British Columbia for the Empire

How it feels

This silent documentary shows battalions from British Columbia training and leaving for World War I. It was made by a local filmmaker using footage he shot over two years.

patriotichistoricalearnestfactualnostalgicstatelyobservationalslow-paced

What happens

British Columbia for the Empire was a Canadian feature-length silent documentary film produced in 1916 by Vancouver filmmaker Arthur D. Kean and released through his company, Kean's Canada Films. It was a compilation film, assembled from his theatrical shorts (shot in 1914–16) that depicted individual British Columbia battalions in training and departing for service in the First World War. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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