Film-maker driven by storytelling passion

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It was back in 1991 when Loretta Todd emerged on the scene with her first documentary The Learning Path, a film that looked at three First Nation women's experiences in the education system. That was more than seven years ago, and today Todd, a Metis originally from Edmonton, is recognized as one of Canada's foremost documentary film-makers.

Todd's interest in film-making began like many of her colleagues, driven by a passion for storytelling and the need to articulate the Native experience. After spending a few years working in Vancouver with various Native organizations, Todd enrolled in the Film Studies Program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. As a child she was intrigued by the world of film, she said, and going to film school gave her a solid foundation by providing her with the tools of the trade, a place where she studied the nuances of experimental film, and, more importantly, learned the craft of film-making.

"It was important for me to find a place where I could extend my involvement with the Native community but through a more creative expression. Also, I had been working in British Columbia for awhile and I had been working with a very strong sense of protocol, so I was aware of working in someone else's territory. It seemed that film-making was a way in which I could have a voice, and at the same time remain behind the scenes. It was also something I felt I had a gift for," she said.

"I was a kid who watched all the old movies, and I was very moved by the images, and so it was something I had wanted to explore. I was also very interested in the craft of film-making. It was important for me to know the technical side of film, that's why I went to film school."

After completing a three-year program, Todd went into Native communities and applied her craft by making a series of short videos ranging in subject matter from looking at the history of traditional sports to stories on HIV/AIDS and solvent abuse.

In between making her own films, Todd continued to work in the industry by doing contract work for the CBC series, The Four Directions, as well as teaching film-making at Capilano College and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design.

Receiving a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship in 1996, Todd went on to spend six months at New York University's prestigious film school where she lectured at various educational facilities around New York City, and where she was able to conduct research for upcoming projects.

The idea for Todd's recent film, It's A Good Day: Remembering Chief Dan George, had been in the back of her mind for some time before it actually became a reality. It wasn't until 1997, when the CBC announced the creation of their Life and Times series, that she found the right vehicle for the film, and Todd approached Chief Dan George's family regarding making a documentary about their father.

It's A Good Day: Remembering Chief Dan George will air Feb.1 on CBC Television and has already been screened at various film festivals in Canada and the United States.

Chief Dan George has been in the hearts and minds of both Native and non-Native people for decades. Todd's film intertwines archival news footage, home movies and interviews with the George family to reveal the essence of a simple but extraordinary individual.

"I think he tried to do his best and he tried to do service to the Native community. He was like every other man: he had his problems and he had his strengths and his weaknesses, but I don't think he ever tried to claim more than he was," Todd said. "He came from that old tradition where you really tried to live your life for the good of your people and family. The thing that's really important is that he had a real kindness. I think that comes through in the film. It's such an intricate part of the Native community, and maybe through colonialism and residential school it kind of gets left out, but you could really see, that in his work and his acting, this great sense f kindnes.

"He didn't hold anything back. He wasn't afraid to say 'you committed genocide.' He was incredibly honest and, at the same time, there was this deep humanity that touched everyone around him. The point I try and get across in some small way in all my work is that the non-Native community doesn't have to become Native in order to honor a teaching."

In talking about the future of Native film-making, Todd believes that developing technical infrastructures and capacity building are the key components to empowerment.

"There's cinema and there's communication. Our communities still need to develop their own telecommunication systems and that encompasses many things: education, public service, journalism and entertainment should all be part of a telecommunication package. As well as having solid technical people in the communities on a grassroots level. I think that kind of infrastructure needs to be integrated in the overall governance of our communities.

"Then there's the whole issue of independent Native producers and their role in respect to, not only the Native community, but to the mainstream broadcasters. It would have been nice if the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Affairs had said 'telecommunications is an Aboriginal right' in the same way that the Maori used the Treaty of Watangi to guarantee their right to language and culture. The Maoris were able to negotiate a sizeable amount of money to run their own television channel. If we could achieve something similar, that would enable a lot more risk-taking as far as storytelling goes, both in content and style. That's what I would like to see."

Todd says she likes to experiment with storytelling and she is interested in exploring beyond the traditional approach to documentary film-making. Even though she has made her mark in the realm of documentaries, Todd hopes to direct a feature film in the near future.

"It's important to be able to comment in different ways. The story still needs to be accesible and be abl to reach a broad audience, but at the same time, I try to find a way that is more an extension of how I see the world," she said.