Applause is rising across North America for Yukon filmmakers as they continue to snatch up award and nominations.
The Chicago Film Festival awarded Out in the Cold, Arthur (Tookie) Mercredi’s project, a gold plaque.
The Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British Columbia has honoured Werner Walcher with two of their LEO award nominations.
His River of Life documentary follows breast cancer survivors as they paddle the rigorous Yukon River Quest.
The LEO winners will be announced May 23 and 24 in Vancouver.
The live-action animation series Anash and the legacy of the Sun-Rock received seven nominations from the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association.
The series was produced, written and directed by Teslin resident Carol Geddes with Edmonton’s Josh Miller as the executive producer.
“To have the opportunity to tell stories set in the North, and to know that these stories join the body of works that help define our northern cultural identity, is to be in a uniquely privileged position,” said Geddes.
“The fact that this a First Nation’s story makes it particularly satisfying, since these stories have not been widely known. It’s pleasing to think that, through the creation and wide distribution of such stories, we might gain a stronger understanding of each other’s histories.”
Nine short-films made by Yukoners also get a national showcase this month.
A Picturing the Yukon DVD was packaged with the latest issue of Vancouver-based literary journal, Geist.
Picturing the Yukon, supported by the Yukon Film Society, toured BC and Alberta in April
The Film & Sound Commission, which assists the local film industry and aims to grow it, supported these three projects through the several funds. (JW)