For immediate release
July 31, 2014
Remembering the beginning of the First World War at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
OTTAWA, July 31, 2014 – As Canadians from coast to coast take pause, on August 4th, to remember the beginning 100 years ago of the First World War, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum (CASM), in collaboration with the National Film Board, will commemorate this important historical event by presenting a series of films about the Great War from Saturday, August 2 to Monday, August 4.
CASM is host to one of the finest First World War aircraft collections in the world. On August 4, Curatorial Research Assistant Erin Gregory will give a talk and tour of the Museum’s First World War aircraft section following the screening of the first film. Moreover, replicas of vintage aircraft of First World War era from the Great War Heritage Museum will be on site in the afternoon for visitors to see.
Please find below a description of each film, and note that, due to the gravity of the subject matter, they are not recommended for a younger audience. Parental discretion is advised.
Daily Screenings August 2 - 4
Aces : A Story of the First Air War (1993) (92:32)
Playing at 9:30 a.m.
World War I was the first war in which aviators played a part. What was it really like to maneuver the first aircraft in battle? How did aerial strategy and tactics evolve throughout the war? And what about the amazing development of aeronautical technology within a few short years? Using rarely-seen archival footage, Aces chronicles the wartime career of a Canadian airman, providing a first-hand glimpse of the war, which broke out just 11 years after the Wright brothers pioneered the flying machine.
Front Lines (2008) (33:51)
Playing back-to-back with Fields of Sacrifice, starting at 1 p.m.
A tribute to the combatants in the First World War, this film traces the conflict through the war diary and private letters of five Canadian soldiers and a nurse. Hearing them, the listener detects between the lines an unspoken horror censored by war and propriety. The film mingles war footage, historical photos and readings of excerpts from the diary and letters. The directorial talent of Claude Guilmain breathes life into these 90-year-old documents and accompanying archival images so that we experience the human face and heart of the conflict.
Fields of Sacrifice (1963) (38:13)
Immediately following Front Lines at approximately 1:35 p.m.
A film of dignity and beauty, a memorable tribute to the more than 100,000 Canadians who gave their lives in the service of their country on foreign battlegrounds. The film visits battlefields of the first and second World Wars and cemeteries where servicemen are buried. Filmed from Hong Kong to Sicily, this documentary is designed to show Canadians places they have reason to know but may not be able to visit.
Paris 1919 (2008) (93:56)
Playing at 3 p.m.
For six months in 1919 Paris was the capital of the world. The last shots had just been fired in the most devastating war of all time - and the old global order lay in tatters. Delegations from over 30 nations urgently descended upon Paris for the most ambitious peace talks in history. At the helm were the Big Four - President Woodrow Wilson along with leaders of France, the UK and Italy. They endeavored to engineer a peace treaty "for all time," creating instead an embittered Germany already dreaming of retaliation - and creating contentious new entities like Iraq and Yugoslavia. In a compelling story that blends re-enactments with archival images, director Paul Cowan captures the dramatic cut-and-thrust of diplomacy, while evoking the extraordinary atmosphere of a metropolis returning to life.
Special Projects Officer