A short film made by a former Olds resident and his partner was one of the finalists in the annual Banff Mountain Film Festival.
Eyes of Society, made by Joe Crawford and Allison Smith, was shown twice during the 2017 edition of the festival which was held Oct. 28-Nov.5.
Crawford says more than 400 entries were received and Eyes of Society was among about 84 finalists. He says they didn't receive any awards for it, but got a chance to network with filmmakers from around the world.
Crawford, 28, and Smith live on the Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) on the northern B.C. coast. The film was made on and about the Haida Haanas, a preserve on the southern tip of the Haida Gwaii.
"It's a kind of reflective film where we followed a group of artists ñ both Haida and Canadian artists. They were on a two-week kayak expedition through Gwaii Haanas," Crawford says.
"Basically, it kind of looks at the role of an artist in society and kind of contrasts these different artists.
"It contrasts the way that they are inspired by nature and the role of an artist across cultures. The role of an artist in Haida society is different from in mainstream Canadian society."
Crawford says he and Smith got some positive responses to their film.
It's a departure from the regular fare at the festival, which often features outdoor adventure treks.
"There's a whole variety of creative people and people who do pretty insane expeditions," he says. "We watched a film where a couple of people went across Greenland kind of self-propelled."
By contrast, he says, in Eyes of Society, "I think we are kind of digging deep without being preachy. It makes people think about how they interact with natural spaces."
He notes one of the people in the film is April White, a prominent Haida artist.
"She talks about the importance of letting things happen, as opposed to kind of making experience happen when you're in natural spaces ñ like interactions with whales, bears -- not chasing those things, but kind of letting them come to you ñ which is a reflection of the Haida world view and how they see the living natural world," Crawford says. "They see themselves a part of that whole system."
Crawford has been in the filmmaking business on and off for about seven years.
"It contrasts the way that they are inspired by nature and the role of an artist across cultures."JOE CRAWFORDFILMMAKER, FORMER OLDS RESIDENT
