| A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story | |
| Director: | Julian Biggs |
| Producer: | Julian Biggs |
| Starring: | Joey Smallwood |
| Narrator: | Budd Knapp |
| Music: | Eldon Rathburn |
| Cinematography: | Paul Leach |
| Editing: | Bud Neate Ken Page (sound) |
| Studio: | National Film Board of Canada |
| Runtime: | 56 minutes |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story is a 1970 documentary film directed by Julian Biggs for the National Film Board of Canada in 1970.[1]
The film is a lively portrait of Joey Smallwood, the first premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, a controversial and powerful politician who became known as the "last living Father of Confederation" for his role in negotiating the admission of Newfoundland and Labrador as a Canadian province in 1949.[2] Following Smallwood during a two-and-a-half-month period that included a stormy Liberal leadership convention, the film reveals a man misunderstood even by his close associates.[3]
The film, which was screened at the 1971 Stratford Film Festival,[4] won three Canadian Film Awards at the 22nd Canadian Film Awards, for Best Public Affairs Film, Best Direction in a Non-Feature (Biggs) and Best Actor in a Non-Feature (Smallwood).[5]
The choice of Smallwood, who was simply being himself in a documentary film, as the recipient of an acting award was justified by the award organizers on the grounds that Smallwood's flamboyant and charismatic personality made him a "distinguished natural actor".[5]