Our World Legacy

Connecting Culture with Media Arts

Since 2006, Our World has visited remote First Nation communities in BC and Yukon conducting filmmaking workshops. It is a project that brings together youth and elders to include First Language translation, speaking, and cultural sharing. Our World involves professional filmmakers from diverse backgrounds who are interested in contributing to Reconciliation in an artful way. First Nations Language usage has diminished in many Indigenous communities due to the Residential School System and a legacy of cultural and spiritual oppression by the enforcement of colonialism. In many communities, there are often only a few elders who continue to speak fluently.

In 2017, Reel to Real became a proud recipient of the New Chapters grant. This highly-competitive program attracted over 2,000 applications – from which only 200+ exceptional projects were selected. The grant allows Reel to Real to expand nationally. To date, we have held workshops as far as Quebec and the Yukon.

A brief history

In 2013, Reel 2 Real joined forces with Our World, allowing the project to reach more communities and offer workshops to students in both elementary and secondary schools.

Our World partners with First Nations communities to provide access to media arts training as a means of empowerment through artistic & cultural expression, and to integrate First Nations language and culture into films as a way to heal the past, claim the present, and move forward into the future with pride of their identity. While the focus is on sparking interest in filmmaking with youth, Our World also invites adults and elders to participate.

Our World encourages individuals to make their own unique films in an intimate and supportive setting. Our commitment is to return multiple times to the same communities, building on skills, encouraging the continuation of media making and storytelling, and inspiring a new generation of artists. Our World films are submitted to Canadian and international film festivals to ensure the widest possible presentation of these unique works.