Filmmaker and Crashed Ice racer Trevor Mack is seeking financial support to create his first professionally made short film that will be shot in the Chilcotin late this summer.
A member of the Tl’etinqox (Anaham) Band, Mack graduated from Columneetza in 2010 and at age 19 already has one award-winning film to his credit.
In the spring of 2011 Mack’s film Get Up, Move Up won the $5,000 first place prize in the Active Spirit, Active History video contest sponsored by the B.C. First Nations Health Council.
He plans on entering the contest again with another unrelated video.
Get Up, Move Up is about a young man who is glued to his couch and Xbox, but then he has a very “awakening” experience.
He realizes there is an actual world out there, with the potential for anything.
“So he does one thing. He simply gets up,” Mack says.
“He then experiences the world around him and realizes he can do something, and he feels a sense of belonging.”
In his new film which he is writing and directing called The Blanketing, Mack intends to feature Tsilhqot’in people speaking in their own language and showcasing the beautiful tradition of buckskin outfits.
“I am a proud Tsilhqot’in (Chilcotin) First Nation,” Mack says.
Mack took an interest in film at an early age and at 19 he already has nine years experience working with motion graphics, editing, videography and photography.
Last fall Mack was among 120 of 500 applicants selected to participate in the Motion Picture Arts Program at Capilano University where he plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
He is also part of a freelance video editing and motion graphics group named Viral Design that produces videos for some of the world’s biggest gaming equipment companies.
While in Vancouver he also tried out for and made the Red Bull Crashed Ice racing team two years in a row.
Crashed Ice is an extreme sport in which skaters dressed in protective hockey gear race each other on a down-hill ice course reaching 60 to 75 kilometres per hour.
Mack says he was overwhelmed to see 100,000 people turn out for the race. “My first thought was to not fall,” Mack says on his television interview about the sport that he did with fellow racer Robert Vos.
Mack says the film he is working to make this summer at Anaham is very close to his heart. He will employ local people and elders as some of the actors, and have them speak in their own Chilcotin language, a language that is slowly dying.
The story is set in the 1800s and involves a confrontation between a group of gold miners and the First Nations people, a confrontation that will change the course of their lives forever, says Mack, who doesn’t want to give away too much of the story line.
He says Anaham has experienced some difficult times over the years having experienced high alcohol use, high crime rates and gang problems.
“I really hope you can help me help a whole nation become proud of itself again,” Mack says. “I am asking if you could help support my short film that I am extremely passionate about, whether it be financially or simply word of mouth.
“I grew up on the Anaham reserve and I really want to make the Chlicotin people have something to be proud of. Especially the youth,” he continues. “I have an entire crew already selected and ready to go as soon as it is summer, and by July I hope to have 100 per cent of the funds for the film ready. Also, I plan to be very transparent to where your money has gone, so at any time you can e-mail me asking for a document and I will show you every single purchase with the donated money.”
Mack is currently also looking for a lead actor to play the main gold miner who would be between the ages of 40 and 55.
Mack says he also has a professional music studio from Los Angeles willing to compose the music in collaboration with the Chilcotin people if enough money is made.
As for distribution, he explains that he will be entering the film in film festivals around the world, and will be debuting the film in both Williams Lake and Vancouver either this fall or Spring 2012.
Mack also adds that any size of donation for the project is appreciated. Money raised will help to pay the actors, transport of the crew and equipment from Vancouver and cost of distributing the film.
If you want to reach Mack for more information, you can e-mail him at viral_tm22@yahoo.com or visit his website at www.trevormack.ca.