On Monday, September 23rd the Calgary International Film Festival hosted a red carpet event for the Alberta Spirit Shorts screening. The Alberta Spirit Shorts program celebrates Alberta filmmakers, many of whom were in attendance, along with family and friends, to celebrate this incredible selection of Alberta Films. The Calgary Guardian was able to catch up with a few artists before the screening.
First up was Nick Styles and Mitch Malyk, co-directors of A CALM AND HUMBLE MIND: THE AN CHHAY STORY. This film is a dive into the mind of An Chhay, a refugee displaced by the reign of terror brought by the Khmer Rouge.
The film was truly a Calgary affair. Directors Mitch and Nick originally met An Chhay, the subject of their film, on the set for a different film shot in Calgary about one year ago. “[An Chhay] was one of the cast and we spent about a month together on set, and during that time we got to know him and become friends with him, and he just kept telling us all this crazy stuff about his life and we thought it would be a really great story.”
Nigerian-born but Calgary-raised director gbohunmi was also in attendance, for his film ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN, about a criminal organization in disarray after an unknown presence threatens their existence. “I’ve never found a community that’s more supportive,” said gbohunmi about his experience of making his film here in Calgary, noting that he would love to remain in Calgary if opportunities in the film industry continue to grow.
Both the Alberta Spirit Shorts and its red carpet had a strong Indigenous component this year, including Celestine Twigg, based in Fort McLeod, and a member of the Kainai Blackfoot Nation. Her film POOS is an animated exploration of Blackfoot culture and language through the eyes of Thumper the cat. Twigg grew up a Blackfoot speaker and wanted to create a film that would be an asset to teachers of the language.
CAMPING, directed by Sasha Michaud, Alyssa Ashmore and Nicole Calfchild was represented on the red carpet by Sasha Michaud, a Calgary artist, and Nicole Calfchild, from Siksika Nation. A stop-motion short, CAMPING follows the story of Shawna, a young woman living in an urban encampment as she attempts to find housing. The script for the film was a collaboration among several individuals who had experience “sleeping rough”, and offers insight into the difficulties faced by people in these situations.
A FRIEND LIKE COYOTE, directed by C.H. Baradoy and Wendy Walker, was represented on the red carpet by C.H. Baradoy, who worked in collaboration with multi-disciplinary Métis artist Wendy Walker to bring the film to life. Walker also plays in the film as the Trickster spirit Coyote. The film is an adaptation of a 100 word story written by Shane Riczu, which won the 2021 NYC Midnight micro fiction challenge.
“There’s a component of this which is cross-cultural” says Baradoy, “one of the things I’ve really enjoyed about the experience of making a film with Wendy was having the chance to listen to her culture, to listen to her experience, and just gain so much knowledge from her. I think this film has really reflected the relationship that we should be having [with Indigenous culture in Alberta] which is listening and learning.”
The largest contingent on the red carpet came from the film LAST SUMMER, made in association with Tantoo Cardinal’s Tap Root Actors Academy, an acting and film making academy for Indigenous youth based in Kikino Métis Settlement. This film explores the emotional challenges many rural youth face when they pursue opportunities in the city. This film was awarded the Alberta Short Film Devon Bolton Memorial Prize. This was the second appearance of a Tap Root film at CIFF, and with this win of $1,000, plus a $10,000 Gift Card from Sunbelt Rentals towards future projects, audiences can expect more great films to come!
“CIFF is just a beautiful celebration,” said Brock Davis Mitchell, cinematographer and editor of the film. “Specifically for Tap Root Actors Academy, it’s a beautiful celebration of youth finding their voice, finding a way to celebrate each other, celebrate their community. To do that with the rest of the filmmakers in Calgary, and the people who are coming to visit the Calgary International Film Festival is extremely fulfilling for the youth involved.”
CIFF continues until Sept. 29th. More information here.
