Heartbeat of a Nation
Le cœur battant d'une nation
Eric Janvier
2022
| 20 min 22 sec
Short documentary
Original English version
Awards and Festivals
Official selection - ShortsCalgary International Film Festival, Canada (2022)
Official Selection - Shorts Forum ProgramVancouver International Film Festival, Canada (2022)
Official SelectionimagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Canada (2022)
Official SelectionAmerican Indian Film Festival, San Francisco (2022)
A National Film Board of Canada production
On a beautiful sunny day in Northern Alberta, a river surrounded by green trees runs gently through the traditional lands of the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation.
As birds softly chirp, a father makes a tobacco offering to the river and reaches his hands below the water’s surface to pull out a caribou hide. Nearby, his young child watches. Today they will learn from their father how to make a caribou drum.
Heartbeat of a Nation is an evocative short documentary by Eric Janvier. It celebrates the healing of a community and a nation through the reclamation and passing down of traditional teachings within a Dene family.
Poster
Short Synopses
TWO-LINER
In the Northern Alberta community of Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation, a father teaches his child how to create a caribou drum. In Heartbeat of a Nation, a short documentary by Eric Janvier, cultural reclamation and traditional knowledge are celebrated and passed down from one generation to the next, inspiring renewed hope for the future.
ONE-LINER
In Heartbeat of a Nation, a short documentary by Eric Janvier that celebrates Dene cultural reclamation and revitalization, a father passes on traditional knowledge to his child through the teachings of a caribou drum.
Excerpts
Learning to Make the Drum
Contact NFB publicist for broadcast–quality excerpts.
Interview with Filmmaker Eric Janvier
What is the importance of caribou and the caribou drum to your community?
Before residential school, we had always had the caribou drum. We relied on the woodland caribou, but as industry moved in and as the caribou population in Northern Alberta started to decline, we lost the ability to hunt the caribou, to harvest its hide for our drums.
When did the caribou drum teaching return to your family and community?
In the last 10 years or so, people from different Dene communities came to ours and reintroduced the drum to us. It was kind of entrusted to our family to allow it to become part of our community. We started drumming and we started getting the younger generation involved.
What inspired you to make the film?
I wanted to tell a story that was personal to me, and my family being the drum carriers for our community was as personal as it could get. We’re reclaiming something that is so personal and so spiritual to us. That’s a story that needed to be told. I felt like I had an obligation to my family, to my culture, to my people to tell this story.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
For the Indigenous audience that watches this film, I want them to feel a sense of pride in their culture and who they are. It’s never too late to reclaim what was lost. We have an obligation to take these teachings and pass them on to the younger generation so that they have a sense of pride in who they are. For the non-Indigenous community, I want them to understand that we’re still here. The things that have been lost have been found again. We’re not afraid anymore to share this with the world.
Images
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Photo: Devon Supeene
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Photo: Devon Supeene
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Contact NFB publicist for high-resolution images for print.
Team
Eric Janvier
Director
Photo
Photo : Kelton Stepanowich
Coty Savard
Producer (NFB)
Photo
Photo : Conor McNally
David Christensen
Executive Producer (NFB)
Photo
Photo : NFB
Credits
Written and Directed by
Eric Janvier
Featuring
Brant Janvier
August Janvier
Agnes Duke
Filmed on location in Janvier, Alberta Treaty 8 territory
Executive Producer
David Christensen
Producer
Coty Savard
Associate Producer
Devon Supeene
Director of Photography
Holly Mazur
Second Camera
Tamarra Lessard
Picture Editor
Sarah Taylor
Sound Recordists
Dmitri Bandet
Ariana Brophy
Sound Design and Mix
Dmitri Bandet
Production Supervisor
Esther Viragh
Studio Operations Manager
Darin Clausen
Studio Administrators
Bree Beach
Devon Supeene
Production Coordinator
Janet Kwan
Technical Coordination
Luc Binette
Legal Counsel
Christian Pitchen
Picture Finishing Services
Elemental Post
Finishing Supervisor
Matt Drake
Colourist
David Tomiak
Finishing Artist
Ryan Mance
Recording & Re-recording
Dmitri Bandet
Stills Photographer
Devon Supeene
Marketing Manager
Kelly Fox
Marketing Coordinator
Michelle Rozon
Publicist
Katja De Bock
Transcription
Multi-Media Transcripts Inc.
Thanks
Ron Janvier
Shelly Janvier
Chehala Leonard
Alicia Smith
Jon Montes
Jessica Smith

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada © 2022
Press Relations
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About the NFB
The NFB is Canada’s public producer and distributor of award-winning documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories and participatory experiences, working with talented creators across the country. The NFB is taking action to combat systemic racism and become a more open and diverse organization, while working to strengthen Indigenous-led production and gender equity in film and digital media. NFB productions have won more than 7,000 awards, including 12 Oscars. To access this unique content, visit NFB.ca.