The times they are a changin'

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Day 53 - July 14th – Channel Rock

We pulled out of the ferry and immediately rolled down the window in order to continue the streak of unfiltered ocean air we were breathing. I’m so far from home but the inner peace overpowers most of the homesickness. Reliving the journey required to get to Cortes Island is enough to remind me I’m in the middle of nowhere, but this nowhere is unlike others. Not many people live here. Not many people know it exists. But it’s here, and it’s extraordinary.

From the road leaving the ferry we take a right onto a dirt road, then shortly after come across a small parking lot surrounded by forest. We hurry to load up our necessities as there’s a 15 minute hike ahead and we haven’t eaten lunch. The majority of this hike overlooks the coast. First we see a kayak, then a small house on the rocks above the beach. All of a sudden a big opening within the forest reveals lush gardens, a cob house with a large common area and kitchen, about five chalets, a solar shower, a pond, and tents everywhere. All we really know is that there’s a gathering of filmmakers this very week. We didn’t even know this when we spoke on the phone making plans to wwoof. We didn’t know the gathering would have both young filmmakers and some of Canada’s most prominent professionals. Some would say it’s a coincidence we’re making a film to create awareness of issues we care about, but not many people stumble upon the exact same kind of people by “coincidence”.

We begin to get to know the people we’ll be surrounded by for the week. The group of young adults are split up into six groups and have mentors who guide them through making a film during the week. The first day, two days before Justin and I arrived, they got together and wrote down issues that are important to them and that they would like to see more light shone. Examples of chosen topics for 2-3 minute shorts in the works are Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD), Media Manipulation and Local Food. Justin and I are requested to be interviewed for the Local Food video and we are happy to accept. **I apologize for the continuous change in verb tense but I wrote this in a few different states of mind**

In the evenings, after we’ve completed wwoofing duties and the groups have filmed and edited tirelessly throughout the day, everyone congregates in the cob house for supper followed by meaningful group discussions and silent reflections of some sort. The youth, some as young as 14 years old, are so passionate and articulate and are willing to be vulnerable by expressing their feelings about topics such as The Civil Rights Movement. I’m so inspired to be a part of this because I feel that this passion is lacking for some many young people. I feel that media like television, movies and music force us to emulate those who star in these forms of entertainment, and this is in order for us to fit in with the masses. It’s almost like doing your own thing and not stepping on peoples toes is and should be accepted, while so many injustices throughout the world not only occur in front of us but because of us. I feel like it has become ok to fuel your body with overly processed food or glue our eyes to a screen every single night just because other people do so. So when I witness the opposite occur in places like this it overwhelms me. My whole biological system shifts, and my eyes light up. Atrocities are occurring every single day, and how we can justify degrading people in another geographical location for the simple convenience of cheaper consumer goods is beyond my comprehension...yet I contribute to that sort of injustice every single day. Examining these issues with people who not only recognize them but contribute to their solutions immediately motivates me to change my lifestyle.

We’ve had three nights here and each night one of the mentors for the film groups presents their body of work in some way. The first night a man named Mark Achbar took the stage. You may or may not have seen the documentary ‘The Corporation’ but if not I strongly suggest you check it out. It was the highest grossing documentary made by a Canadian of all time, and when I saw it I had no idea it was a Canadian film. It also won a ton of awards. I’m blown away that I got to meet this guy. He showed clips from some of his work which included a film about Noam Chomsky, and then screened in full the newest film he Executive Produced which is called Surviving Progress (check the IMDB page as it’s so new I don’t think the website is up). You may have heard of one of the other Executive Producers, Martin Scorsese!! We were literally within the first 100 people (not involved with creating this film) to see it, and I guarantee it will be one of the most celebrated documentaries of all time! The topic was basically human “progress”, i.e: the relationship between our ever increasing desire to improve/grow (technology, etc.) and the absolute destruction of the earth. Just see it for yourself when it comes out. I’m having trouble capturing with my vocabulary how necessary main stream documentaries like this are in order to inspire large populations to reflect on their values.

The next night Lisa Jackson screened some of her short films and discussed each one. Was almost in tears when she showed Suckerfish (which I’m sure is on youtube) because it made me want to hug my mom and tell her how much I love her. Lisa has won Gemini’s (Canadian Oscars) for her work and there’s no question in my mind that she deserved them. She has aboriginal heritage and the majority of her films reflect these values which is so incredible. An example would be a documentary she did for CBC of Bold Eagle Boot Camp. I had never heard of this camp before but it gives first nations youth an opportunity to be paid $3000 for a 6 week training camp for the Canadian Military with no obligation to join in the end. I’m looking forward to watching the full thing as soon as possible.

July 16th:
As the deadline for the short films got closer the groups got more and more intense. Justin and I were around the property doing things like cutting kindling or assembling compost bins and were observing them as they hurried around the property. Since they were 2-3 minute videos they set the bar extremely high for themselves and were trying to finish filming as soon as possible so they could begin editing like crazy.

On the night of the 14th a visionary film maker who is now known as Velcrow Ripper presented some of his work, though he did so as briefly as possible because he knew most groups were planning on staying up pretty late to continue working on their films. Oh ya, I forgot to note that the professionals and other team leaders were a part of these groups as contributors and mentors. Sooo if you have a couple of minutes go on youtube and watch the trailer for ‘Scared Sacred’. He pretty much went to some of the worst “Ground Zeros” of the world with a backpack and camera to capture their story and at the same time find hope. He followed this up with a quick screening of the trailer for ‘Fierce Light’ which is sort of the sequel to Scared Sacred. Finally, he showed us sections of the rough cut for the third instalment of this trilogy called ‘Evolve Love’. The hope for radical change to our established systems is alive and thriving in these films from what I’ve seen. This guy is the real deal to say the least, and it was such an honour to be able to shoot the shit with him. The film we’re preparing will undeniably be better than I once anticipated because of these presentations.

Last night was the conclusion to the film camp. After hours and hours of planning, filming and editing the groups showed their videos on the projector last night. I was honestly blown away at the quality of these productions. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them (six in total) even go viral for their entertainment value alone. When they go up on the ReelYouth youtube page I’ll definitely put the links up because there’s just no point in attempting to describe them.

This morning all of the youth left. I’m going to miss them all so much. I have no doubt that they’ll go on to do amazing things in this world. Above all they gave me more hope for the state of the planet than I had before coming here.

Also, the rain finally stopped. I swear the only time it wasn’t raining this whole week was at night for a couple hours. The term BC rain forest actually makes sense now. Like zero breeze, not too cold, but constant rain coming straight down. Everything we brought down is soaked. haha

Today is our day off, which we didn’t anticipate but were very happy to accept since the woman who runs the place suggested it. Will definitely be doing some serious reflection and meditation this afternoon, and possibly some kayaking before we go to a party tonight in ‘town’. Today being Saturday, the 16th, we’ll put in a day of work tomorrow then head further west into Tofino. The original plan was to wwoof but there doesn’t seem to be many wwoof farms in that region. With that said we’ll probably do some camping, meet some locals and give surfing a shot. Six farms basically done and 4-6 to go. On a roll right now so I want to keep the momentum going. Life is such a journey eh. I’m finding acceptance of whatever comes at me more and more rewarding each day. Don’t judge, just accept.

Take care,
Ryan

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Photos

Sunset
Cortes Island