If you see the living dead wandering the streets of Fort Simpson this coming weekend, don't be alarmed. It's not the latest disaster to befall the NWT, it's just youth learning the ropes of film-making.
Carrying the spirit of Yellowknife's much-missed Dead North Film Festival, the weekend-long workshop put together by Road to Freedom productions aims to ignite a creative spark in remote Indigenous communities across Canada, be that by acting, filming, set design, makeup or special effects. The program is making its Northern debut in the Fort Simpson area and is open to youth across the region. The free workshop runs May 23 to 25 and is being sponsored by Paramount+.
"I grew up in the big city loving acting and film-making," said Road to Freedom owner Kyle Nobess. "It's been such a healing journey for me and such a fun way to live my life and my passions that it's become a mission of mine to share this knowledge and experience with youth living in First Nations communities.
"They just don't have access to the same training and support systems we have here in the big city."
Nobess said the plan was to spend the first evening getting everyone used to the acting process. Once participants get an idea of where they want to go with film-making, the plan is to shoot three separate short films showing a mock trailer for a zombie apocalypse movie.
Each team will film a short piece, up to three minutes long, showcasing what they learned. A drone shot of the cast alternatively running for their lives or chasing their next meal will cap off the performance. The staff of Road to Freedom will edit the footage overnight and splice together three films for a screening on Sunday.
"The youth will star and film their own movies," said Nobess. "Our program will give youth hands-on training to be able to create content instead of just consuming it."
On top of learning the basics of film, the three-day workshop will also coach attendees to set up and run their own social media accounts to put them on the path to becoming potential influencers. Nobess said several YouTube and TikTok gurus will be on hand to impart their viral secrets.
Horror films, and zombie movies in particular, are an excellent way to introduce youth to film-making, according to Nobess.
"It's the most involvement we can get from everybody," he said. "Some people don't want to be the main character SA国际影视传媒� they would rather not have lines. Well, let's put some zombie makeup on you and you can play a zombie. They love that idea. Some youth don't want to be in it, they want to be the makeup artists. That's perfect, because horror movies use lots of makeup and blood.
"We always add in a couple one-liners to keep that comedy aspect."
Email communications@liidliikue.com to sign up for the workshop.
