Selling Out

A short documentary by Tad Jaworski was nominated for an Oscar in 1972 and won the Canadian Golden Etrog new Genie later that same year. The film is a dramatization of a farmer’s last day on his ancestral farm on Prince Edward Island as he is faced with the Public Auction of his family home and possessions. On the one hand, it is a simple, poignant tale of personal loss, alienation and the displacement of the old at the end of life. On the other, it is a political statement about the loss of Canadian Heritage, land and economy to foreign capital. The film had the effect of mobilizing change to Canadian Law regarding the sale of land to foreigners.