He made N.L.'s first feature film. Now, a new doc is telling Mike Jones's story

In the 1970s, making a movie in Newfoundland with a homegrown cast and crew was unheard of. That didn't stop Mike Jones. Over 10 years, on a shoestring budget, he and his brother Andy created the adventure of Faustus Bidgood. I think it's quite amazing that, like, when we started off, nobody had ever made a feature film out of here. And people said, you can't possibly do that here. And we did it. Mike Jones was a founding member of NIFCO, an organization that helped establish the film industry in this province. It's incredible what they've done from starting off with zero to this incredible production Thank you very much. facility that they have now which is open to anyone. Mike Jones was making films in an explosion of creativity in the arts known as the Newfoundland Renaissance. If we are in a cultural revival or a cultural survival period. That we're part of it. I think we're, I always like to think that we are part of the scene. He started filming the groundbreaking comedy troupe, Codco, which included his brother Andy and sister Kathy. And so Mike decided to see if he could follow Codco and hang out with us while we were creating our material, getting our jokes, and while we were rehearsing and while we were on stage. Those early recordings remained unseen by the public until Andy brought the reels to the National Film Board to be digitized. And they said, like, let's make a documentary. Smash and Grab, the rebel lens of Mike Jones, was born. The documentary's director hopes that it will inspire the next generation. I really hope that young filmmakers who watch this... Like myself, kind of come to understand that you're part of a continuum when you make films here. You're sort of the next step in an ongoing legacy. Local audiences will have the chance to watch the film for the first time this weekend at Cineplex Theaters. John Harris, CBC News, St. John's.