Youth get hands-on experience at camp
Saskatoon Tribal Council provides course in challenge of movie making
First Nations youth are learning to tell their stories through the magic of movie making.
Twenty-three young people from Saskatoon received a crash course in filmmaking thanks to a new project run and organized by the Saskatoon Tribal Council. Almost two dozen have been writing, producing, directing and editing their own movies shot at the Salvation Army Beaver Creek Camp just outside of Saskatoon this week.
Italia Eagle, 17, said the experience taught her about teamwork, dedication and patience.
“Honestly, it’s challenging ... (and) rewarding,” she said.
“You have to have so much patience with it. You can’t just decide you don’t want to do it anymore, you have to stick with it the whole way through.”
On Thursday, the STC Film Camp cast and crew are scheduled to premiere their movies at the Broadway Theatre in front of a live audience.
Camp co-ordinator Marcel Petit, a Saskatchewan filmmaker, said the camp has been a dream of his as it teaches youth about the work that goes into filmmaking, while giving them the tools and skills to tell their stories through a versatile medium.
“It’s making them understand that their story’s important,” he said.
“That’s one thing I love about art and film,” he said. “You can put something on YouTube and it will shake something up a little, whether people like it or not.”
He hopes the camp helped the participants realize they can influence societal change through a creative endeavour.
“I just tell people to shoot it. If you want to talk about water, if you want to talk about oil ... tell that story, because you can tell it because you live there.”
Layne Tarry-Pambrun said her experience playing a zombie on camera helped her open up.
“I like being an actor; it was fun,” she said. “It was kind of hard at first, because all of my friends were standing there and kind of laughing at me, because I didn’t know how to be a zombie.”
However, she said with the help of her mentor, one of four at the camp, she was able to get into character and move forward in the role.
Max Berdowski, executive director of Saskatchewan Media Production Industry Association, said getting youth interested in film is important, as it’s an art form they can pursue as a career or a hobby. Programs that provide an opportunity for youth to engage in major parts of the process from start to finish are “not that common,” he said.
He said it’s important Indigenous filmmakers are well-represented in Saskatchewan’s film industry.
“We want to ensure that their stories are told too,” Berdowski said. “Not just told, but also told in their own voices, and this is an opportunity for them to do that, or at least ... get started down that road.”
We want to ensure that their stories are told too. Not just told, but also told in their own voices.