FERNTV’S TOP 5 FILMS FROM WAPIKONI MOBILE @FANTASIA 2020

Among The Forest

Over the years here on FERNTV, we have never shied away from covering films from Indigenous Nations.  It is once again an honour and a privilege to take a look at the up and coming directors from Indigenous Nations in the country of Canada.  Their films have been produced through the support of  Wapikoni Mobile who has gone all over this country in helping the youth in these communities of many different Indigenous Nations.  Through workshops and mentoring, these up and comers of the film industry get the opportunity to show their creative spirit and to combat isolation and suicide amongst First Nations youth.

The first short film that we would like to mention is called Among the Forest by Oqim Nicholas of the Tobique community of the Maliseet Nation who touches on a subject that we are very aware of here on FERNTV.  The film focuses on a boy who wakes up and finds himself hungry and thirsty after escaping a residential school.  We should never forget the physical and sexual abuse these children went through and the trauma they had to or still live with today as they are adults.  It’s great to see someone as young as Oqim Nicholas taking a chance and revisiting a time that we should not forget and help his generation understand what his ancestors have gone through.  This film should also inspire his colleagues to do the same and generate more films that show this unannounced genocide in our country.  This is revolutionary filmmaking at its best.

Philippe Mathon in The Guest

Director Nicholas Rogers of the Timiskaming community of the Anishnabe Nation directs this stop motion short film called The Guest about a trapper who finds a wounded animal and brings it home.  Little does he know that the animal has an insatiable appetite and he keeps on eating what he throws at him.  The Guest bridges the gap between animation and real-life as you can see actor Philippe Mathon in stop motion form which is hilarious and reminds you of the silent films from the olden days.   It’s highly creative and has a lot of character and without a doubt makes the audience hunger for more from Nicholas Rogers.

Director and Main Actor Jack Belhumeur in Respect Your Elders, Chum

Respect Your Elders, Chum is a dramedy about a young teen who sells his grandfather’s pills to his community to make a profit.  We believe here on FERNTV that Metis director Jack Belhumeur has a lot of promise in his future in the film industry.  He has shown in this short film that he has taken full advantage of his mentorship from the Wapikoni Mobile team and you can see this through his clear, clean precise direction.  He also plays Chum in the film and the audience can see a complete transformation from a director to an actor.  If Jack Belhumeur is given more looks, he will sure to impress in the future.

Director Donovan Vollant

L’origine du capteur de rêves (The Origin of the Dreamcatcher) is a short animated film that represents the spirit of young director Donavan Vollant who is from the Innu community of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam.  The film focuses on a hunter who is kept awake by an evil spirit that is hand-drawn by Donovan Vollant.  The hunter then goes on to discover the powers of dreamcatchers.  Donovan Vollant wishes in his works to keep his Nation’s legend alive and he does that so creatively and remarkably well.  A lot of respect has to go out to the Wapikoni team in bringing his vision come to light.

Raymond Caplin’s In Your Heart

Director Raymond Caplin of the Listuguj community of the Mi’gmaq nation has two works in this program but the one we admire here on FERNTV is the award-winning In Your Heart which closes the Wapikoni Short Film Program at Fantasia Film Festival.  The animated short film shows a guitar player going into his safe space to pour his heart into his music.  The animation is one of a kind and by seeing from his other short film Missing Offering is that Raymond Caplin has many styles to his game.  The young director has so much promise that there ain’t nothing that is going to stop him now.

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