Writing the Land

20077 min 46 secFilm: Documentary

G

Direction: Kevin Lee Burton

Production: Selwyn JacobRina Fraticelli

Script: Kevin Lee Burton

The Musqueam people have lived for thousands of years in and around what is now the city of Vancouver. (The word Musqueam is an anglicized term describing 'where the Muxqui [river grass] grows.') Director Kevin Lee Burton's new film Writing the Land meticulously combines film language with Hunkamenum words to recreate Musqueam elder Larry Grant's experience of rediscovering his language and cultural traditions.

Fluid roaming camera movement captures the ever-changing nature of a modern city - the glass and steel towers cut against the sky, grass, trees and a sudden flash of birds in flight. In this mutable, multifaceted environment, the enduring power of language to shape perception and create memory is etched onto the wind and water. In Larry Grant's own words, 'I am from Musqueam...We have been here forever.'

Subject categories


  • Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis) > Cultural IdentityEducationLegends and LiteraturePortraits
  • Literature and Language - Canada > Indigenous WritersLanguage Issues
  • Indigenous Studies > History/PoliticsIdentity/SocietyIssues and Contemporary Challenges
  • Geography > Territory: IndigenousTerritory: Urban
  • Indigenous Governance General (Modern, Contemporary) > British Columbia
  • Roles & Relationships > Elders
  • Indigenous Language > Halq'eméylem (Stó:lo, Musqueam, Katzie,Tsawassen, Nanoose, Nanaimo, Chemainus, Cowichan, and Malahat) Language Preservation & RevitalizationLanguage Recordings
  • Indigenous Peoples: Canada > Musqueam

Credits


writer
Kevin Lee Burton
director
Kevin Lee Burton
producer
Selwyn Jacob
cinematographer
Helen Haig-Brown
editor
Helen Haig-Brown
Eliot Piltz
sound design
Tony Papa
sound supervision
Tony Papa
online editor
Eliot Piltz
colourist
Eliot Piltz
re-recording mixer
Jeff Yellen
editing consultant
Tony Papa
post-production services
Avanti Pictures
production coordinator
Jennifer Roworth
technical coordinator
Wes Machnikowski
production supervisor
Kathryn Lynch
marketing manager
Kay Leung
program administrator
Bruce Hagerman
executive producer
Rina Fraticelli

Awards


  • Best Manitoban FilmAboriginal Film and Video Festival
  • Gerry Brunet Memorial Award, ex-aequo with "Hirsute" by AJ BondOut on Screen - Queer Film & Video Festival