As if star-man Wilfred Buck could get any cooler! (Congratulations, Wilfred: kimamihcihitinân. You fill us with pride!)
After a successful world launch in Copenhagen, Denmark (attended by Wilfred and his whole family), Lisa Jackson’s new documentary, named for Wilfred himself is finally beginning Canadian screenings this month. The Canadian premiere of WILFRED BUCK will be at Hot Docs (Toronto) at 8pm on Friday April 26 with a second screening on Saturday April 27 at 2:15pm.
The film gets an impressive description in Variety Magazine (“the premier source of entertainment news” since 1905):
the film is a hybrid doc that follows the extraordinary life story of the eponymous charismatic science facilitator, an expert in Indigenous lore about astronomy, who overcame a harrowing history of displacement, racism and addiction by reclaiming ancestral star knowledge and ceremony.
Filmmaker Lisa Jackson says “These words of Wilfred’s have been ringing in my ears these last weeks”:
“We have to go back to the teachings of our ancestors, and we have to understand what they mean. Not just verbally, but also inside our spirit. What that actually means. It gives you a sense of belonging, and once you have a sense of belonging, you know you’re part of something. And that part of something is your responsibility—not to try to destroy that. Our Elders tell us that all things are sacred, life is sacred.”
The film is based on Wilfred’s memoir, I Have Lived Four Lives. I don’t mean to brag, but he actually let me come and pick up my copy right from his house! Find purchasing details of the memoir, and of his other books at Wilfred’s website: https://acakwuskwun.com/.
((A special shout-out as well to Boyce Morin for his hours in the recording studio voicing the Cree. ))