Screening Night Fort McPherson
At 5pm we go to set up for the screening (projector, sound, chairs and snacks-thanks to Tetlit Gwichin for butter tarts and carrot cake-YUM!), pick up Mary Jane and await the crowds. We met Lynn and Paul who run the church and they were very welcoming and helpful with keys and tables and chairs and ladders. Thanks so much for letting us use your space - The Christian Fellowship Church.
There is a lot going on in Fort McPherson tonight so we want to accomodate everyone’s schedule, so we have one screening at 7 , followed by a program of Old Crow shorts made by the youth and then at 8 we have another Mary Jane focused screening!
Mary Jane screens: Man Who Always Lives in the Bush , Caribou, Our Livelihood, Me and My Two Best Friends (Mary Jane plays a film made by her late grand daughter Brandie) and her latest doc Adhoh-Trahshii: Taditional Hide Tanning. We have dvd’s for sale, and all proceeds from the Sound We See and Old Crow Symphony go to the Brandie Vittrekwa fund that raises money for youth education in Old Crow.
Two of Mary Jane’s sisters, Dorothy (the film is dedicated to her ) and Lucy attend the screening! Dorothy stays for both viewings! AND both sisters gave thumbs up to Mary Jane with her story and edit, it can’t help but be nerve wracking to show a film to your sisters that you made for your sisters. We are SO thankful they could attend and so wonderful they enjoyed it.
One of the mentors, Lisa g, is whisked off to CBQM radio station (the best little radio station in the NWT) to announce the workshop! Thanks to Ruby and Joel for their welcome and interest. Lisa explains the workshops and invites all to attend. Chatting with Ruby, it is discovered that she wants to make a film in order to enter a film contest in NWT. YAHOO!
After the screening we meet Riley, a youth who thinks she may want to visit tomorrow from 6-9pm and try her hand at filmmaking.
We also meet Stanley Snowshoe a self taught filmmaker - he brought some digitized 16mm footage (that he created a documentary out of) with Mary Jane’s father, mother and brother in Fort McPherson! Wow! We got to see dog teams, and hunting and camp and lots of jigging and dancing. So amazing to see. Stanley may also pop by the workshop tomorrow.
We also met Louisa who hopes to bring her students by, and Mary Snowshoe (Stanley mother) who was so touched by Mary Jane’s hide tanning film that she talked about finally getting around to tanning a moose hides she has.
It was an emotional and exciting evening.
