After attending Wild & Scenic Film Festival in January, I travelled to San Francisco, the city from my bucket list. Many wonderful things happened there, and one of them was meeting and filming my personal hero - a poet, a writer, a feminist, an LGBT activist and a philosopher Judy Grahn, for the "Moon Cycles" documentary. Dreams do come true!
DOP work
In November 2018 I travelled from wintery Moscow to summerish Lisbon to freezing Thunder Bay (Canada) in 36 hours, to finish the shoot we started in the summer for the Federal Government of Canada. That's how I found myself in the glorious -24C in a fly-in indigenous community of Neskantaga, working as a camerawoman. It was a tough shoot, but our wonderful hosts and numerous dogs on the rez made the experience worthwhile. The film on the wellbeing in Indigenous Communities is almost ready for distribution.
Past July I have been hired as a camera woman for a documentary on wellbeing - a joint effort of the Federal Government of Canada and First Nations. It is a pilot project implemented in remote fly-in only Indigenous communities in far Ontario North. It's goal is to test a new model for community development and to improve health and wellbeing of its members. Director PJ Marcellino (When they awake) set out to film the results of this program a year later.
It was an absolute privilege to visit Anishinaabe communities of Webequie and Marten Falls. It was also heartbreaking to learn that there are severe housing issues and an absence of drinking water. Amazingly, the hearts of the people we encountered there were full of kindness. Our small crew went to the Sweat Lodge Ceremonies and on a forest journey with the medicine woman Elizabeth Achneepineskum. In return we held a few film screenings and taught some youth the filmmaking process.
One day I was wondering around, filming b-roll and stumbled upon these three best friends. Few minutes later a powerful dust storm came out of nowhere. Everyone flee as I got to witness it's majestic force, barely holding my own ground. The skies lit up in the sunset glow, letting the armies of annoying horse flies go. A fresh reminder of our human fragility.