Locally filmed Wildhood finally finds its way to a cinematic opening

The story of a rebellious teenager who sets off on a Two-Spirit odyssey has earned several accomplishments ahead of its March 11 debut in cinemas across Canada

CITYnews halifax \ Steve Gow

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A local feature film that has been making waves on the festival circuit is about to finally be released into Canadian movie theatres.

Opening locally at Park Lane Cineplex Cinemas on March 11, Wildhood has amassed an impressive array of accolades — such as six Canadian Screen Awards, including one for best film — since it was the opening night gala at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival last September.

“I really think that there’s such a willingness to engage with Indigenous stories right now and to support Indigenous films and filmmakers,” explains the film’s producer, Gharrett Patrick Paon about why Wildhood has resonated with audiences.

The Halifax actor-turned-producer has been involved with Wildhood since its early beginnings as a rough script by Two-Spirit Mi’kmaw writer and director Bretten Hannam. Close associates during Paon’s earlier days as an actor in such projects as hit Netflix series The Killing, the pair’s history stretches even farther back when the two were both teenagers.

“Having known Brett for that long and having worked with them on other projects,” adds Paon, “I just was so ready to work with them again in this kind of new capacity.”

Inspired by Hannam’s own experiences — in addition to others he knew in the Mi’kmaw community — the film follows the emotional story of a teenager named Link (played by Phillip Lewitski) who escapes along with a younger half-sibling (Avery Winters-Anthony) from an abusive home life and sets out on a journey to find their birth mother.

Along the way, the runaway duo connect with a Two-Spirit Mi’kmaw teenaged powwow dancer named Pasmay (Joshua Odjick) who helps Link rediscover his Indigenous roots and discover who he really is.

“I think the greatest films are the ones that focus specifically on a character or a community or something just extremely specific, but that also have these themes that transcend the communities and cultures that it represents,” says Paon. “I think everyone knows what it feels like to not entirely know what your place is and who your community is — everyone is on their own individual journeys to try and find that for themselves.”

The film has certainly connected with Paon. Although the Halifax native doesn’t have Indigenous roots, he instantly identified with the movie’s themes of connection.  After all, Paon admits he never knew his father and could connect with the main protagonist’s quest to discover their birth mother.

“It’s not exactly the same but definitely close enough so that I could really understand the emotional journey that Link was going through,” recalls Paon. “I spent my childhood falling asleep imagining I was going on a similar adventure like this to try and find who my father was, and so through this script I was able to take the journey finally.”

Paon adds that sentiment has not been uncommon among filmgoers. Even audience members who may be non-Indigenous or have not been alienated from their parents are connecting with Wildhood on a different level.

In fact, perhaps the most powerful aspect of Hannam’s film is its ability to find common ground in all of us — even for those who might find the concept of Two-Spirit identity obscure.

“That was the most important thing to be honest,” says Paon about the film’s intent to convey a person who identifies as having both masculine and feminine spirits. “Not hitting the audience over the head about what that means, I think is what makes the film cinema and not just a piece of content.”

That said, Paon insisted it was important to fully involve the Two-Spirit community and to make space for the nuance and understanding of distinct identities.

“When I started to learn about what it meant to be a Two-Spirit person from Brett, my goal was just to support them in that journey as much as possible,” says Paon. “So when we got together and figured out what the strategy of getting this film from page to screen would be, part of it for us was us first looking within the Mi’kmaw community for Two-Spirit people.”

As a result, the filmmakers produced a short version of the film in order to accurately cast its characters and to seek creative input from the Mi’kmaw Two-Spirit community.

Titled Wildfire, the short film would go on to earn the 2020 Screen Nova Scotia award as best short film and quickly became an eye-catching calling card in order to obtain the financing to create the feature film version that would eventually see its way into mainstream theatres.

“There was so much movement within the Canadian funding system to support an Indigenous film of this kind of nature,” adds Paon about the filmmaking journey. “And so I felt inherently drawn to it.”

For more information on Wildhood, visit the film’s website.