Filmmaker's latest work premieres at Sundance

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Saskatchewan filmmaker Dennis Jackson has added yet another honor to his long list of accomplishments in the business.

Jackson's latest film, "Christmas at Wapos Bay," had its world premier in January at the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City Utah.

The claymation film - produced in two versions, one English and one Cree - tells the story of three Aboriginal children who go to spend their Christmas holidays with their grandfather on his trapline in northern Saskatchewan.

"And he's teaching them his way of life. There aren't enough animals to trap this year because of a previous forest fire, so the children, upon hearing this, they hear that their Christmas holidays would have to be cut short. So they take it upon themselves to go out and try to hunt and gather as much food as they can, thinking that they themselves are the great hunters and trappers because their grandfather does it. And that's where they get into a little bit of trouble," Jackson said. "In the end, their hearts were in the right place, but they still have a lot more to learn. That's basically the story."

"It was a great honor to be at Sundance," Jackson said, adding that, in addition to meeting festival founder Robert Redford, he also had a chance to see a number of other films, including Aboriginal works from New Zealand and other parts of Canada.

It was also an opportunity to finally see the finished product of his own film on the screen. Although "Christmas at Wapos Bay" was broadcast on the Aboriginal People's Television Network (APTN) this past Christmas, the show wasn't quite complete, as some of the computer effects took longer than anticipated. In fact, Jackson said, the film wasn't completely finished until two days before the Sundance Festival started.

"So the first screening at Sundance, that was the first time I saw it complete."

The grandfather character in "Christmas at Wapos Bay" has made a previous appearance in Jackson's work - in "Journey Through Fear," the six-minute film that earned him the Telefilm/APTN Award for best English-language Aboriginal television production in 1998.

In the new production, Jackson was able to expand on the character, and to take a look at his family as well. Now, he's hoping to expand on the characters even more, with plans to develop a claymation series featuring the characters back in their home community.

"Both productions took place on the grandfather's trap line. That's not where they live. They're from a small community. And hopefully, I want to explore that community in the north," he said.

Sharing stories set in the north, with Aboriginal characters from the north, is an important part of his work, explained Jackson, who has lived in Saskatoon for most of his life, but who still considers Sandy Bay home.

He chose to use claymation for the film to try to catch the attention of his intended audience - Aboriginal children - as they flip through the channels on the TV.

"So hopefully, next Christmas, Aboriginal children will be able to watch (Christmas at Wapos Bay) and just take in the story. Which is the main thrust of why our company does these kinds of shows," Jackson said. "Because it's basically about them. It's for them. And it's about their way of life, their community in the north of Saskatchewan."

While Jackson has only been in the industry for a few years - he was still studying film and video production at the University of Regina when he made "Journey Through Fear" - his accomplishments so far have been impressive. In addition to the award he received for that production, he also received a number of awards in 2000 for his work on "Heartbeat of the Earth", a 13- part series focusing on communities in northern Saskatchewan. And in 2001, his documentary "Open Fire" received the award for Best Educational Video at the 2001 Nextfest Digital Motion Picture Festival.