Local film maker inspired in Toronto

Myron Lameman fuses activism, filmmaking, comedy, and drama to raise awareness about the circumstances faced by his community.

“What I really hope to do is make Indigenous issues accessible,” he said. “There are themes that affect everyone.”

Lameman, who splits his time between Portland, Oregon, and his home community of Beaver Lake Cree Nation, has been making films for the last couple of years.

His most recent comedic short film, Blue in the Face, was screened at the 11th annual imagineNATIVE film festival in Toronto, Oct. 21 - 24.

Although comedy is not a genre he normally works in,
Lameman wanted to make light of the Hollywood blockbuster hits that include Indigenous characters such as Avatar and Twilight.

“I’m just kind of poking fun of the superficiality of our presence in mainstream Hollywood,” he said. “We’re never really brought to the forefront as the protagonist or as the hero.”

Lameman’s goal is to bring Indigenous protagonists to the mainstream. His next project is a dramatic series that would shine a light on the tar sands development that borders his community.

“Do I really think Canadian audiences are ready to see something like this? I’m not sure,” he laughed.
Lameman’s community has launched a law suit against the oil industry and the provincial and federal governments.

“Growing up in northern Alberta you see how things have changed over the past 15 years — as a kid growing up on the rez to now. The absolute massiveness of this project and how it’s affecting our way of life now and how we’re seeing all these negative affects but we’re not being heard,” he said.

The series called Mihko, which means blood or red in Cree, would highlight the changes seen on the landscape, but also the constant struggle between the community and the company.

“In the series the company’s corruption really shows. It’s about murder. It’s about betrayal. None of the wealth is distributed amongst the people.”

Lameman was able to run his idea by producers in the industry at imagineNATIVE since a component of the festival allows emerging filmmakers to pitch their ideas.
“I really feel no other outlet would have understood what I was trying to do. This is such an important outlet for emerging Indigenous talent.”

The imagineNATIVE festival features films created by Indigenous peoples around the globe. This year, 12 different countries were represented.

“Growing up in Beaver Lake I felt very isolated,” Lameman said. “To be able to see all the films from all over the world and just to see the parallels between them you don’t feel as alone. You don’t feel as isolated.”

Lameman’s film screened along side a Bolivian docu-drama that showed how tree cutting by a corporation was destroying an Indigenous community’s way of life.

“To find a place where you can meet like-minded, brilliant creative people who will give you feedback and really inspire you to become a better filmmaker is just amazing,” said Lameman.