Work by 9-year-old filmmaker showcased at Indigenous Film Fest

By Stephanie Joe
Windspeaker.com Contributor

Nine-year-old Colton Willier is the youngest filmmaker to be showcased during Indigenous Awareness Week Calgary at the Calgary Public Library.

The Sharing Stories Through an Indigenous Lens Film Fest series kicked off on Monday June 18. The series showcases 11 Indigenous filmmakers.

Colton and his mother, Amy Willier, attended opening night where Colton’s films were screened.

So far, the nine-year-old Cree and Blackfoot filmmaker has made two films, “Skateboarding Pants” and “Shirtnami”. Colton wrote, directed, and animated “Skateboarding Pants” when he was just six years old. He, along with his best friend, took part in Quickdraw Animation Society’s annual animation lockdown where participants have 48-hours to create an original film.

“He knew it was coming up and he said, ‘ok, I’m going to tell you this story,’ and I wrote it down as fast as I could,” Amy said. He relayed the story to his mother scene-by-scene, which Amy said people go to school to learn.

“He had so many ideas that only about a quarter of it was what he ended up creating,” she said. “It was over a thousand pictures for Skateboarding Pants.”

With “Shirtnami” as the sequel, which Colton made in 12-hours with a broken arm, he was able to use original cutouts from “Skateboarding Pants”.

“His cast was in a sling and we animated the whole day away, from start to finish,” said Amy, adding that he got the idea for “Shirtnami” because of his interest in natural disasters and watching documentaries about tsunamis and earthquakes.

Colton loves writing, directing, and animating, and is learning to edit. He creates all of his films using stop motion, paper cut-outs, an iPad and lamps. “Shirtnami” was created when Colton was only eight years old.

Amy said that she’s never purchased Colten a video-game system and he’s allowed an hour a day on the iPad unless he’s creating a film.

She’s very proud of her son’s accomplishments.

“Well, obviously I’m a little over the moon,” she said, “but whatever he wants to do I’m willing to go the extra mile to support him.

“If he wants to have a pumpkin that’s Darth Vader, I will carve it for him for Halloween. Or whatever he wants, I will go the extra mile and create it and help him make his idea come to fruition. So, just supporting him however I can, and being an artist and being creative myself, it helps.”

Colton is always drawing and makes animated movies in his spare time using Lego, clay, drawings, or toys.

“Skateboarding Pants” played at the ImagineNative Film and Video Fest in Toronto in 2016.

Indigenous created films are showcasing nightly at 6 p.m. at the Calgary Public Library in the John Dutton Theatre throughout the week.

(Editor’s Note: Colton declined the opportunity for an interview with Windspeaker.com in favor of other activities.)