ReFrame Film Festival/Cinema On The Bayou Film Festival 2019 - Innu Nikamu: Resist & Sing
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made this film out of passion for the festival it explores. While I don't consider myself a filmmaker, I have long wanted this unique and striking story to be widespread and leave an audiovisual heritage to my nation. So I worked hard and learned on the spot!
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Although the aboriginal issues has been raised in Canada for a few years, there are few films of this magnitude dealing with it that have been fully written, directed and produced by aboriginal people themselves. It therefore has an authentic and very personal look.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
While the film focuses a lot on very concrete and personal elements, I had the goal from the start that (almost) anyone on earth could understand the situations described in the film. That's why we decided in the editing process to "put everything in context". It's a kind of all-in-one experience. The entire template of the film is based on the journey from the personal themes to the more global ones. From the individual experiences and thoughts to the overall issues, reflections and accomplishments using widely recognizable footage and other more surprising.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The first draft was splitting the film into three distinct dimensions, all directly related to Innu Nikamu: the history of the festival, the work of the organisation team over an edition and the impact on the community. It's only after 3 years that the script has become much (much) more complex.
The element that completely redefined the storyline of the film was discovered during our pre-production interviews with the festival's founders. I didn't know how much the residential school present in the community had affected each of them. I had never realized the full impact of this school. I later realized that most of people my age didn't know that such an institution had been built in the community.
It wasn't possible to ignore the subject and it made our work exponentially harder. I absolutely didn't want my film to be seen as one about the residential school. More than that, I didn't want to give survivors the feeling of using their stories (even if it's mine too) for the sake of using it. Finally, despite the heavyness of many of the topics, I wanted to make a film that gives the audience a sense of lightness, inclusion and pride.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I was always at the side of my editor and we witnessed the birth of the film and often praised ourselves on how we were geniuses [laugh] but I was highly worried about a potential backlash. I knew my movie was... different. In what I know it doesn't look like anything else. It was an experiment.
Maybe people are indulgent because this is my very first movie (and very first audiovisual "thing") and about sensitive topics, but I honestly only received highly positive feedback. Some people in the industry questioned some particularities of the editing but then praised the film.
I have been lucky to be able to work with the talented people of my team.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I was particularly anxious to the idea that my people don't like the film, because In a way I did it for them. I didn't know what to expect and was making catastrophic scenarios. I think that was my biggest surprise. Many of them told me that they saw the film as a souvenir album despite the presence of all the sensitive and difficult images. It also helped me realize that the residential school story was as much mine. Each of us, even today, lives the consequences every day of our lives.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope this story is watched and heard by as many people as possible.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We'd be happy to connect with anyone with whom the film resonates, including bloggers, journalists, influencers, or film curators who would share it with their audience.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
My ultimate goal in life is to change the society we live in. I undertake all my projects with this in mind. If I fail to reach my goal, at least I would have done my best and had some impact.
I would like Innu Nikamu to demonstrate to non-indigenous the resilience of our people. To all the Aboriginals and especially the less strong ones, I would like to show them that we are capable of anything and have the power to change the world. And to anyone, I want to bring people together.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What will we leave to our children?
Would you like to add anything else?
I'm passionate about my fight, arts and culture and am open to discuss with you and to invest myself in constructive projects!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm resting from the five years Innu Nikamu asked me so I'm quite low-profile at the moment. However, I have several projects in my mind and on paper as a second documentary film, a fiction movie and a TV series. I also want to reinvest myself in the field of indigenous events such as the Innu Nikamu festival.
Interview: January 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Innu Nikamu: Resist & Sing
The Innu Nikamu Native Music Festival through the eyes of its founders and musicians. A story of healing, a duty of remembrance.
Length: 1:32:00
Director: Kevin Bacon Hervieux
Producer: Terre Innue
Writer: Kevin Bacon Hervieux
About the writer, director and producer:
After studying graphic arts, KEVIN BACON HERVIEUX joined the Innu Nikamu festival team in 2012. In 2014, at the age of 22, he won a competition organized by APTN and Bell Media, receiving the Documentary Development Grant for the Aboriginal youth with which he created this feature film.
TERRE INNUE is a documentary, fiction and digital media production company located in Maliotenam, an Innu community in northern Quebec. Since its founding in 2010, Terre Innue's goals have been to promote and foster the development of Indigenous cinema and media production, promote Aboriginal languages and cultures, and foster learning and professional video training with First Nations.
Key cast: Florent Vollant (interviewee/performer), Simple Plan (performer), Danielle Descent (interviewee), Jean-Luc Vollant (interviewee), Sylvain Vollant (interviewee), Kim Fontaine (interviewee), Philippe Mckenzie (interviewee), Shauit (interviewee/performer), Natasha Kanapé Fontaine (interviewee/performer)
Looking for: film festival directors, journalists
Facebook: Innu Nikamu film
Instagram: @kev_bacher
Website: https://www.terreinnue.com/innu-nikamu/
Funders: Kickstarter, Canada Media Fund, APTN, Canal D (Bell Media), Institut Tshakapesh, ITUM, CKAU, SAA Québec
Made in association with: Canal D (Bell Media) and APTN
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
ReFrame Film Festival/Peterborough - January 25, 2018; Cinema On The Bayou Film Festival/Lafayette - January 26, 2018