(MARCH 7TH, 2016): The award-winning short film Clouds of Autumn will released on YouTube on today at (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1s3P4iZQzY).
Set on the Tsilhqot’in plateau in the 1970s, Clouds of Autumn is the story of the innocent childhood of a brother and sister that is torn apart when she is forced to attend a residential school far from home. The short film explores the impact residential schools had on the relationships of First Nations people with themselves, their heritage, and nature itself.
The film, which won ‘Best Canadian Short Drama’ at the 2015 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and screened at other film festivals around the world, including Vancouver, Paris, and San Francisco.
“This journey has been absolutely life changing,” said the film’s director Trevor Mack, “I have wanted to tell this story for a long time, and I am humbled by the reception the film has received at festivals. With how crucial the internet has been to my development as a filmmaker, I am excited for this film to be as accessible as possible, and that’s why we chose to share this film online with the public.”
The film was also co-written and co-produced with Matthew Taylor Blais, a filmmaker from Kelowna, British Columbia. “Trevor and I were roommates at the time,” said Blais, “and our ideas for a film like this meshed so well that we decided to make it together.” Matthew’s unique perspective enhanced the form of the story.
The film was shot in the Tl’etinqox territory, with many non-actors from the community.
The story for Clouds of Autumn has deep personal connections with Mack’s upbringing, “My grandma had 13 children, and most of them were taken away to residential school. Most of my uncles and aunts are residential school survivors, and I wanted to explore the relationships they all had as children experiencing their siblings being taken away.”
The film’s executive producer was Jennifer Podemski, an award-winning producer and actress. “I want to thank Jennifer for her unwavering support and mentorship she has given me since the outset of the film,” said Mack.
Learn more: Clouds of Autumn Facebook page
Trevor Mack is a Tsilhqot’in Nation filmmaker from Williams Lake and the Tl’etinqox area in British Columbia. Raised by his single mother and family, his culture and upbringing provided a strong foundation for storytelling expressed through his current film work. Trevor debuted his first short film, The Blanketing, in 2013. His second short film, Clouds of Autumn, premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival followed by screenings at festivals such as the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival, 2015 Whistler Film Festival, and the 2015 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival where it won the best Canadian short drama award.
Matthew Taylor Blais is an experimental filmmaker currently based in Vancouver. His films are often about the people he loves and the places he is in, and most are available online. His latest works premiered in 2015 and have screened around the world. He currently has multiple projects in various stages of development.
