Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Killer Whale and Crocodile.
• What is your film background?
I went to Film School in Toronto; worked in educational, then social issue documentaries for The Knowledge Network, The National Film Board of Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation etc. I won a million dollar competition to produce a feature drama, Lies Like Truth. I'm also a still photographer involved in some art and nature projects.
• How did you discover this story?
The initial concept was brought to me to direct and to shoot by producer Arthur Holbrook. The first idea was to center the film around Elaine (owner of the Alcheringa Gallery), who has been promoting Papua New Guinea carving internationally for well over a decade.
I suggested that we bring Coast Salish Master Carver John Marston with us to Papua New Guinea. We could then see life on the Sepik River through fresh eyes -- the eyes and aesthetic of a young North American urban Native carver. So the concept evolved to cultures and carving traditions meeting in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and the rainforests of the Canadian Pacific Coast.
• Will you be attending the Festival of Native Film & Culture?
Yes. I am very much looking forward to attending the festival. I would also like to connect with the Cahuilla Bands and perhaps visit some of their territories. I've booked some extra time to hike in Joshua Tree National Park. It will be a great break from the Pacific Northwest winter storms!
• Why is it important that your film be included in this festival?
I think Killer Whale and Crocodile speaks to the power of art to connect different cultures on a deep level. The film is about carving, about wood and about water. The water imagery is ever-present, and to bring that powerful element to the desert I think is very compelling.
• What did you learn from your subjects?
I learned a lot about carving -- how physical it is, labour intensive. Carvers see the finished piece in a block of wood before they even start carving! They can see and plan in three dimensions. Film is two-dimensional; we have many tricks to give the viewer the impression of three dimensions, but on a screen there is no depth.
Traveling to Papua New Guinea gave me the opportunity to see a vibrant and strong culture that has never stopped carving. They didn't have the forced residential school experience like in North America; they weren't pushed onto postage-stamp size reserves. On the other hand, it is all very fragile. The global lust for resources and cheap labor is having an effect.
• What future projects do you have planned?
I am developing a feature film based on the novel Sointula, a road movie and a buddy movie that takes place in a kayak up the coast of Vancouver Island. It is about family disintegration and reintegration.
Also a documentary, Root of Transformation, about a powerful substance from Gabon, West Africa, that could be instrumental in providing recovery from dependence to chemical substances such as opiates and alcohol.
Also, a short film that will hopefully motivate elders to share their love of the natural world with children.
Check out the Killer Whale and Crocodile web site.