Private Project

Nancy

In this personal documentary about the impact of adoption, the filmmaker travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario seeking a connection to her roots.

  • Lynda Hall
    Director
  • Lynda Hall
    Writer
  • Lynda Hall
    Producer
  • Nick Schofield
    Music and Sound Design
  • Hannah Sekerka
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 47 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 8mm film
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • International Film Festival of Ottawa
    Ottawa
    Canada
    March 15, 2026
    Honourary Mention, Short films, People's Choice Award
  • Resolution 2026
    Ottawa
    Canada
    January 22, 2026
  • Digi60 Filmmakers' Festival
    Ottawa
    Canada
    December 5, 2025
Director Biography - Lynda Hall

Lynda Hall is an Ottawa-based artist and filmmaker. She completed a BFA in photography at the University of Ottawa, and was introduced to digital filmmaking at SAW Video, where she received a Jumpstart grant to make her first short documentary film "Alice" in 2018. An Expanded Practice residency at DARC in 2024 supported the production of her third film "Nancy", which was completed in 2025 with the financial support of the Canada Council of the Arts. Her films have screened at festivals in Canada and the USA, at universities, libraries and conferences, and can be found in the City of Ottawa Art Collection. Her previous projects have been funded by the City of Ottawa, Community Foundation of Ottawa, ArtsSmarts, Agriculture Canada.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Nancy" is the third film in a trilogy of short personal documentaries that explore what family means to me as an adoptee.

I am an artist and filmmaker living in Ottawa, however, this film explores my connection to Northern Ontario. I was adopted at birth in Ottawa because my natal or “birth” mother was sent away from Thunder Bay to stay with family friends during her pregnancy - an attempt to hide what her parents felt was a shameful situation for an unwed teen. Under different circumstances, I might have grown up in Thunder Bay with my original family. In the film, I travel to Thunder Bay seeking a connection to this place, and in the process, relate my mother’s story of being a teenager in Fort William, becoming pregnant, and being banished to Ottawa, where she was pressured into relinquishing me for adoption. Her story is not uncommon. It is estimated that 350,000 unmarried mothers in post WWII Canada surrendered babies for adoption, due to what has now been acknowledged as a forced adoption mandate.

For more information see the Senate of Canada committee report "The Shame is Ours": https://sencanada.ca/en/info-page/parl-42-1/soci-adoption-mandate/