Headframes dominate the landscape of mining communities in Northeastern Ontario and Northwestern Quebec. Distinctive structures built to house the apparatus at the head of the mine shaft, headframes tower above their surroundings, reminding every resident that without the mine, there would be no reason for their settlement to exist. For the past several years, photographer Louie Palu and writer Charlie Angus have been documenting historic mining sites in the north. Many of these have since been erased from the landscape. Co-produced with Prise de parole.

CHARLIE ANGUS is a nationally recognized politician, author, and musician. He has published nine books and is the recipient of numerous writing awards, including the Trillium Book Award finalist Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower. Angus has served in the Canadian Parliament for twenty years. He has earned a national reputation as a fierce fighter for social justice and Indigenous rights. Angus was the founding member of Toronto punk band L’etranger. He is the leader of the roots band Grievous Angels; their ninth album is Last Call for Cinderella. Angus lives in Cobalt, Ontario, with his wife, author Brit Griffin. They have three daughters.

Charlie Angus' profile page

Louie Palu's profile page

Marguerite Andersen writes mostly in French. An autobiographical novel, De mémoire de femme, won the Prix du Journal de Montréal in 1983; La Soupe, also a novel, won the Grand Prix du Salon du livre de Toronto in 1995. Written in English, Christiane Pflug: Stations in a Painter's Life, is a theatrical account of the life and suicide of the Berlin born Toronto painter. It was successfully performed in 1996, during The Gathering, a festival of women's voices presented in Toronto by Women's Theater Works. Editor of Mother Was Not a Person - the 1970 bestseller of writings by Montreal women - Marguerite Andersen has taught Women's Studies and Modern French Literature at Concordia University, the University of Guelph and held the Nancy Ruth Chair of Women's Studies at Mount St. Vincent University. Twice a finalist for the Trillium Award, she lives in Toronto and is the editor of the short story magazine Virages.

Marguerite Andersen's profile page