Thunderstone Premieres Three Films in One Weekend

We are so happy to report that all three films that premiered at the 2011 Biindigaate Film Festival were more than well received. This fantastic weekend in September saw 41 films screen at the Paramount Theatre to a racially mixed Northern Ontario audience and to indigenous filmmakers from all over.

Return To Manomin, directed by Thunderstone’s Michelle Derosier, premiered as part of opening night to a packed house (~ 200 people). It was introduced by festival co-chair Jana Rae Yerxa and Sara Roque, Aboriginal Arts Officer from the Ontario Arts Council. Now, we weren’t really comfortable with this time-slot at first, as that we both (Michelle and Dave) are also part of organizing of the festival. However, the rest of the 12 person committee insisted that this was the film for that time-slot given the fact it was feature-length, was made by local filmmakers and crew, and pertained to a topic of regional relevance. That said, we were floored by the response from the community. Our first truly feature-length film received a long standing ovation from the crowd and the questions during the Q&A that followed were heartfelt and engaged. The accolades have been pouring in ever since. This is a filmmaker’s dream. Honestly, we didn’t know how people were going to react to such a simple story, a family returning to a place. Of course, the uproarious laughter and tears on faces were welcome, albeit unexpected. Meegwetch to everyone who came out, especially family and friends.

A frame-grab from Return To Manomin. Michelle and MorningStar paddle back to the rice lake.

Next up for Thunderstone was the public premiere of our short documentary The Life You Want on Saturday afternoon. This film is about a young mother’s struggle to recover from prescription drug abuse while living in a remote northern reserve community. This film had already pre-screened to regional Chiefs and earlier on Friday to service providers in the community. These screenings had gone well and we were honoured to have Doris Slipperjack, the subject of the film, there at these screenings. Saturday’s screening however, was extremely special as that Doris has brought a lot of her family from Fort Hope (Eabametoong First Nation) who had never seen the film. Her mother features prominently in the film and tears could no be held back by anyone when during the Q&A Doris thanked her mom for never giving up on her. Four days later, the film has been requested for use in the training of medical professionals in the Regional Hospital, for use in schools with youth and for use in treatment scenarios. It is also sitting in the hands of several Federal politicians and policy makers. For us, and for our partners, the Sioux Lookout First Nation health authority, this is a huge success.

Doris contemplates the steps needed for her recovery.

Last, but not least, was the premiere of Eagle vs. Sparrow which opened for the Maori feature comedy Boy by Taika Watitti. This seemed to be a perfect fit as that Eagle vs. Sparrow was made with at-risk youth from the Dryden High School who adapted a traditional legend about humility (as told by Michelle’s great grandfather who was from that area) and Watitti’s film is about a young boy who’s relationship with his father could lead him down the wrong path. And while our film was based on the legend of “Eagle and Sparrow”, the change in the the title was coincidentally inspired by Taika Watitti’s first feature “Eagle vs. Shark”. A match made-to-be we suppose. Anyway, the response was fantastic, a large cheers were elicited from the audience before the credits even hit the screen.

Eagle (David Adams) on his way to school.

So, what a weekend for Thunderstone Pictures! We hope you can forgive the lack of blogging over the past several months. We’ve been quite busy. Now, it’s on to a short period of screening our work to the world. Both Eagle vs. Sparrow and The Life You Want have been selected to screen at the ImagineNative Film Festival in Toronto in October and we have our fingers crossed on a few other submissions.

Return To Manomin

Documentary (2011), 72 min., HD

Realizing they are only a few years away from the complete loss of an ancient tradition, four generations of a family struggle to return to their traditional wild rice lake. Guided by the spirits of her Grandmothers and the wisdom of her aging uncle, filmmaker Michelle Derosier attempts to revive her family’s annual Manomin (wild rice) harvest with hopes of passing on the teachings of her ancestors to her children and grandchildren. This verité-style documentary shot deep in the forests of Northwestern Ontario is about the spiritual connection to the land that defines the Anishinabek and how it can be maintained while living in an ever-changing world.

“This film could be about any Anishinabek family. We belong to these quiet little places tucked away all over the Boreal forest. This is where our ancestors are, this is where our own spirits find what they need to heal from the affects of a historical legacy of being torn away from family, from traditions and the places that bind all these things together. Imagine how many of these places have been lost due to industrial activity. Imagine how many are threatened and what that could mean to whole families and communities.” Michelle Derosier, Director

OFFICIAL SELECTION (World Premiere) Biindigaate Film Festival 2011
OFFICIAL SELECTION American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco 2011

Supported by the Canada Council For the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and Eagle Lake First Nation.

The Life You Want

This film has recently featured in articles in the Ottawa Citizen, The Vancouver Sun, Canada.com, Montreal Gazette and coast-to-coast on CBC Radio One’s “The Current” (part 2).

Documentary (2011), 34 min., HD

In a remote northern reserve caught in the grips of a prescription drug abuse epidemic, a young woman named Doris is determined to overcome her addiction Oxycontin. In recent years, a rash of arson, violence and drug-related crime has overwhelmed her community of Eabametoong First Nation (Fort Hope). Against all odds, Doris, a 22-year old a mother of three, must overcome the many systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing treatment in an attempt to save herself and her family. She courageously tells her story to call attention to the dire situation facing the families and communities in the remote north of Ontario, Canada.

OFFICIAL SELECTION ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival 2011
OFFICIAL SELECTION Biindigaate Film Festival 2011

DVD copies are available from the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority.