Death or Canada
| Death or Canada | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Fleeing The Famine |
| Created by | Ballinran Productions/Tile Films |
| Written by | Craig Thompson |
| Directed by | Ruán Magan |
| Narrated by | Brian Dennehy Ruán Magan |
| Music by | Chris Dedrick |
| Country of origin | Canada, Ireland |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Craig Thompson Stephen Rooke Dave Farrell Patricia Phillips |
| Cinematography | Colm Whelan |
| Editor | Bruce Annis |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ One (Ireland) History Television (Canada) The History Channel UK (United Kingdom) |
| Release | 25 November – 2 December 2008 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Death or Canada is a two-part Canadian–Irish docudrama which was broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One in November/December 2008. In the UK on The History Channel UK in January and February 2009 as Fleeing The Famine. The film was also featured as part of the celebrations for Toronto's 175th anniversary.
Narrated by Brian Dennehy, the film follows the Protestant Willis family from the west of Ireland as they flee to Canada in the Spring of 1847 at the height of the Great Famine, ultimately arriving in Toronto, The story is intercut with commentary from historians and other experts.
It was directed by Ruán Magan.
The title of the film comes from the research of one of the main contributors, Mark McGowan, Principal of St. Michael's College, University of Toronto. He says that "The title, Death or Canada, was something that I discovered in archives in Limerick, Ireland, in a newspaper where the locals were writing about the choices that had to be made in 1847. They said: 'During the Cromwellian period, it was to hell or Connaught, and now that's being writ large in our own time as death or Canada.' "