Calgary documentarian Chris Hsiung was tired of driving down the highway and always passing by the turnoff for the reserve. At one point, he was a software developer with an engineering degree but his curiousity about his neighbours led him to a new career path and new roads.
The question “what’s happening in my backyard?” dwelled on his thoughts, especially after he returned from a film project in Nepal.
“When I came back, I was like, ‘But what about Alberta?’ There's got to be stories here that we don't talk about and don't know about. That's when I was thinking that I don't know anything about Indigenous people in Alberta,” he explained.
“I was much more interested in what was happening in the world in terms of what is going on out there. What do we need to be paying attention to? What are some of the issues that are important for us to be thinking about? Engineering wasn't doing that for me but documentary film allows you to explore and enter into areas that you normally don't get to.”
Those areas that he soon started to explore included the physical lands of the Blackfoot people as well as the legal and spiritual realities of the treaties. Hsiung embarked on the creation of a documentary called Elder in the Making, which will be screened at the St. Albert Public Library this week.
The project involved Hsiung, a Chinese-Canadian newcomer, becoming friends with a Blackfoot man named Cowboy Smithx as they set off on a spiritual journey across traditional Blackfoot territory. The friendship is beautiful but it’s the path toward a greater mutual understanding and bond between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people that makes the documentary important. The way it encourages all of its viewers to do the same is what makes it vital.
In short, it won the Best Documentary at the Alberta Film and TV Awards for a very good reason.
“It's having that personal relationship with the history and with the Indigenous communities and people that are here today and right now. I think that by far was ... so enriching.”
He suggested that it’s films like this that can reach past the common barriers between cultures and work wonders for so many people who unwittingly have prejudices about future contact because of past experiences.
Hsiung said if it weren’t for this film, he might still be one of those with such unfounded prejudices.
“I just have so many positive experiences of people who are very thoughtful, people who are fighting for justice for their communities. Those kinds of things have been very inspiring and positive for me and so I have not looked back. I'm lucky to have met so many engaged Indigenous people from different communities.”
He said this work also gave him a “completely different relationship with the geography and the landscape of Alberta.” To be better in touch with the land, he continued, is another way of having a better relationship with the people who inhabit it.
Event host Celina Loyer describes Elder in the Making as the kind of video teachers should be showing in class, followed by healthy, constructive discussion.
“It's not a ‘Oh my god, we're all going to go out of there crying and guilty’ kind of movie. It's the kind of movie that gives you hope ... because you see where it's going. You see that there's a possibility for way more to be happening, and is happening,” she said.
Elder in the Making is rated PG-13. The screening will start at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10. Attendance is free but people are asked to pre-register either through sapl.ca or by visiting the main circulation desk as seating is limited. The event will include a Q&A with Hsiung. Loyer also noted there will be snacks and drinks available, plus some prizes for attendees.
