A film by

Heather Condo

Ongoing film projection
Without dialogue, 6min 33s
Caravansérail Artist-Run Center
Directions on Google Maps 
Anytime during the center’s opening hours

Opening party: 
Sunday, May 8, 2022
2pm - 5pm

Favoring a cinema-vérité approach, filmmaker Heather Condo documents in all simplicity the art of weaving baskets in black ash wood, a tradition passed down from generation to generation. Without voiceover or dialogue, the film focuses on the work of the director's husband, Stephen Jerome, on his talent and on the attention to detail associated with the manufacture of these baskets. The result: an experience that is both physical and spiritual. Stephen continues to create traditional baskets like those made in his community since time immemorial. The hours he spends alone in his studio making his unique works are a way for him to pay spiritual homage to his late father, who taught him everything.

Biographie

Heather Condo, Mi’gmaq from the community of Gesgapegiag, has always enjoyed basket weaving since childhood. Adopted, she grew up in Massachusetts, but returned to Gesgapegiag and her family in 2005. My Father's Tools is a film she had wanted to make for a long time about her husband's gift. Thanks to her son's encouragement and the support and mentorship of Wapikoni, she decided to produce this first work, which documents a unique aspect of her culture before it disappears. After having had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, My Father's Tools has continued to shine at numerous festivals: from Cannes to the Berlinale via the Seattle International Film Festival, imagineNATIVE, Regard, DOXA and more than 50 others.

Wapikoni mobile is an Indigenous non-profit and charitable organization founded in 2004. Its mission is to support and promote the expression and creative talents of First Peoples through short films, music and XR creative projects, serve their development through training, accompaniment and mentoring as well as distribute their works across Canada and around the world.
wapikoni.ca