March 2011
 Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot'in) is an award-winning director, director of photography and teacher, and a leading talent in producing experimental documentary shorts. Her work is broad-ranging, from experiences from within her own family to explorations of land and language that are of significance to many First Nations people. Her first fictional work, ?E?Anx/The Cave, is an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and of Berlinale 2010, and in 2009 was named one of Canada’s Top Ten (Short Film) by the Toronto International Film Festival.
Haig-Brown’s recent works include Pelq'ilc, about the Secwepemc Nation’s language revitalization efforts, and works in the television series Our First Voices, which focuses on indigenous language. As a cinematographer Haig-Brown has worked with other outstanding experimental documentary directors, including Kevin Lee Burton and Kamala Todd and for CBC, Knowledge (British Columbia’s state of the art educational television network) and the National Film Board of Canada.
Haig-Brown serves on the board of directors for Redwire, a magazine for Native youth, and has conducted media training for youth in Big Island Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan. She has also taught media production at the Gulf Islands Film and Television School on Galiano Island, British Columbia. She is a graduate of the Aboriginal Film and Television Production Program at Capilano College in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and now resides on the Stone Reserve, traditional Tsilhqot'in lands in the interior of British Columbia.
"I've always loved great stories that show me the simple
beauty of humanity. Through tears, these stories helped me understand
the complexity of the human spirit. The display of the multiple
grey areas within humanity would at once make me feel an affinity
and a deep love for people. Throughout my life, injustices left
me devastated, confused and later enraged. These stories have
been fundamental to breathing back my love. I make my videos in
hopes to contribute to this tradition."
Screened by NMAI
Image credit:
Helen Haig-Brown - courtesy of Samaya Photography, Helen Haig-Brown
- courtesy of Helen Haig-Brown
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