UWinnipeg’s Dr. Ian Mauro, acclaimed filmmaker and Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, will screen his new short film on northern food security on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival. Click here to watch on YouTube.
Titled The Meechim Project, the film follows the story of Garden Hill First Nation and its journey to build a self-sustaining farm for a northern Manitoba community that is only accessible via air and ice roads. Northern communities in the provinces are often at a high risk of food insecurity – even more so than areas in the high Arctic – because of inaccessibility and a lack of subsidies. The Garden Hill farm was one project supported under the Government of Manitoba’s Northern Healthy Foods Initiative.
“Telling The Meechim Project story is very important for Indigenous communities in Manitoba, Canada and the world,” said Dr. Mauro. “It shows how ambitious, locally driven, and solution-oriented projects are entirely possible, and totally within the grasp of decision-makers and community groups. In a practical sense, the film shows a plan for how other areas might replicate on the success at Meechim, while also being beautiful and inspiring to watch.”
The film is a preview of a larger, feature-length film on northern food security by Dr. Mauro, and builds on themes he previously explored in his work as an expert panelist and co-author of the Council of Canadian Academies report Aboriginal Food Security in Northern Canada: An Assessment of the State of Knowledge.
The screening takes place at 4:00 p.m. at the Bandwidth Theatre (585 Ellice Avenue) and will be followed by a discussion with representatives from Garden Hill First Nation, Aki Energy and Four Arrows Regional Health Authority. Call (204) 471-0657 for tickets.
