Portraits From A Fire is shot at the leisurely pace of life in an indigenous community – but that doesn’t keep it from developing a solid emotional impact, slowly and in its own considered time. In fact, the depiction of life on the Rez (catching and smoking fish/hanging out with grandparents) only adds to the slow and effective build of the story.

Tyler (a well-cast William Lula) is a lonely 16-year-old. His mother is “not around” and his still grieving father (Arcand) is distant and uninvolved. Tyler does have a friend – his movie camera. When we first see him he’s dressed as a TV space hero filming a sci-fi opus in his home, using crude drawings of spacemen and doing all the voices. He’ll be showing the results to the community in a local unused rink he has converted into a theatre. Alas, he chose Bingo Night, so no one shows up.

While filming his sci-fi movie Tyler shoots another film for himself: Putting his everyday life on tape, including a long-ago scene with his mother, father and himself happily at home.

A mysterious friend Aaron (Asivak Koostachin), who is both a lot more and a lot less than he seems, appears to tell Tyler that his life is empty and he’s in pain. Aaron suggests that the adolescent’s real life lies in what he is shooting about the vibrant events around him. Aaron challenges him to make a film of that. The teen rises to the provocation and his resultant personal and heartfelt film leads to an unravelling of his life and exposing the secret that his father has kept from him.

Mack has peopled his film with some very colourful characters. Lula is solid in the lead, anchoring the movie as the haunted and hurting young man. Arcand, with some 20 films and a clutch of television series behind him, is reliably strong as the troubled father and is allowed to express degrees of anguish not often seen in his TV roles. Koostachin is a real find. Tall, good looking and carrying a life changing secret with him, he is a forceful and disquieting presence throughout. The rest of the cast could only exist in this film – they are a fascinating cross-section of characters I’m sure you could only find on the Rez.

A small budget is obvious throughout – the special effects are minimal but effective – but that didn’t keep director Mack and his unique band of players from reaching beyond the borders of an authentic, enclosed world to make a film for all audiences.

The filmmakers will be on hand to answer questions after the screening on Friday.  EIFF runs until Oct. 10.

Photos supplied