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Read some great press on Wakan Tanka in the Driftwood!
Hear Margery Moore, President, I-SEA, express her heart felt message about why this film is so timely and important.
*Charitable receipts will be issued to any donation over $20!
The knowledge of our elders has a crucial though often overlooked roll to play in environmental conservation. Our elders are our witnesses to the great changes that have taken place on our planet, often over the course of a single lifetime. This untapped wealth of knowldge, wisdom, and experience can serve as an essential guide through the many challenges that our planet now faces.
The Institute for Sustainability Education & Action, (I-SEA),a charity based on Salt Spring
Island, BC, is spearheading an educational film project, titled Wakan Tanka (meaning in the
First Nation Lakota Sioux language Great Spirit), that brings a clear warning, but also a message of hope to youth on climate change.
The film subjects span culture and geography and include a "cast" of over a dozen elders and
experts from renowned environmentalist David Suzuki and famous naturalist and painter
Robert Bateman, to climatologist James Hansen, and Raffi Cavoukian, singer, author and
founder of The Centre for Child Honouring.
Interwoven with these elders interviews is the riveting fictional story of a child named Zak who has to navigate a
nightmarish cityscape alone, encountering systems decay and climate change scenarios,
until he crosses a bridge to a world of alternative energy systems, permaculture, and the vision
of a future filled with hope, abundance, and love from his elders. Zak's character symbolizes the human race; his return to his grandparent's house represents the journey humankind would have to make in order to rebuild a deeper connection with nature.
Zak's journey is shot like a music video in an edgy, experimental, "guerilla style" that's
going to captivate young audiences. But the biggest draw to youth will be the array of
famous bands who have volunteered their music, including Lamb, Michael Franti & Spearhead,
and Dehli 2 Dublin.
Our Goal
The film aims to bring people together from across generations, to help them emotionally connect to the impacts of climate change, and identify the skills necessary to meet the challenge head-on. This film is one way to start the process of healing and connect to the hearts of viewers, especially youth, with a message of hope and wisdom from their elders.
What's Next
The team has been working on this project tirelessly since February 2011. They have been
working mostly on spec, and have dug deep into their personal pockets to bring the vision
of this powerful film to life. The Wakan Tanka team is thrilled to have completed most
of the interviews with the elders and experts -- a two-week film shoot that took them
across North America, recording their incredible wisdom, warnings, and messages of hope.
The youth component of Wakan Tanka, which is the amazing fictional journey of Zak, is yet
to be shot. The shoot for this stage of the project is set to take place at the end of July.
Wakan Tanka will be released online for free in February 2012. With this incredible story and lineup of elders, experts, and musicians, we expect the film to go viral. The website will be an educational resource containing links to information on all of the participants, the supporting organizations, and production companies involved. There are also plans to create a set of courses and teaching materials targeted at edlers everywhere to help them tap into their own wisdon and engage youth.
The film will also be distributed to educational markets, at green festivals, and possibly through
television broadcast around the world after its release date. The donations that are received
by July 10th will be used for location shoots that will take place in inner city London; for
set design, lighting, camera, cast, and crew costs.
This Indiegogo campaign is specifically for the upcoming shoot, though any donations over and
above the $40,000 will be used towards editing, creating the soundtrack, developing the educational resources and website.
Any donation from as low as $10 will be deeply appreciated and useful to us!
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Our Team I-SEA, founded by executive producer Margery Moore, has commissioned and partnered with UK film company Substantial Films Ltd and Ramsay James who will direct the film. Substantial Film's tag line is to '"write, direct and produce films with genuine meaning." Film Participants
Elders and experts contributing to this chatibable project include: David Suzuki, James Hansen, Raffi Cavoukian, Robert Bateman, Guy Dauncy, Jim Hoggan, Dan Jason, Dr. Pakki Chipps, Bristol Foster, Samuel Bullock, Miles Richardson, Manley Little Brave, Makere Harawira, Hwiemtun, Cara Pike, Paul Dickinson, Chickadee, and Grandmother Agnes from the Thirteen Grandmothers.
The following musicians are volunteering their music and/or collaborating on this project: Lamb, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Adham Shaikh, Dehli 2 Dublin, The Wilderness of Manitoba, The Wayseer Manifesto, Kytami, Heather Noel, The Dub Pistols, Nova, and Trademark. Tim Cross (who was the Musical Director for Mike Oldfield) will be composing an original score. |
