THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
A unique adventure in movie-making is expected to begin this year.

One film will be filmed four times simultaneously and four short movies in four different languages will result.

The film is based on Richard Van Camp's graphic novel Three Feathers.

"We are going to adapt the graphic novel and turn it into a little movie, and we're going to do it a little differently from any other movie that's ever been shot," said Van Camp, a well-known writer originally from Fort Smith now living in Edmonton.

"What we're going to do is we're going to shoot each scene in each of the four official languages of the South Slave. Each scene will be shot in Chipewyan, Slavey, Bush Cree and English."

Fort Smith filmmaker Carla Ulrich will direct the movie.

"I don't think (this has) ever been done before, but I can't be 100 per cent certain," said Ulrich, who is writing the script.

"It's definitely something that I think will pose a lot of challenges that we don't even really know of yet," she added.

Ulrich said the film will probably rely on some narration to help the actors with the various languages.

"We still want it to be a challenge," she said. "We still want it to be something that's really authentic, and that's why we'll have the dialogue with the actors on camera. But we also will rely on narration so it's not too heavy."

One of the characters is hearing impaired, so the filmmakers also need to find a young indigenous male between 18 and 21 who knows sign language.

Van Camp, who is the film's executive producer, said the first shooting will be in October. Three other shootings will take place at various times of year.

The film, which is expected to be less than 30 minutes, tells the story of three young men who committed crimes and are sent out on the land for nine months with elders to learn their culture and language, and about themselves.

Three Feathers was inspired by a real incident in Fort Smith about 20 years ago when three young men were sentenced to prison in the south for breaking into houses, including the Van Camp home.

"It struck me that I wanted to write a story about what would happen to three young men - one who's Cree, one who's Dene, one who's Tlicho - rather than sending them down for two years to Edmonton," he said.

"What if we sent them for nine months out on the land and trusted them with the right people to learn their language, to learn their culture?"

The South Slave Divisional Education Council (SSDEC) realized the action-filled graphic novel and its very strong cultural component would make a good movie, which was followed by the idea that it could be filmed in four languages.

"It certainly is unusual," said Brent Kaulback, assistant superindentant of SSDEC, adding he's heard of movies filmed in two languages, often French and English, at the same time.

"But never have I heard it done in aboriginal languages and certainly not in four different movies."

Kaulback is the producer of the film for the SSDEC, which hopes it will help promote aboriginal languages.

"Right now, I'm searching for the money part of it, trying to put all the financing together," he said.

"It's not going to be a cheap film, at all, particularly because of the four takes."

Kaulback estimated the film will cost close to $250,000 to produce.

The goal is to hold auditions in Fort Smith in September and begin filming in the fall.

Kaulback said the actors will have to learn lines in languages they do not speak.

"It's quite a challenge," he said.

"So we would be providing them with audio tapes of their lines so that they could practise them prior to coming on set."

There will also be language coaches on set.

The actor doing sign language will work with someone who knows American Sign Language.

There will be two scenes of large community gatherings, including at the boat launch as the characters return to Fort Smith by crossing the Slave River.

"It's going to be hard work, but it's going to be internationally important, I think," said Van Camp of the movie.

"For us to break trail with a movie that's shot in four official languages that shows a full nine months on the land in under 30 minutes is going to be huge for everybody."

It will be the first filming in Fort Smith of stories by Van Camp.

Some of his other stories, such as The Lesser Blessed and Mohawk Midnight Runners, were filmed elsewhere.

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