BEACHWALKER FILMS INC.
Documentaries That Educate With Wit & Style
Beachwalker Films is the production company of Gemini Award-winning filmmaker, Mark Sandiford. Based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, Beachwalker produces documentaries for broadcast and educational audiences.
Beachwalker is dedicated to a deeply collaborative process that includes all partners in the production: clients, subjects, funders and the creative team.
Mark Sandiford studied filmmaking at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School of Art and Design and earned a B.A. in Psychology at McGill University in 1976. He produced and directed instructional television programs for McGill during the late seventies.
In 1982 Mark went to Canada’s arctic to work as a trainer for Taqramiut Nipingat and the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation. Mark joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Iqaluit, Nunavut in 1986. He created Aqsarniit, a ground-breaking weekly documentary program in Inuktitut. In 1992 he moved to Yellowknife to become executive producer of Focus North, CBC North’s flagship current affairs series. Later at CBC Northbeat he led the production of documentaries in English and five aboriginal languages. Mark left the North in 1998 to become senior producer of Compass, CBC’s evening news program in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Mark started his first production company in 2001 and incorporated Beachwalker Films in 2004.
Produced for Exploration Production Inc.
First Scientists is a fast-paced introduction to the breadth and depth of Native Canadian science and technology. The documentary had its world premiere at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. It first aired on Discovery Canada in September, 2003
Qallunaat! Why White People are Funny 2006 Coproduction with National Film Board of Canada
For centuries Inuit have been studying white people. Now, revealed for the first time, the results of their research into one of the most perplexing societies on earth.
Qallunaat! Why White People are Funny is an irreverent look at Western Civilization through Inuit eyes. Inspired by the satirical essays of Zebedee Nungak, the film turns the tables on generations of anthropologists, teachers, adventurers and administrators who went North to pursue their Arctic Dreams.
Now it’s their turn to be poked, prodded, examined and explained. A new generation of Inuit is ready to take on the Qallunaat at their own game. Grounded in their own traditions but educated in the South, they have a unique perspective on the culture that has come to dominate the planet. And they are not afraid to speak their minds.
Qallunaat! Why White People are Funny is an uproarious trip through the cultural looking glass. Qallunaat! Why White People are Funny first aired on CTV in 2007. It won the 2008 Gemini Canada Award for best reflection of Canada’s racial and cultural diversity.
This series is a multi-year collaboration between Beachwalker Films and researchers in the Faculty of Education of the University of Prince Edward island. Documentary production has been integrated into the research process at every phase. The purpose of the project is to make the research available to people involved in every level of leadership in the education system: students, parents, educators, citizens and policy-makers.
This documentary looks at the journey taken by a remarkable group of Inuit women who overcame huge obstacles to take their place as leaders in education in Nunavut.
Going Places identifies promising practices taking place in schools led by Inuit principals, Lena Metuq (Attagoyuk Ilisavik, Pangnirtung) and Jukeepa Hainnu (Quluaq School, Clyde River), who incorporate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit into learning in their schools.
Nunavut youth between the ages of 17-25 from Kugluktuk, Rankin Inlet, and Pangnirtung, as well as students living in Ottawa, speak openly and honestly about their experiences in high school.
Millie's Dream shares the vision and passion of Millie Qitupana Kuliktana, an educator and language advocate who has worked tirelessly for many years to maintain the Inuinnaqtun language.
This project looks at issues and best practices in bilingual education (Inuktitut/English) in Nunavut and Nunavik.
Produced for Dalhousie University
Provocative stories of activist occupational therapists reaching out with those seeking something meaningful to do, engaging people in transforming real life by learning through doing and connecting systems from education & health to welfare, industry, transportation and justice.