Documentary explores Nova Scotia’s most fascinating islands

by Jessica Murray on 14 Feb 2013 Abandoned settlements and homesteads. Lighthouses and keepers. Fisherman and fishing grounds. Pirates and treasure. Contagious diseases and mass burials. Ghostly apparitions and lost cemeteries. With intriguing pasts and mysterious happenings, the islands of Nova Scotia have been the setting of stories that stir the senses and rouse the imagination.

Islands are part of the geography and history of the Maritimes, nowhere more so than Nova Scotia. Jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, there are more than 3,800 islands that lie scattered along nearly 5,000 miles of coastline. Nova Scotia Islands is a half hour documentary that explores some of the most interesting islands in the province, their little known histories, and in some cases, their uncertain futures.

Nova Scotia Islands was co-written and directed by award-winning Halifax filmmaker Lorna Kirk (A Little Bit of Freedom) and produced by Edward Peill from Halifax-based Tell Tale Productions Inc.

'I don't think people are aware of the amazing history associated with the 1000's of islands that ring Nova Scotia's beautiful shores,' says director Lorna Kirk. 'You've got everything from pirates to ship wrecks to whimsical fairgrounds. In many ways the history of these islands reads like a good mystery novel.'

Nova Scotia Islands features three notable islands. One that has assumed many roles including protecting the province’s capital city, another that went through an intense tug-of-war between land developers and conservationists, and the last, a micro-nation, that found itself at the epicenter of an international dispute with the United Nations.

Nova Scotia Islands will have its world broadcast premiere on CBC Television’s Land and Sea on Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 12 Noon. Following the broadcast, the documentary can be watched on the CBC TV website. Land and Sea is CBC’s second longest running TV series and can be followed on Twitter: @cbclandandsea

Nova Scotia Islands was produced in association with CBC TV with funding from Film NS, and Provincial and Federal tax credits.