The Fogo Process revisited

Feb 14th, 2018

Janet Harron

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The Fogo Process revisited

Over 50 years after the original Fogo Process was developed by Memorial University’s Extension Services and eventually used around the world in international development initiatives, Memorial Film Unit coordinator Derek Norman and history professor Jeff Webb are revisiting the project for a new documentary.

“This Fogo approach to participatory filmmaking for the improvement of the general social community we live in has informed all the subsequent work I have done in the film community,” says Mr. Norman who helped to launch NIFCO in 1975 and has taught film production, mentored new filmmakers, researched NL film history for publication, and for hte past 15 years coordinated the HSS film unit.

“After 50 years, it seems a good time to look back at where we came from.”

What became known as the Fogo Process used film to help communities articulate what their challenges were and to find common ground to solving their problems.

“The most tangible outcome of this was the Fogo Island cooperative which continues to this day,” says Dr. Jeff Webb who specializes in 20th century Newfoundland history.

The new film reflects back on the original process and revisits several people who were the subjects of the original films or were involved in various ways with the filming. The team is hoping to have the film completed in the fall and plan on a screening on Fogo Island and in Montreal at the National Film Board.