* Introduced by the director Paula Kelly

FREE ADMISSION

The Notorious Mrs. Armstrong follows the political career of a lesser known yet extremely important figure in Winnipeg and Canadian history, Helen Armstrong. Armstrong, a working class mother, was well known in Winnipeg in the early 1900s where she was described as a radical agitator and often ended up in jail for her endeavours. “Outraged and outrageous” was one way to describe the woman who was notorious for her fight for equality for women in the work place. Her indestructible optimism carried her through very difficult times. She was one of the organizers of the historic 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, which saw 35,000 workers on the picket line for six weeks, until it ended in a volatile confrontation known as Bloody Saturday. Armstrong’s continued actions as a union organizer helped persuade the government of Manitoba to institute the Minimum Wage Act and give liveable wages to women.

Plays with the trio of short films (listed below), Souvenirs, created through the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Public Art Program during an artist residency at the City of Winnipeg Archives, and her newest short film, Blog Winnipeg.

• SAND & STONE (Dir. Paula Kelly, 2008, Canada, 6 min.) – Sand and Stone digs up the history of hard labour and the urban landscape — the workers who sweated its surfaces and shapes, and the primary materials they used to construct a city.

 
• WATERMARKS (Dir. Paula Kelly, 2008, Canada, 11 min.) – Watermarks travels the emotional currents evoked by the experience of flooding in the lives of city dwellers, and looks for imprints left behind after the waters recede.

 
• WAITING FOR THE PARADE (Dir. Paula Kelly, 2008, Canada, 7 min.) – Waiting for the Parade transforms the 75th anniversary celebration of Winnipeg in 1948 into a provocative discourse on decades of progress and regress, cynicism and hope.

 
• BLOG WINNIPEG (Dir. Paula Kelly, 2010, Canada, 12 min.) – Blog Winnipeg is a unique, irreverent and funny short documentary about the love/hate relationship we have with our city.

We acknowledge the generous support of the Province of Manitoba in supporting this series.