Kennedy brings know-how to Manitoba’s film scene

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy has marked her calendar with plans to return to Manitoba when the whale watching is prime in Hudson’s Bay.

Kennedy, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and the youngest daughter of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy, was in Churchill on Saturday as part of a new film training program, where she ran a session on the craft and industry with community members.

“I don’t quite know if I have subject up here yet, but I am going to keep coming back,” she said on Sunday, asked whether she plans to make a film in Manitoba “I want to go back and see those whales, so, we’ll see.”

Film Training Manitoba, a sector council focused on workforce development, worked with Doc Manitoba, which represents professional filmmakers, to develop the new Northern and Diverse Creators Program.

The program is offering free film-making “master classes,” scheduled through the end of the month across the province, to promote diversity within Manitoba’s film industry.

Program attendees learn how to create film projects, build stories, obtain project funding and market their works. In Winnipeg, sessions are geared to Black, Ukrainian and LGBTTQ+ people.

Kennedy described her and her family’s experience in Churchill as “magical.”

“It was fantastic — the polar bears were incredible, and we also got to see the northern lights, we saw a lot of polar bears, which was a really special experience for all of us,” she said, later showing a Free Press reporter photographs she took of the bears up north.

“It was fantastic… the polar bears were incredible, and we also got to see the northern lights.”

“But I have to say, we went up there for the polar bears but I think we’d go back for the people, they were just so warm and friendly and inviting, and we got to know a number of them.”

At the Churchill session, she discussed the film-making industry with attendees.

“It’s an area and a region that’s quite storied and has a lot to share with us and the rest of the world, so I was encouraging of that,” said Kennedy.

She added that documentary crews frequently go to Churchill to shoot and there’s opportunity for locals to work on future productions with a bit of training.

“I do a lot of films, international films, and we always like to work with local crew, both because it’s more affordable, but also the local crew know how to navigate these worlds — and I like to try to support the local communities — so, the more people who are trained to help and support, offers some really great opportunities for people up there,” said Kennedy.

Adam Smoluk, executive director of Film Training Manitoba, said he’s had conversations with Churchill’s mayor about how to involve the community in productions being made there.

“He’s very much wanting to find ways that the town can be more connected,” said Smoluk.

Kennedy first came to Manitoba a number of years ago with Film Training Manitoba and enjoyed her experience.

“… it’s really an honour to bring those films and those stories to places that otherwise I wouldn’t necessarily visit.”

“I love my films and the work I do, and it’s really an honour to bring those films and those stories to places that otherwise I wouldn’t necessarily visit,” said Kennedy.

“It’s a fairly remote community that doesn’t necessarily have a lot of access to the film industry, and I think it’s important for people, who are living in conditions or situations where’s it’s harder to have that direct access, to make an effort and reach out, to learn from that community and share some of my own experiences.”

On Sunday, Kennedy was slated to have an informal conversation with a number of Ukrainian refugees who survived the Russian invasion, organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Manitoba chapter, on top of a scheduled program session.

Sessions have been held in Winnipeg, Brandon and Churchill, with further sessions scheduled in the city, Cranberry Portage, Flin Flon and The Pas this week.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca