Tag: Indigenous

Star Light, Star Bright, Who’s the Tribal Elder That Knows the Night? Wilfred Buck, The Documentary

Everything you want to know about the travelling wilbury, Wilfred Buck, is answered here. Okay, he’s not a musician, but he might as well be given his charming personality.

Wilfred Buck Documentary Poster
Proudly sponsored by the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.

Playing at Victoria Film Festival’s F1RST: A Celebration of Indigenous Film on June 21, 2024. For tickets, please visit this link here.

The story of Wilfred Buck is familiar. Here, we see an intimate portrayal of who he is not only as an indigenous person from Northern (Central) Manitoba but also that of a scholar-bard. Whether that qualifies him as a geek, I’m sure it does!

Just why he’s special is because of what he adds to his lectures. He brings the astronomy to life because of what they represent according to his native roots. For example, the North Star has several names. It’s either known as the Keewatin, which means Going Home Star, or Ekakatchet Atchakos, which in English “It stands Still.” That’s because when anyone photographs the midnight black sky for more than five minutes, the result will consist of curved streaks, and the only star that doesn’t move at all is Polaris.

After watching this film, I’m interested in taking up astronomy again. I was a hobby stargazer once, and that’s because I loved the lore attached to it. Although they came from Greco-Roman studies, I wanted to know more about the constellation of Orion. In Egypt, the locals there believed he was Osiris. But in North America, the natives saw an animal instead, the bison!

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When Red Fever Delivers an Honest Look at Indigenous Rights, What’s Revealed is Important

In what makes Red Fever’s cinematic discourse effective is that the filmmakers are able to touch upon a lot of issues without being too preachy.

Red Fever Documentary Poster
This documentary played at Hot Docs on May 1st, 5:00pm at the Ted Rogers Cinema May 3rd, 5:30pm at the TIFF Lightbox 1 Toronto, Ontario

Coming to Theatres June 14 

Catherine Bainbridge and Neil Diamond’s Red Fever is a very eye-opening documentary about why Native American culture fascinates the world. The iconography is nearly everywhere. Whether that’s with certain fashion trends or because entertainment rarely properly looks at their way of life, not everyone is happy about it.

What this film does is to show how White man has misrepresented those motifs. I’m glad what’s revealed will have an effect on those watching this presentation, and what’s special is its historic significance. Some of it can be traced to matters of spirituality, and other aspects concern lineage.

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Cody Lightning is Hey Viktor! and A Whole Lot More

Personally, I don’t think Cody Lightning was smoking anything when the idea to make Hey VIktor! came about. It’s unbashedly a self-parody of his own life!

Hey Viktor! Movie PosterNow playing at select theatres

Technically, fans curious about the mockumentary, Hey Viktor! does not need to see the comedy Smoke Signals to make sense out of why Cody Lightning is stuck in the past. He’s done much more since playing that kid long ago. And thankfully, off camera, this Native American actor has done better for himself than in what this movie suggests. However, I couldn’t help but wonder where the lines of reality are blurred. After the aforementioned movie’s success, most of these talents moved on to do better things.

However, for Lightning, he’s stuck in the past and he’s wondering why he’s not been receiving those royalty checks. As a result, he’s taken on jobs he’s not proud of, and when his wife finally leaves him, this guy is not sure how to forge ahead. After a proposition from Craig Boner (Colin Mochrie) who has his own success story with a reality show, “Getting Sober with Craig Boner,” this individual decides it’s time to make a sequel to that cult hit. To see him attempt to reconnect with that cast is sometimes pitiful and strangely funny.

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TheNFB at Victoria Film Festival 2024 News

In what’s special about this year’s spotlight on TheNFB’s programming is that they are staying current on what’s important that locals should really know about this province and Canada’s future.

National Film Board of Canada TheNFB LogoFebruary 2 to 11, 2024
Victoria, British Columbia
Various Venues

The 30th edition of the Victoria Film Festival (VFF) will soon be here, and this year, the National Film Board of Canada (TheNFB) have four works being presented. Two are documentaries, and the other are shorts to be offered in their respective programs.

The Girl with the Red Beret PosterI’m particularly interested in The Girl with the Red Beret by Janet Perlman. It was named Best International Short at the Los Angeles Animation Festival and may well check this out along with the mini documentary, Modern Goose. Both are part of the “Returning” program (ticket link), playing Feb 9, 2024. This showcase’s theme is simply about coming home, going back and unfinished business.

Details on the feature length works are as follows:

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A Nerd’s & Safety Guide to the 2022 Victoria Film Festival

All anyone can do is stay informed to what the policies are should they want to attend a film festivals in-person.

Victoria Film FestivalFilm festivals are continuing to be half in-person and half online as the world enters into year three of the pandemic. Sundance cancelled their physical edition and will be fully digital. It’s tough to say if smaller events in cities like Victoria, British Columbia will follow suit. As long as there’s no huge spike in hospitalizations, all anyone can do is stay informed to what the policies are should they want to attend in-person.

People going to a Victoria Film Festival screening must present their vaccination card and id. The check-in process should be even more machine-operated/contactless. When patrons are not eating or drinking, a mask must be always on. Additionally, there’s no advanced booking of seats for distancing between groups. This organisation isn’t likely to have enough volunteer power to enforce by doing high temperature checks, so everyone has to do their part to keep others safe. 

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[VFF ’16] A Highlight from the Indigenous Program – Stories from the Sierra Madre – A Preview

Time may be limited, and hopefully their ongoing efforts, with thanks to this film, will get the Sierra Madre’s established as a national park instead of land to be exploited.

Victoria Film FestivalStories from the Sierra Madre Promotional Still 2016
Sun, Feb 7, 6pm
The Vic Theatre
808 Douglas St,
Victoria, BC

Stories from the Sierra Madre is a cultural film that looks at how important the San Pedro River is to two local villages. This product is just one of five films made by Indigenous filmmakers. This special program within the Victoria Film Festival is back for a second year!

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