A Bit Of Recognition

Once in a while the universe gives you a little bump that lets you know you're headed in the right direction. The trick, don't drink the kool-aid.

I woke up to some great news on Wednesday of last week, the Thunder Bay docuseries (CRAVE TV) had received some industry recognition with three nominations at the 2024 Canadian Screen Award nominations.

This recognition is a wonderful acknowledgement of all of the hard work, dedication, and good heart and mind that went into the series from all whose hands shaped it. It’s really powerful to have worked with the team that I did. Our crew behind the cameras, inside the editing rooms, and at their desks worked hard to honour the story with care and compassion. Special mention to Jon Thompson, Leslie Lucas, Allison Brough, and Jonathan Ricuppero.

There’s a reason why so few enter the world of documentary in Canada - there’s little to no money in it, telling these stories takes time, and in a world where we are more fractured than ever as communities - the stakes are high when telling documentary stories and many production companies and broadcasters alike don’t look for the controversy or headache that good documentary often incites. Kudos to our partners at Canadaland, eOne, and Bell Media (Crave TV) for sticking with us. The story is a complex, nuanced, and challenging deep dive into how Canada’s colonial project has failed us all, how decades of racism and systemic inequities have shaped our communities, and most importantly, a devastating look at who pays the price for all of this, Indigenous Peoples.

2024 Best Direction, Factual Canadian Screen Awards Nomination

I know it’s not very “Native of me” to accept personal recognition but that’s what this industry is built of - personal ambition, imagination and creativity, and luck. A lot of fucking luck. My first foray into documentary filmmaking was the microbudget National Film Board documentary, #J11. It was shot on a few iPhones back in 2012. Making that film taught me that I loved documentary, that I was interested in the dark corners of life that few rarely take the time to look into, and that I was willing to fiercely fight for Indigenous Peoples by telling our stories.

Twelve years later, the fight is still squarely in front of us and it’s more important than ever to tell our stories to the world. To be recognized in BEST DIRECTION and BEST WRITING with my co-director Leslie Lucas and co-writer Michael Allcock, is an accomplishment I’m very proud of. It’s hard for me to say that, “I’m proud.”

Even typing it my impulse is to erase it and not accept the recognition.

But I’m not going to do that here. Not today.

Working on this series, telling this story in all of its moving parts and advances since 2018 has taken a lot from me. It has cost me a lot, shit, anyone that tells this story pays a price.

Today I’m standing in my power, in my worth, in my belief that documentary and the truth can make us better as people, as communities, and as a country and accepting personal recognition. I have much to learn but there is one thing you can be sure about, I’m a lifelong student of learning. I’m curious. I love discovery. I’m always looking to grow my skill set. These personal award nominations are a snapshot, they’re a tip of the hat to a moment in time when my team and my co-conspirators were excellent.

This moment is not a destination, it’s an accomplishment, one I hope to make again and again in my career.

Thanks for following along.

I appreciate you all.

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to give my utmost thanks for the generous contributions of the Indigenous community and all those who helped to tell this story in Thunder Bay. Your bravery, courage, and willingness to speak truth to power allowed us to tell this story. Thank you for trusting us.

Doing this kind of project takes you away from the people you love the most — to my daughters, Ella and Jane, you’ve paid the steepest price for me to have a shot at this career. My time away while working will always be my biggest regret. My only hope is that this work makes you proud enough to forgive me for the days and nights I wasn’t there. I love you, girls.

To my partner, Madeline. Your love and support allow me to dream and to inquire and to commit to doing hard things that demand time, and my attention. Your steady hand is the reason I can do this work. You are the caretaker of our love and occasionally of my lunches and coffee mug on my way out the door to work. Thank you. I love you.

To our team, thank you. I’d never been a part of helping to lead a project this big before but you made it rewarding and easy(ier). Thanks for coming to work everyday and challenging yourselves to technical, creative, and cinematic excellence, but also, for challenging yourselves as human beings — thank you for seeing the humanity in this story and for giving yourselves to it so completely.

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NOTES AND BITS AND BOBS

• Madeline and I had a baby in December 2023 and we’re now just coming up for air. Everyone is healthy and happy and adapting to our new little friend, Thomas Rose, very well. This Substack will return to fairly regular publishing from here on in.

• Joke Talk Yell Write. Podcast. Today. returns this week. I’m going to do my best to get it out every morning before you all wake up. It’s ambitious but so am I. In fact, this podcast will be available in video form too. Get the audio show wherever you get podcasts, the video podcast will be on Youtube.

• I’m returning to standup comedy. I’ve had some good sets recently and am pretty fired up to get the joke machine back on the tracks. I’m accepting limited bookings until the Fall of 2024. Go to my website to book today!