Last night I was honoured to receive a Canadian Screen award for cinematography in a documentary program for my work on the NFB/EOne/APTN docudrama “We Were Children”. The awards took place at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Toronto.
We shot this film a couple of years ago in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a true story that is based upon the testimony of two survivors of the infamous resident school system that was spread all over Canada for many decades – up until the 1990’s. Below is the synopsis created by the National Film Board:
For over 130 years till 1996, more than 100,000 of Canada’s First Nations children were legally required to attend government-funded schools run by various Christian faiths. There were 80 of these ‘residential schools’ across the country. Most children were sent to faraway schools that separated them from their families and traditional land. These children endured brutality, physical hardship, mental degradation, and the complete erasure of their culture. The schools were part of a wider program of assimilation designed to integrate the native population into ‘Canadian society.’ These schools were established with the express purpose ‘To kill the Indian in the child.’ Told through their own voices, ‘We Were Children’ is the shocking true story of two such children: Glen Anaquod and Lyna Hart.
Jeremy and Dora
Jeremy with John Tory
Below is a gallery of behind the scenes photos I shot while we were making the film.
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