In conjunction with the World at War – International Speakers Series, the War Museum will present a special screening of The Battle of the Somme. Shot in 1916 by two cameramen who were positioned on the front line, this now UNESCO-recognized film depicts, with remarkable candour and power, the opening phase of a bloody campaign, which ran for 142 days and produced over a million casualties. The Battle of the Somme gave audiences a front-row view of the reality of the First World War and inaugurated a debate that continues today about documentary filmmaking and the depiction of combat.
Following the screening, Dr. Toby Haggith, Senior Curator at the Imperial War Museum’s Department of Research, will situate The Battle of the Somme in the context of the war and explore the cinematic relevance and cultural legacy of the film.
Dr. Haggith will be introduced by Canadian War Museum historian Dr. Joanne Stober.
6 p.m. Screening (71 minutes)
7:30 p.m. Lecture (in English with simultaneous French translation)
Presented in conjunction with the World at War – International Speaker Series, an annual series of academic events, presented by the Canadian War Museum, to mark the centenary of the First World War. The events, presented in a variety of formats, provide an opportunity for the public to learn from leading Canadian and international experts about the war’s national and global reach, its cost and its legacies.
Presented by Raytheon Canada Limited.
Official Partners of the Centenary of the First World War: John and Pattie Cleghorn and Family; H.Col (Ret’d) John C. Eaton, O.Ont., K.St.J., D.Com. and H.Col Sally Horsfall Eaton, S.S.St.J., C.D., R.N., LL.D.; The Friends of the Canadian War Museum; TD Bank Group; VISITFLANDERS and the R. Howard Webster Foundation.