SWEETLAND at 4PM

SWEETLAND (2023)

Sweetland depicts something known as resettlement. From 1954 to 1975, some 300 isolated communities in Newfoundland were abandoned under government programs that paid people to move to larger population centers.

The scarcely populated town of Sweetland is one such community in slow decline. Each islander can receive a generous resettlement package with the sole stipulation that everyone must leave. But enigmatic Moses Sweetland refuses.

Motivated by a sense of history, haunted by mistakes of his youth, Moses holds his ground despite violent opposition from the other islanders.

Sweetland is a serious, moody drama but also has a trademark zing of Newfoundland’s unique humour.

A film rich with atmosphere, it captures the bracing beauty of the Atlantic coast and the craggy, scraggly windswept island. Sweetland’ surprises in the way that only Canadian movies do. The Tyee Dorothy Woodend

Canada

English

1 hour and 43 minutes

Host or Publisher Kelowna Film Society