Dream Makers documentary headed into schools

When Tantoo Cardinal made her film debut in the early 1970s, acting was not a viable career for Aboriginal people. Today, working in film and television, both in front of and behind the camera, is a rewarding career choice for Aboriginal people and Cardinal, a Métis woman who was raised by her Cree grandmother in northeastern Alberta, thinks it's important for youngsters to know that.
"(The entertainment industry is) becoming more and more a part of society. We're getting to be more of an electronic, technological society and storytelling has gone that way and we're big on stories. It makes sense," said Tantoo Cardinal, who has enjoyed success as an actor in such well-known films as Dances With Wolves and Black Robe and guest appearances on television series like North of 60 and Street Legal.
She also hosted Dream Makers, a project two years in the making that was spearheaded by executive producer Robin Wortman. The film debuted on Bravo in December 2006 and played again on APTN in early 2007. Now, an extended version of Dream Makers will be making its way to Aboriginal classrooms across Canada this month.
Dream Makers, written and directed by Susan Cardinal, tells the story of Aboriginal people in the Canadian film industry, from replacing Mexicans and Italians in Indian roles to standing firm in their convictions to fight stereotypes.
For Tantoo Cardinal, Dream Makers is an important tool to let young Aboriginals know that they don't have to volunteer for eight years in theatre - like she did - before realizing that they can be paid to do what they love.
Getting Aboriginal youth interested in the film and movie industry is an important message Wortman hopes to get across through Dream Makers, but he also wants to spread the message that hard work and dedication can lead to success. "
We, as Aboriginal people, are capable of achieving anything if we set our minds to it. The influence that these actors have had on how people are portrayed on film and television has been significant," he said.
Wortman said it was his original intention to have Dream Makers play to school aged children 12 years and over. Funding from the Aboriginal Workforce Participation Initiative has paid for 600 DVDs to be distributed throughout Aboriginal junior and senior high schools and the re-editing of the project to allow for more than an hour of extra footage. The film, which tells the stories of 14 Aboriginal actors, was whittled down to 47 minutes for television broadcast. The educational DVD allows for the airing of additional footage of interviews that were shot with the actors and is close to two hours in length.
"The kids get to hear from the actors," said Wortman, noting that the actors, who serve as role models, have an influence on the children.
With the additional footage, teachers have flexibility in how they use the DVD in the classroom, either showing Dream Makers all the way through, as it appeared on television, or breaking it into chapters with the different actors, who talk about starting out, what it's like to be Aboriginal in the industry, the challenges they face, and what the future holds.
The footage gives "insights into an array of people," said Wortman.
Instructional material is yet to be developed, but a teacher's guide and student workbook are in the making. When they are completed, which Wortman anticipates will be in time for the 2008-2009 school year, they will be posted on the website www.dreammakers.tv where they can be downloaded.
There is talk of further distribution of Dream Makers to Non-native schools and to post-secondary institutions. In fact, said Wortman, the original interest to put Dream Makers into the classroom was voiced by post-secondary schools. The DVD will likely be sent to select post-secondary institutions that have Aboriginal programs once the main mailing is completed, Wortman said. And there is on going discussion with some organizations to have the DVD available to non-Native schools.

"Alberta schools have a diversity program for students and this documentary would fit well in that," Robin Wortman said.
Wortman noted that Alberta culture minister Hector Goudreau included Dream Makers in a package of four internationally acclaimed films that went out to members of the legislative assembly s at Christmas time.
Dream Makers was recently on the receiving end of some of that international acclamation when the film won the award for best documentary short at the annual American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco on Nov. 10.
"That's probably the most prestigious film festival in the world for Indigenous or Aboriginal film and it was wonderful," Wortman said. "The category we were in, the best documentary short, there were some tremendous, well-established award-winning directors in that category. To be quite honest, not to take away from the decision they made, we didn't think we would win."
To have the documentary available in the classroom is a powerful tool, said Wortman. "It carries a very positive message ... I don't think anybody has ever put this story together of the evolution and how Aboriginal people were portrayed through film and television and the crucial role that we played ourselves in changing that."
It encourages Aboriginal youth to consider an industry that has evolved through the hard work of their predecessors - and to acknowledge that hard work can accomplish anything, he said.
And if there were any doubt, Wortman points to Lorne Cardinal, who now portrays a police officer in the comedy Corner Gas.
"Lorne will tell you he got the part in Corner Gas because when the opportunity came, he was ready, he was prepared. He had worked hard. I think that's a good message for all of us, particularly our youth: don't let your Aboriginal-ness set you back. You work hard, you go out there."