George Cotter Film Screening at Oak Hammock Marsh

George Cotter Retrospective: A Celebration of Manitoba’s Pioneer Nature Filmmaker

Location: Oak Hammock Marsh Wetland Discovery Centre (1 Snow Goose Way, Stonewall / RM of Rockwood, MB)
Admission: FREE film screening (Reduced $10 admission if you also wish to explore the Wetland Discovery Centre)
Registration: Click Here to Register

Celebrate the life, legacy, and storytelling of trail-blazing Manitoba wildlife filmmaker George Cotter (1915–2011) with this special free community screening of his classic short films.

Over a remarkable four-decade career, Cotter hauled his trusty Bolex camera across Manitoba’s prairies, forests, and wetlands in every season. While contemporaries like David Attenborough and Jacques Cousteau captured exotic faraway locales, Cotter focused his lens on home, patiently documenting local wildlife and championing conservation long before it was mainstream. His sincere, folk-grounded narration and classic 16mm prints educated generations of Manitobans under his personal motto: Dum Spiro Spero (“While I breathe, I hope”).

Screening Program: Cotter Shorts (Program Two)

Total Runtime: Approx. 66 minutes

• Dum Spiro Spero — While I Breathe, I Hope (6 min): Directed by Kevin Nikkel (2026), this short biographical tribute explores Cotter’s ground-breaking career as a wildlife filmmaker.
• Prairie Giant (21 min): Follow the life cycle of the giant Canada goose—from spring migration and nesting to chick rearing and the journey to moulting grounds.
• Winter Gallery (18 min): A gentle winter hike on film, showcasing the cold-weather wildlife of Manitoba’s forests, including snowshoe hares, gray jays, red squirrels, sharp-tailed grouse, and white-tailed deer.
• The Great Grey Owl / Pese-Way-Ohoo ‘The Feathery One’ (6 min): A rare and intimate portrait of the nesting and family life of Manitoba’s provincial bird emblem.
• Wildlife Surrounds Us (15 min): A vibrant survey celebrating the incredible variety of mammals and birds that share the prairie landscape.