This text is part of the special section Indigenous Development
Make a film in just a month? Perhaps only the Wapikoni mobile can achieve such a feat. For two decades now, the organization founded by filmmaker Manon Barbeau has nurtured the perseverance of young Indigenous people and broadened their horizons by introducing them to the cinema profession… in fast motion!
Wapikoni mobile was created in 2004. Director and screenwriter Manon Barbeau was working on a project with young people from an Attikamek community in Wemotaci, when the death of a participant in the group, named Wapikoni, occurred. A tragic event which somewhat discouraged his companions from continuing the adventure started, but which pushed Mme Barbeau to create a broader collaboration with indigenous youth, using cinema as a vehicle.
“It was very much, at the beginning, focused on social intervention, because at the time, there were a lot of problematic situations with young people, a lot of suicides, difficulties of that magnitude. Young people sometimes had little to do in the communities, and few places to express themselves,” says Véronique Rankin, general director of the organization since October 2021, herself a member of the indigenous community of Pikogan, where Wapikoni began its activities.
Since then, Wapikoni mobile has structured its mandate around its stopovers, that is to say the stopping of its traveling studios in indigenous communities, following well-defined routes. Deployed in trailers, these studios are perfectly equipped and functional to create short films and musical recordings and stimulate creation. The Wapikoni now makes around a dozen stopovers per year, mainly concentrated in the summer period.
Honors and distinctions
When the Wapikoni team — five people per stopover, including mentor filmmakers and social workers — arrives in a community, a wonderful month of creation begins, during which particular care is taken to exchange with budding filmmakers and to the “evacuation” of their emotions.
“We are an open-door organization, so no need to register in advance,” notes Véronique Rankin. Sometimes people come in with ideas already in mind; other times, they just come to hang out, and ultimately decide to make a film [rires]. We previously focused a lot on indigenous youth, but over the past five or six years, we have seen a lot of adults and even elders interested in our activities. Elders who want to share their knowledge can suggest a film on hide tanning, for example. We accept everyone! »
The impressive volume of works generated by Wapikoni mobile amounts to approximately 50 to 70 short films per year. The multidisciplinary Attikamek artist Catherine Boivin notably presented Anotc ota ickwaparin akosiin, cooked up at Wapikoni, during a cinematographic event taking place in parallel with the Cannes Film Festival. Innu director Réal Junior Leblanc, who also benefited from the support of Wapikoni, was invited to the set of the film Will, by Denys Arcand, where he benefited from an observation internship. The singer Samian, the singer-songwriter Kanen and the writer Natasha Kanapé Fontaine also passed through Wapikoni. This collective has also collected more than 240 prizes and mentions in two decades.
“Personally, as an Aboriginal person, I became aware of the importance of the collection of films created over the years. More than 1,400 short films have been produced, 1,400 stories by and for Indigenous people, intended for their world. Initially, the goal was to provide a place for young people to assert themselves; 20 years later, we have a collection of 1,400 short films demonstrating this commitment from the creators of Wapikoni mobile. I haven’t done exhaustive research, but it’s one of the only collections of this scale in the world, of indigenous short films, in different indigenous languages, also available in French, English and sometimes Spanish. ‘Véronique Rankin is proud.
This is one of the riches that Wapikoni mobile wishes to celebrate for its 20th anniversary. An anniversary gathering, details of which will soon be revealed, will take place in the fall. We will recall the highlights and significant creations of “Wapi”, as indicated by Mme Rankin.
Social repercussions
In the eyes of Véronique Rankin, the social repercussions of mobile Wapikoni are undeniable. “Graduates” of this fast-track film school, like Réal Junior Leblanc, have already expressed how this forum for expression “without taboos and without limits” had given them a goal to cling to.
“Our one-month formula is thought out in terms of intervention. When a young person enters the trailer and starts a project, we absolutely want him to finish it. It’s important for young people in the communities to see that they are capable of accomplishing something from A to Z. In one month, it can have a big impact on someone’s life. Afterwards, young people who had never thought of making a film can tell themselves that they are capable of doing anything! [rires] »
In the future, Wapikoni mobile wishes to professionalize its approach and further propel the next generation of indigenous people into the development of the audiovisual sector, to compensate for the labor shortage, among other things. Access to communities that cannot be reached by road – such as in the Far North – must also be refined, mentions Véronique Rankin, welcoming in passing the involvement of indigenous communities in the Wapikoni mobile mission.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.