Student’s short film delves into Indigenous heritage
Dad, by Faith Thompson, shown this summer at film festival in Ottawa
— Mount Royal University | Posted: September 25, 2023
Faith Thomason’s short film, Dad, began as an MRU class project.
Faith Thompson is a third year Métis student at Mount Royal University studying Anthropology and Indigenous Studies. Her short film, Dad, was shown this summer at the Asinabka Film & Arts Festival in Ottawa.
Through Indigenous courses at Mount Royal University, I have been able to explore and appreciate what it means to be Métis, learn about different Indigenous cultures around the world, and have been given some amazing opportunities.
In the winter 2023 semester I took a class with Dr. Travis Hay, PhD, Racism and Indigenous Perspectives in Canada. Our final assignment was a creative project. I decided to make a short film on my father. I was hesitant at first, not entirely sure how I would execute this project, or what the outcome would be. I never expected a class project to have such a significant impact on my future.
The film, titled Dad, is a deeper look into my Indigenous heritage and more specifically my father, Jeremy Thompson’s. He shared fascinating stories about our family; stories I had never heard before which gave me a new outlook on the path that has been paved for me. My father has done some incredible work in the Indigenous community and he has been one of my biggest inspirations and role models. From winning Métis Youth Role Model of the year as a teenager, to pursuing his dreams in Indigenous relations by creating his own company, Eagle Spirit. He is the best father I could ever ask for and I am so grateful for everything he has done for me.
After handing in my project, Dr. Hay gave me great feedback and encouraged me to enter it into film festivals. I submitted it to a few Indigenous film festivals, and I received the news in June that it had been accepted into the Asinabka Film & Arts Festival in Ottawa! Through the amazing support of sponsors I was able to visit Ottawa with my family in August to attend.
Watch Faith Thompson’s short film.
This was such an incredible opportunity and it meant so much to me that my hard work and dedication was being recognized and celebrated by those who attended the festival, as well as the other artists. I was in awe of the other film creators and their talents.
My favourite moment of the festival came after introducing my family in attendance – my mom Jennifer, my dad, my boyfriend Cole, my grandmother Wendy and my grandfather Walter. One of the attendees happily said “that is the most Métis thing ever, that you all came to the festival.”
And it was true. I have been very blessed to have a large family representation at all I do in life.
This experience has opened up so many doors for me, and I am forever grateful for the support I have received from Dr. Hay, my family, my friends, and most importantly my father who allowed me to dig deeper into his life, and for allowing me to tell his story. Being able to learn more about my family and the influence they have had on the Indigenous community is extremely important to me.
Through this adventure I have been able to connect with myself on a deeper level, and has helped me realize my full potential.