Music and film winners announced

Seeking Bimaadiziiwin sweeps three awards

Sudbury Star, May 12th, 2008

The Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards were handed out during a special ceremony Saturday evening.

This year’s ceremony featured host Jowi Taylor of CBC Radio and Six String Nations, performances from this year’s music finalists including Sault Ste Marie’s Wild Turkeys and Thunder Bay’s Flamenco Caravan, film clips from “The Asphodel Meadows” by Sudbury’s Grant Jeffery ending the evening with a gala reception at the Radisson’s Palladium Room in downtown Sudbury.

The winners are:

Best album: Ox- American Lo Fi

Best songwriter: Angie Nussey – Unwritten Pages

Best film: Dave Clement & Kelly Saxberg – Seeking Bimaadiziiwin

Best director: Dave Clement & Kelly Saxberg – Seeking Bimaadiziiwin

Best film editor: Derek Burnett – The Human Error

Best cinematography: Dave Clement – Seeking Bimaadiziiwin

Best screenplay: Susan Adams – The Devil’s Kitchen

Best vocal performance on a recording: Angie Nussey – Don’t Give Up

Best engineer: Jason Poulin

2008 Trailblazer Award: Confederation College’s Film Production Program

“Woodland Spirits” documentary premieres on TVO

THUNDER BAY, ON – Thunderstone Pictures, a film company based in Thunder Bay, ON, is pleased to announce its first major broadcast.

“Woodland Spirits”, a half-hour documentary filmed across Northwestern Ontario, premieres on TVO’s “The View From Here” on Wednesday May 21st at 10:30pm. It rebroadcasts on Sunday May 25th.

Made by an all-Northwestern Ontario crew, it was shot around Thunder Bay, Longlac, Wawa, Agawa Bay, Armstrong and deep in the bush north of Lake Nipigon. Shot, directed and edited by Dave Clement, “Woodland Spirits” is a co-production of Thunderstone Pictures and the National Film Board of Canada and was made in association with TVO through the NFB/TVO Calling Card Program.

Featuring stunning scenery, ancient rock paintings and powerful artwork, Woodland Spirits highlights the mentoring connections linking three men – Gelineau Fisher, Moses Beaver and Andrew Machendagoos – representing three generations of Woodland (Anishinawbe) artists living in Northwestern Ontario. All three have been profoundly affected by the life and work of the late Roy Thomas – a close friend, artistic influence and father figure whose wisdom is a key presence in the film.

For these men, mentoring is more than sharing artistic technique. It is a cultural tradition that calls on those who came before, and on the images themselves. In part, this film is a tribute to Roy Thomas’ ongoing legacy. This legacy lives on through younger artists and through the work of his widow, Louise Thomas, who supports artists young and old through the gallery she runs out of her husband’s old studio in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

“It was a great learning experience”, said the film’s auteur Dave Clement, “I am deeply honoured to have the people in the film tell their story through my craft”. Throughout production Clement found the values and sophistication of the ancient teachings of the Anishinawbe to be deeply profound.

“Woodland Art is only one expression of a an ancient philosophy that shows us how all things, and all peoples, are interconnected. It’s inherently environmental”. The style of painting, sometimes called the “Woodland School” or “Anishinawbe Art” often features bold black “spirit” lines, vibrant colours, and interior visions of animal spirits and legendary figures – popularized by Northwestern Ontario artists such as Norval Morrisseau and Roy Thomas. “It must be noted that it is not everyday an art movement, respected and admired all over the world, just walks out of the bush in your own backyard. As northerners of all cultural backgrounds, we should all strive to learn about this beautiful culture that is surrounding us and art being the universal teacher, is a good place to start”.

The film also features hip-hop by War Party and Wax Philosophic, traditional drumming and signing by The Little Bear Singers and traditional Anishinawbe flute played by Moses Beaver.
For more information on Woodland Spirits call Dave Clement at 807.251.4030 or email Dave. You can reach youth artist Andrew Machendagoos at 807.622.4957 or Louise Thomas at 807.577.2656.

You can also visit:
NFB Website – Woodland Spirits
or
TVO Website – Woodland Spirits

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