In Conversation With
Creators will discuss their work and the themes that are prevalent in their storytelling: community, home, culture, language and identity. The conversations will focus on their creative process: vision, tenacity, approach and challenges. RIFFA may also showcase selected works by these creators.
WILDHOOD:
WILDHOOD is a Canadian Academy Award-nominated film. RIFFA is excited to showcase this fantastic Canadian story to Saskatchewan viewers, and it will be a Saskatchewan premier for WILDHOOD.
Event Date Aug 10, 2022 6:30 PM
DATE: August 10, 2022
START TIME: 6.30 PM
TICKETS: Free
LOCATION: RAINBOW CINEMA, Golden Mile Shopping Center, 3806 Albert St, Regina, SK S4S 3R2
In Conversation With
Interview with Phillip Forest Lewitski and Joshua Odjick will be available to watch on August 9 – 13th, 2022 (On Demand) at Festivals Online Platform.
Host: Janine Windolph
Janine Windolph (Atikamekw/Woodland Cree) is the Acting Director of Indigenous Arts at Banff Centre Arts and Creativity. Windolph is known as an Interdisciplinary artist: filmmaker educator, curator, and storyteller. She has a Master of Fine Arts Interdisciplinary in Indigenous Fine Arts and Media Production.
Filmography includes Stories Are In Our Bones (Director/Writer) Lifegivers: Honoring Our Elders and Children (Director/Writer), The Land of Rock and Gold (Director/Writer/Producer), Ayapiyâhk ôma niyanân “Only us, we are here at home” (Production Mentor/Narrator), From Up North (Producer), The Beacon Project: Stories of Qu’Appelle Valley (Production Support/Storyteller /Producer), and RIIS from Amnesia: Recovering the Lost Legacies (Co-Director and Co-Producer).
Speaker: Phillip Forest Lewitski
Phillip Forest Lewitski is an actor to watch, best known for his leading role in the Hulu original series “Utopia Falls.”
Currently, Lewitski is in production in the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks executive produced Apple TV+ series “Masters of the Air,” with Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan. Based on a true story, he portrays ‘Lt. Francis Harper.’ Five miles above the earth and deep behind enemy lines, eleven men inside a bomber known as the "Flying Fortress'' fight for their lives against swarms of enemy German fighters. As American bombers are picked off one by one, their mission becomes very clear: survive.
Lewitski can also be seen starring as the lead role of ‘Link’ in the independent film “Wildhood,” which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Filmed in both English and Mi'kmaw, the story follows ‘Link’ and his half-brother after they flee their abusive father and embark on a journey to find his Mi'kmaw mother after he finds out she is still alive. On the journey, ‘Link’ finds community, identity, and love in the land where he belongs. For his work in “Wildhood,” Lewitski received the TIFF Rising Stars award, as well as Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film at the Canadian Screen Awards. The film will exclusively stream on Hulu on June 24.
Speaker: Joshua Odjick
Indigenous rising star, Joshua Odjick, hails from Ottawa, Ontario and was raised by a single mother in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, a First Nation community located in Maniwaki, Quebec. He is of Algonquin-Anishinabe and Cree heritage, belongs to the Deer clan and recognized in ceremony as ‘Nabigabow’ (he who replaces the first).
He was recently awarded both a Canadian Screen Award (2022) and Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award (2022) for Best Supporting Actor for the multi-award winning feature film Wildhood.
Joshua is described as the “scene-stealing Joshua Odjick” (Salon, Gary M. Kramer) in Wildhood, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and has gone on to screen at many festivals worldwide. Wildhood (filmed in both English and Mi’kmaq), follows the journey of ‘Link’ (Phillip Lewitski) as he tries to locate his mother who abandoned him when he was young. At the start of his travels, ‘Link’ meets pow wow dancer ‘Pasmay’ (Joshua Odjick) who joins him on his journey of identity, community and love in the land where he belongs.