The End of the Road: documentary explores history of Lund on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast
In the '60s, Lund was populated by American war resisters and free-spirited Canadians escaping conformity
The End of the Road, part of the Absolutely Canadian film series, brings the community of Lund, B.C., to the screen.
The village is the northernmost community on the Sunshine Coast, located north of Powell River, and was the home of American hippies, free spirits and anti-Vietnam war types who arrived after fleeing from the politics of late '60s America.
The documentary tells the story of the community's growth since that first wave of settlers in the '60s with footage collected by Tai Uhlmann, whose parents were part of the migration.
"It was complete freedom. It was naked on the beach, it was running feral with your friends, climbing trees, having parties. It was trying to steal weed plants from your neighbour," Uhlmann told North By Northwest producer Matthew Parsons.
She said her parents and their friends shot hours of Super 8 and 16 mm film, supplying them with plenty of archival footage of the makeshift town during its earliest years.
Uhlmann and her husband, who co-directed the film, collected photo albums from former and existing residents to use in the documentary as well.
Watch The End of the Road on CBC Gem:
The film focuses on the residents' resilience and willingness to leave everything familiar behind when they left the U.S. for Canada.
"I think what struck me most was the bravery, or what it takes for somebody to actually change," Uhlmann said.
"Like what does it take to give up your life and move to somewhere completely new, completely different, without any of the skills that are needed."
"It takes a lot for somebody to change. It has to hit you pretty hard …That really struck me and that's possible for people. I know there's people wanting to leave the States now and come to Canada, so it's still a reality."
End of the Road is part of the CBC documentary series Absolutely Canadian available on CBC Gem.