Reel Life, Real Ideas: Movies and more…

Thursday, May 1st @ 7:30pm, One of Many makes its Vancouver Premiere at the Pacific Cinémathèque.

This film is powerful. It not only documents the genocide of aboriginal people in what is called Canada, it moves beyond by looking at some of the work going on to overcome the pain and dysfunction that residential schools and other Canadian government policy deliberately and consciously imposed on the people that have always lived on this land.

I really liked the use of various genres of music (Tutchone, Cree, hip-hop, more) to keep the viewer’s spirit lifted while we voyage through one survivor’s story of residential school and foster homes. Sally Tisiga, the courageous single mother of two teenage boys and a member of the Wolf Clan, Kaska Nation, first shares her story before we watch her struggle to overcome this past. Her passion to keep her sons with her and to connect all of them to her people’s culture touched this single father’s heart deeply.

Using archival footage, we see that far from what the capitalist media has portrayed, aboriginal people have been continually struggling for their inherent right to self-government. When a residential school northwest of Edmonton is occupied, the film shows how these elders transformed doubt into an incredible source of strength; 37 years later, Blue Quills continues to thrive and grow.

That this is a German/French co-production is both surprising and insightful. But then, why would “Canadians” want to expose their own genocidal practice, especially when it continues to this day. At the same time, a respectful outsider’s perspective can be sharper and go deeper.

One of the co-directors, Doris Butignol, will be at this screening for a Q&A. She has previously documented some of the work done by the Zapatistas and anti-globalization activists in Seattle and France. She will be arriving from Haida Gwaii where she is working on a film about the recent death of the Golden Spruce. She had a couple of moments to answer a few questions today:

Why did you make this film?
DB: I met Sally in 1992; the shock of her story was so big, I needed to try to understand it.

What makes this film different?
DB: I’ll let the audience decide.

What does the elder at the end of the credits say?
DB: in Blackfoot, she describes how her people survived through the power of ceremony and culture.

What is the joke that they laugh at?
DB: the elder makes a face.

Hank Bull, a long time member of and builder within the Vancouver Arts Community, will introduce the film.

This will be an event. Don’t miss it. For more information or to buy tickets online, visit:
http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/mar_apr_08/one_of_many.htm