In the year 2167, Migizikwe learns of a new threat to the sovereign Michi Saagiig Territory and an ancient tree offers protection.

Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Cara Mumford

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

“Red Card World: The Tree” is an introduction to the world I’m creating through my multi-platform story “The Red Card Project.” This world explores a time in the future, after the climate collapse in the 2060’s, when the Michi Saagiig Nishinaabeg govern a sovereign and sustainable nation in their traditional territory while much of the world crumbles around them. After 2070, survivors outside of the territory can apply to live and work on the territory under Indigenous governance; if they are accepted, they are given a Red Card. This particular film is set in the year 2167, when Migizikwe learns of a new threat to the sovereign Michi Saagiig Territory and an ancient tree offers protection.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

This film is part of an exciting and emerging film genre of Indigenous Futurisms, envisioning the future through an Indigenous lens. For me, as a Métis artist, incorporating Indigenous knowledge has allowed me to find hope in an otherwise bleak vision of the future.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

My films focus on issues at the intersection of feminism, Indigeneity and land sovereignty, often created collaboratively and told through the use of dance, poetry and music. This is my first filmic foray into Indigenous futurisms (I have published two short stories in the genre) but, to me, the imaginative possibilities of science fiction allow for a similarly poetic approach as dance when addressing social issues through film.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

I initially wrote a script for a 10-minute film introducing the audience more fully to the main character of Migizikwe (which translates to Eagle Woman). I was invited to pitch the concept at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival but lost out to Sonya Ballantyne’s film entitle “Eagle Girl.” (Sonya is an awesome Cree filmmaker and Indiginerd who was recently invited to speak at San Diego Comic Con.) I subsequently applied for the imagineNATIVE/ Charles Street Video residency to create a 5-minute, lower-budget version of the film, which turned into “Red Card World: The Tree.” I then workshopped the script with the cast, visiting each location with them prior to filming. Our most important location was the tree, which is over 500 years old and the oldest maple tree in this region. This tree was previously featured in my collaboration with Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar and storyteller Leanne Simpson on her music video “The Oldest Tree in the World,” a love song to this particular tree.

Alongside the development of this short film, I was also working with the National Film Board of Canada’s Digital Studio to develop an interactive website for the Red Card world. It was during this year of development that I realized I needed much more worldbuilding and community consultation with members of the four regional Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg First Nations before I could finalize an interactive website set in this world, especially since I am a guest to this territory.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Most of the feedback has been along the lines of “it’s so short,” which is feedback I like to get on a short film, especially when it’s part of a larger project, because it means people liked it enough to want more.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Not yet, but it hasn’t screened at many festivals where I’ve been present so that may still be in this film’s future.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

This film will hopefully help create an audience for the larger multi-platform story still to come. The more people this film can reach, the more likely that momentum can build for the full Red Card project.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Because this story is set on a territory that is not my own, I am currently in the process of consulting with local communities of the Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg and forming a steering committee to ensure that the worldbuilding and stories are in line with Michi Saagiig practices and protocols. At this stage, I need time and money to proceed with these consultations before advancing to the next stage, which will hopefully be a web series leading up to the formation of the Red Card world. Although I wouldn’t say no to interest from journalists to help disseminate the concept and begin discussions on the importance of Indigenous knowledge as we move forward into an insecure future.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

My hope is that this film, and the larger project, will encourage people to consider the future in a concrete way and realize that the relationship we have with the earth today will directly impact the future we create tomorrow; that Indigenous knowledge systems contain the information we need to live in sustainably on this earth in the future; and that the future begins now.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How do we ensure the health of the earth so it can sustain our descendants for the next seven generations and beyond?

Would you like to add anything else?

Look for my Indigenous Futurisms short stories: “The Whale Danced,” a near future prequel to the Red Card world published in Red Ink, and “The Ceremony,” a far future story published by Anomaly. The main character in “The Whale Danced” is the ancestor speaking to Migizikwe in “Red Card World: The Tree”. “The Ceremony” will be connected to “The Whale Danced” through its sequel, “The Initiation.” Coming Soon.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I am currently in post-production with Christine Friday (Migizikwe) on “Path Without End,” a 10-minute documentary dance film about her family’s survivance through residential school and their deep connection to their traditional family territory on Lake Temagami. This film is being developed through the National Screen Institute’s IndigiDocs program. I am also in post-production on “Ecstasy,” a 10-minute narrative dance film that is also proof of concept for a future feature film addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women through the relationship of sisters, the embodiment of spirit, and the healing power of dance. “Ecstasy” also features Christine Friday.

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

Red Card World: The Tree

In the year 2167, Migizikwe learns of a new threat to the sovereign Michi Saagiig Territory and an ancient tree offers protection.

Length: 5:00

Director: Cara Mumford

Producer: Cara Mumford

Writer: Cara Mumford

About the writer, director and producer:

CARA MUMFORD (Métis / Chippewa Cree) is a filmmaker, writer, and collaborative artist. Since becoming a filmmaker in 2006, Cara’s short films have screened regularly at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and throughout Canada, in addition to festivals in the United States, Finland, and Australia. She has received industry training through Telefilm Canada’s Featuring Aboriginal Stories Program (2010/11), Bell Media’s Diverse Screenwriters Program (2012), the imagineNATIVE Film Festival’s Story Lab (2014) and more. Cara’s work tends to focus on the connections between her identity as an Indigenous woman and living in balance with the land, often incorporating elements such as dance, dreams, and futurisms in her storytelling. She believes that the connection we have with the land today determines the future we have tomorrow.

Key cast: Christine Friday (Migizikwe), Emma Hyland (Emma)

Looking for: journalists

Facebook: December 6 film

Twitter: @caramumfordfilm

Instagram: @ecstasyfilm2017

Website: http://www.caramumford.com

Other: IMDB

Funders: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Charles Street Video

Made in association with: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Charles Street Video

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

ReFrame Film Festival/Peterborough, Ontario, Canada - January 26, 2019.