ᓱᒃᑲᔪᒥᒃ ᖃᕋᓴᐅᔭᒃᑯᕈᓐᓇᐅᑎᖃᕐᐲᑦ? ᓱᒃᑲᔪᒧᐊᕐᓗᑎᑦ
ᑕᕆᔭᕋᓱᒃᑕᐃᑦ ᓱᒃᑲᐃᓗᐊᕐᐸ? ᐊᓯᓪᓕᕐᓗᒍ ᓱᒃᑲᐃᓂᕐᓴᒧᑦ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᓇᕐᑐᒧᑦ
G_uud Yuwans (Willie Russ)
About
Interview with Dana Moraes and Graham Richard
‘I was born and raised in Skidegate’
‘I actually submitted a 50-pages story that I’ve written a long time ago. And that was too long and they wanted me to write something else but I didn’t get a chance to write anything else.’
‘Two dreams at one coming true. Learning how to speak Haida and also being able to act and be an actor. That’s always something I wanted to do.’
‘I played one of the lead characters.’
‘The Fast Runner…They told such an authentic story. And something that you could actually see happening in the past. It was a good glimpse into what life was like.’
Dana – How do you think people will watch the film?
Willie Russ – I don’t know. Streaming is pretty popular these days. So maybe streaming, maybe Netflix. But I’d like to see it released in theaters. It would be interesting to see it on the big screen. And I’d love to be a part of it, if there is ever a chance to go and watch it at festivals, and talk to the audience if people had questions about the whole process in different parts of the country.
‘I tried to think of myself as a Haida person 150 years ago. Sort of put myself away from technology and other things, and try to imagine what it would be like if you had to be dependant on your whole self for just making life work.’
‘I actually started to dream and think in Haida’
‘It was one of the best experience in my life. It really changed me as a person.’
Interviewer: Dana Moraes
Camera and Edit: Graham Richard
