Lisa Jackson (MFA ’19) is an Anishinaabe (Aamjiwnaang First Nation) award-winning filmmaker who has written, directed and produced films, television and multimedia projects, from a dome film to VR and IMAX. Partway through her film career, she decided to pursue a master’s degree and studied in York’s MFA in Film program.
“I was at a bit of a crossroads about where I was headed as a filmmaker and looking for inspiration,” says Lisa. “The faculty at the graduate program in Film were amazing and the filmmaking education I received at York was very artist-centric. The experience was really rejuvenating for me.”
Lisa credits one particular professor for guiding her creative process for her NFB virtual reality project Biidaaban: First Light, which won the 2019 Canadian Screen Award for Best Immersive Experience – Fiction.
“(Now retired) Phil Hoffman was an amazing professor who got me thinking about how to express big ideas around language,” says Lisa. “Biidaaban: First Light came out of my conversations with Phil. He taught us about ‘process cinema,’ an approach that was organic and experiential that I found really inspiring.”
One of Lisa’s latest projects, Wilfred Buck, is a hybrid feature documentary about a Cree Elder who overcame a troubled upbringing dealing with racism and displacement to become a highly-regarded author and educator on star knowledge. The award-winning film made its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and is available to watch on CRAVE and will be on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) later this year
“I read Wilfred’s memoir, and was amazed by his writing and his story. It was like reading a beat poet writing about growing up Indigenous in Manitoba in the 1960s and how he came through colonization and rebellion to reconnect with traditional teachings,” says Lisa. “It was so visual, I could see how his story could be translated into film.”
Canada is a world leader in Indigenous filmmaking with the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) championing Indigenous screen-based storytellers and narrative sovereignty.
“There’s a saying, ‘nothing about us, without us’,” says Lisa. "While representation is important, the works themselves are world class and are embraced in Canada and around the world. Indigenous stories on screen should be led by Indigenous people and we’ve seen the recognition of our films and TV through awards and audience demand, including shows like North Of North. We’ve seen incredible growth in Indigenous filmmaking.”