Glace Bay, Nova Scotia Canada, 1901. Willie MacLean is a 10-year-old boy with a love for horses and liking to school to cape the difficult times his family has. Willie's stern, but benevolent father is a coal miner in a local mine along with his older brother John. But when Willie's father is injured and John is killed in an accident at the mine, Willie is forced to step into his brother's shoes to support his older sister Nelle, and two younger sisters until their father recovers. Willie soon finds work at the mine lonely (aka: the pit) and unfriendly in which he forms a bond with a pit pony horse in order to make it though each day.
Acting
Elliot Page's screen debut as tiny chaotic sister Maggie.
Cinematography
Cape Breton landscapes vs. claustrophobic mine shafts.
Production
Authentic 1901 mining town built on location.
Director
Eric Till
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Real pit ponies were used in Nova Scotia mines until 1972 — some horses spent their entire lives underground.
This was CBC's first theatrical feature film and sparked debates about sanitizing child labor history for family audiences.
CA
