Documentary "From Bella Coola to Berlin"

On behalf of the Bella Coola to Berlin Productions Inc.

In 1885, Adrian Jacobsen, a Norwegian artefact collector, brought nine Bella Coola (Nuxalk) Indians from the west coast of Canada to Germany to showcase them in Carl Hagenbeck’s ethnological tours in Hamburg. From there, they toured 22 German cities – among them Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Breslau, Eberfeld, Zwickau, Erfurt, Aachen, and Cologne – where they performed their traditional dances and songs.

During summer 2005, the Canadian filmmaker Barbara Hager came to Germany to retrace the steps of the nine Nuxalk men on their original 13 month long tour. The filmmakers talked to ethnologists and historians as well as people who could remember anecdotes from their grandparents about these spectacular exotic dance performances.

Facts & Files implemented the media support and logistic services for the film production. In addition to the presswork, Facts & Files organized the shooting at the zoos in Hamburg and Leipzig and at museums in Berlin, Leipzig, and Munich.

PRESS COVERAGE ON THE PROJECT

Wuppertaler Rundschau, August 3, 2005

“Who does remember the Nuxalk Indians?”
Abstract (in German only)

Freie Presse Zwickau, July 29, 2005

“Faces from the past”
Abstract (in German only)

Berliner Morgenpost, July 28, 2005

“The traces of the Bella Coola Indians”