Alberta
Contact Us
 |
View Report!
LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: Fonds
No.: PR3666
TITLE: Gene Gregoret fonds
CREATOR: Gene Gregoret
DATE RANGE: 1968-1980
EXTENT: 0.07 m of textual material. – 27 photographs. – 169 film reels: 16mm [22 hrs., 6 min.]. – 1 film reel: 35mm. – 80 audio reels [48 hrs., 28 min.].
ADMINISTRATIVE
HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Gene Gregoret was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. After graduating from high school, he began his career in journalism as a camera operator for CFRN. He then worked as a photographer for the Edmonton Journal and as a reporter and photographer for the Calgardy Albertan. Gregoret moved to Paris, France in 1962 to work as a darkroom technician at United Press International, then as a photojournalist with Agence de Presse Delmas.

Gregoret returned to Edmonton in 1963 and continued his education at Alberta College, then at the University of Alberta to study anthropology. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology in 1967 and a Master’s degree in Anthropology in 1970. His graduate field work focused on remote Cree communities in northern Alberta, specifically the Chipewyan Lakes and Trout Lake areas.

After completing his education, Gregoret was employed by CBC Edmonton as a public affairs producer. In 1972 he founded Viator Films, a production company that created documentaries for the Provincial Museum of Alberta (later the Royal Alberta Museum), the Alberta Department of Education, and Alberta Culture. These documentaries focused on Cree communities in northern Alberta as well as the Caribbean immigrant experience in Alberta.

CUSTODIAL HISTORY:The material was maintained by Gregoret and donated to the PAA in 2012 and 2013.
SCOPE AND CONTENT:

The fonds consists of release prints, A and B rolls, answer prints, inter-negatives, original camera rolls (negative and reversal), mixed soundtracks, and original audio reels created for Viator Films documentaries. Most of these films focus on Cree communities in northern Alberta. These titles are This Place—Chipewyan Lakes, Spring Beaver, 40 Yards of Canvas, The Craftsman, Voice of My Grandmother, Season of the Birch, Lac Ste. Anne Experience, and Trout Lake. These films cover a variety of topics including Cree oral traditions, beaver trapping, woodcarving, traditional canoe construction, teepee construction, the Lac Ste. Anne pilgrimage, and Catholic missionaries. There are also two films that focus on the Caribbean immigrant experience in Alberta or life in the Caribbean (Tradewinds: West Indians in Alberta and Sweet Barbados).

The photographs depict various Cree subjects from Chipewyan Lakes, Trout Lake, and other northern Albertan communities. The textual material consists of editing notes, shot lists, and production diaries.

LANGUAGE NOTE: The material is in English and Cree.
RELATED RECORDS: The memoirs of Catholic missionary Rogier Vandersteene entitled Wabasca, which document Vandersteene’s life and work in Albertan Cree communities, were included in this donation. This book can be accessed in the reference library.
RELATED ITEMS: PR2013.0128.0004 (40 Yards of Canvas)
PR2013.0128.0031 (The Voice of My Grandmother)
Back to search results


Freedom to Create. Spirit to Achieve.



Home    About the Provincial Archives   Login

© 1995 - 2024   Government of Alberta    Copyright and Disclaimer    Privacy    Accessibility