WIIKWEMKOONG—Wapikoni Mobile has returned to Wiikwemkoong as part of a cross Canada tour offering support and providing a platform for audiovisual and musical expression for indigenous youth.
Wapikoni Mobile arrived in Wiikwemkoong late last month in time for the community event Rezfest. Set up by the Thunderbird Park, the trailer will be open to anyone in the community looking for a creative outlet. During the team’s one-month stay, they will be available to assist individuals with the making of a short film.
The team consists of local coordinator and on-site facilitator Debbie Mishibinijima, outreach worker and facilitator Mathieu Melançon and film making mentors Clark Ferguson and Emmet Walsh.
“We want to help indigenous youth present their story, opposed to someone in and telling their story,” said Mr. Ferguson. “I think that’s what makes our project different from other initiatives.”
“With us only being here for a month we are limited, so we are helping to create short films, five minutes maximum,” added Mr. Walsh. “Typically, someone arrives with a topic they want to capture, and we try to break it down, bring out more of the message at its core.”
“Each director is responsible for finding a crew and we work hands on with everyone, training as they create the film,” said Mr. Ferguson. “We aim to create a finished product, but we want people to continue to work on projects once we are gone.”
Ms. Mishibinijima explained that she worked on a film with Wapikoni last time they were in Wiikwemkoong (this is their fourth visit).
“My last film was about my father teaching about traditional medicine,” said Ms. Mishibinijima. “It was entered in a First Nations film festival in Montreal and I went to see it with my family.”
With this visit, in addition to helping new filmmakers, she also hopes to create a film about two-spirited youth.
Mr. Melançon said that they try to get the films shown around the world. “There is a lot of global interest in indigenous people and their story,” he said. “Last year one of the films went to the Sundance Film Festival. Films have been shown both internationally and across Canada.”
Wapikoni Mobile is a travelling audiovisual and musical creation studio dedicated to indigenous youth. Since 2004, Wapikoni has visited over 32 communities in Canada and accompanied over 4,300 participants who worked to direct close to 1,000 short films translated into several languages. These films have received 146 awards and honours at national and international festivals. Wapikoni mobile is under the patronage of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
Wapikoni Mobile is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12 to 6 pm until June 19, unless the crew is out filming. Anyone interested is working on a project can call or text 1-514-886-8897, stop by the mobile at Thunderbird Park or message the group on the Wapikoni Mobile Wikwemikong Stop Over Facebook page.
At the end of the month, on June 19, there will be a community-wide film viewing of the projects created during the stop over.
