The fonds consists of records from Gil Cardinal’s independent and freelance projects; the film companies co-founded by Cardinal (Great Plains Productions, Kanata Productions, Strange Empire Productions); and his work for NFB, BBC, or other broadcasters.
The textual materials contain the complete business records of Great Plains Productions, creative records for specific projects (including scripts, notebooks, shot lists, story boards, and editing notes), administrative records for specific projects (including contracts, financial records, grant applications, and correspondence), developmental records related to unrealized projects, and personal records (including correspondence, speaking notes, speeches, and teaching material).
The films consist of home movies from Cardinal’s foster family (some of which were used as part of Foster Child); a tour of the Canadian Museum of Civilization with its architect, Douglas Cardinal; and release prints of Foster Child.
The videocassettes consist of original shooting tapes and completed masters of several projects. Most prominent among these are My Partners, My People, Our Home and Native Land, The Great Possibility, and David with F.A.S. There are also masters, but not shooting tapes, for several other projects including Big Bear, Chiefs (for both episodes directed by Cardinal), Totem, and others. Some of these masters are on DVD as well as videocassette.
The photographs, negatives, and slides consist of images shot by Cardinal during the course of filming, images of special events, and family photos.
