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Now Is the Time

Christopher Auchter
2019 | 16 min

Selections and Awards

  • Official SelectionSundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah, USA (2020)

  • Official SelectionToronto International Film Festival, Toronto, Canada (2019)

  • Official SelectionVancouver International Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada (2019)

  • Official SelectionSan Francisco American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco, California (2019)

  • Official SelectionimagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Toronto, Canada (2019)

  • Official SelectionCamden International Film Festival, Camden, USA (2019)

  • Official SelectionMaoriland Film Festival, Otaki, New Zealand (2020)

  • Official SelectionBig Sky Documentary Film Festival, Missoula, Montana, USA (2020)

  • Official SelectionReel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth, Vancouver, Canada (2020)

  • Official SelectionAFI DOCS Film Festival, Los Angeles, California, USA (2020)

  • Indigenous Category Golden Sheaf Award Winner Golden Sheaf Award, Yorkton Film Festival, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada (2020)

  • Documentary Arts/Culture Category Golden Sheaf Award WinnerYorkton Film Festival, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada (2020)

  • Best Canadian Short Film Jury PrizeGimli Film Festival, Manitoba, Canada (2020)

  • Official Selection - Short List: ShortsDOC NYC, New York, USA (2020)

  • Prix du meilleur court canadien - prix Radio-Canada Espaces autochtones International First Peoples' Festival, Montreal, Canada (2020)

  • Prix international de la relève Main Film International First Peoples' Festival, Montreal, Canada (2020)


Long Synopsis


Short Synopsis


A Message from Robert Davidson


Director's Statement

Trailer


Clips






Images


Haida director Christopher Auchter’s Now Is the Time takes us through history to revisit the day in August 1969 when three generations of Eagle and Raven clan gathered to raise the first totem pole on Haida Gwaii in over a hundred years.

Massett Village in 1878 with its forest of totem poles facing the sea, the majority of which were razed and destroyed in the ensuing decades.

One of many fallen totem poles on Haida Gwaii, off the northern coast of British Columbia.

Brothers Robert and Reg Davidson, internationally recognized Haida artists, demonstrate raven rattles in Robert’s studio.

Twenty-two-year-old Robert Davidson and his grandfather, Tsinii, discuss the raising of the first totem pole on Haida Gwaii in over a hundred years.

In August 1956, Haida elders gather to celebrate the raising of the first totem pole on Haida Gwaii in over a hundred years. The destruction of the community’s totem poles was part of the systemic obliteration of Haida songs, ceremonies, and culture that had occurred over the previous decades.

Promotional Materials

Team


Christopher Auchter
Writer & Director


Photo
Photo : Tracy Auchter




Selwyn Jacob
Producer


Photo
Photo : NFB




Shirley Vercruysse
Executive Producer


Photo
Photo : Myriam Frenette




Teri Snelgrove
Producer


Photo
Photo : Emily Cooper



Credits

Featuring
Robert Davidson
Reg Davidson
Barbara Wilson

And the Voices of
Jane Kristovich
Percy Rodriguez
Joe Weir
Florence Davidson
Victor Adams

Written and Directed by
Christopher Auchter

Producer
Selwyn Jacob

Associate Producer
Teri Snelgrove

Line Producer
Jennifer Roworth

Director of Photography
Asia Youngman

Editor
Sarah Hedar

Composer
Genevieve Vincent

Sound Design & Re-Recording Mixer
Chris McLaren

Additional Camera
Vince Arvidson

Sound Recordist
Ramsay Bourquin

First Assistant Camera
Odessa Shuquaya

Gaffer
CameronWatts
Mike Hjorth

Production Coordinator
Kristyn Stilling

Technical Coordinator
Wes Machnikowski

Animation
Christopher Auchter

Animation Rigger
Tara Baker

Stop Motion Animation
Alicia Eisen

Stop Motion Animation Consultants
Alicia Eisen
Kaho Yoshida

Colourist
Lorne Wright

 

 

Thank You

Nikita Auchter
Tracy & Tony Auchter
Maddex & Logan Auchter
Kevin Borserio (Skidegate Haida Immersion Program)
Dr. Margaret B. Blackman
Tyson Brown
Delores Churchill
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson
Babs Hageman
Lisa Hageman
Imbert Orchard
Tug Phipps
Chris Sheldon
Helen Shuttlewood
Craig Smith
Lisa Telford
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas

Thank You
Barbara Wilson

Now is the Time was filmed on location
on the traditional territory of the Semiahmoo, Tsleil-Waututh,
S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō),and W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations

Archives
NFB Archives
Royal BC Museum and Archives
CBC Archive Sales

Musicians
Peggy Lee, Violoncello
David Brown, Contrabass
Cameron Wilson, Violin
Genevieve MacKay, Viola

Music Mixer
Lori Castro

Marketing Manager
Kay Rondonneau

Publicist
Katja De Bock

Studio Administrator
Carla Jones

Executive Producer, BC & Yukon Studio
Shirley Vercruysse

Executive Director, English Program
Michelle van Beusekom

Produced in association with Knowledge Network


NFB.ca

©2019 National Film Board of Canada



Media Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.