motion picture camera in surgery. In 1931, he purchased an old farm house and barn near Clyde River, Nova Scotia, where he took his family on summer vacations.
John Loré Jr. (1922-2004) was born in the Bronx, New York and was inspired by his father to join the medical profession. He became an internationally renowned head and neck cancer surgeon, educator, and author. Like his father, he summered every year in Nova Scotia. As a young man, Loré took photos and film of deer in Nova Scotia that were reputedly used in the creation of the Walt Disney motion picture Bambi.
John B. Porter (1861-1943), mining engineer and amateur filmmaker, traveled extensively around the world and took 16mm moving pictures of his travels. He lived in Montreal, summered in Guysborough, and wintered in California. He held the Mining chair at McGill University. He visited Guysborough in 1898 and bought his property in 1900. Mr. Porter was one of the first filmmakers in Canada to make use of colour film.
Edward A. Bollinger (1909-2001) was a professional photographer and filmmaker who moved from Buffalo, New York, to Halifax sometime around 1939, when he opened The Camera Shoppe on Blowers Street to help motion picture and still camera fans with their problems and promote a greater interest in this... hobby. He was a charter member of the Halifax Photo Guild and a well-known photographer locally and abroad.
Harold Weir (1902-1978) was an amateur photographer, a member of the Halifax Camera Club, and an amateur filmmaker. He was born in Truro and spent his career as a teacher, school inspector, and educational administrator. In 1935 he was awarded a Carnegie Fellowship in education which allowed him to study in England.
William Pride Henderson (1866-1962) was born at Alpha Mines, Antigonish Co. His family moved to Boston when he was young, and he received his education from the Boston Latin School and Harvard University. He taught at the Boston Latin School until his retirement in 1936. In 1949, he and his wife relocated permanently to Port Medway, NS, where for years they had their summer home. At the time of his death, Henderson was the oldest living graduate of Harvard.
Dr. Alexander H. Leighton (1908-2007) was a sociologist and psychiatrist of dual citizenship (United States, by birth, and Canada, from 1975). He is best known for his work on the Stirling County (Canada) Study and his contributions to the field of psychiatric epidemiology. He died at the age of 99 at Digby, Nova Scotia.
C.C. Foster (b. 1909) was born in Halifax and belonged to the Halifax Amateur Cinema Group. He made films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
Charles Balish (1896-1986) was born in Beirut, Lebanon and immigrated to Nova Scotia where he set-up a General Store and raised his family in Lockeport. He documented activities and events which mirror the growth and development of the community.
W.R. MacAskill professional photographer (1887-1956). He opened photographic studios in St. Peters and then Glace Bay before moving to Halifax in 1915. There, he worked for official military photographer W.G. MacLaughlan, and as a printer at Elite Studios from 1916 to 1919. Between 1920 and 1929 he was a photographer with Commercial Photo Service. In 1929, the Bluenose stamp based on his photograph was issued, and he opened a business under his own name on Barrington Street in Halifax.
Malcolm and Marial Mosher (1883-1951) was born in Avondale and was the sole owner of Mosher Brokerage Co. in Halifax. Very active in Halifax community life and musical circles. Father of Marial Mosher, (1917,-2008), dancer, teacher, choreographer, member of Madame Hylda Dancers in the 1920s & 1930s. Member of the Canadian Womens Army Corps during World War II.
Sam Short (1914-1994) was born in Toronto, Ontario. He was a member of the Maritime Professional Photographers Association and The Halifax Camera Club. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 25 years. He lived in Porters Lake, Nova Scotia.
Lionel Shatford (b. 1884, Halifax) was a member of the Halifax County Radio Listeners League who formed the operating committee of the radio station CHNS when it began operating in 1926.
Tom Courtney (1901-1953) was born in Portsmouth, England, and immigrated to Halifax with his family when he was eight. A talented filmmaker, Courtney began making award-winning films for the province in the 1930s. He also became Maritime Provinces supervisor for the Odeon Theatre chain. In 1947 he was appointed Director of Information at the Department of Industry and Publicity.
Margaret Perry (1905-1998) born in Upper Mills, New Brunswick, began working in 1942 as a traveling projectionist in New Brunswick, joined the Ottawa Film Board, worked as a negative cutter, editor, and then camera operator for Gudrun Parker and Beth Zinkan. She eventually became film producer for the province of Nova Scotia. For over a quarter of a century, she shot, directed, wrote and edited all the tourist films for the province.
Nova Scotia Archives — https://archives.novascotia.ca/nsfilm/filmmakers/
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