Revelstoke film maker Agathe Bernard has pitched her upcoming documentary Washed Away to Storyhive in an attempt to win funding for the project.
The documentary, that she began filming almost a year and a half ago, goes back in time to the story of the communities that lived along the banks of the Columbia River before the dams were built and the impact the flooding had on those communities.
“When I started filming I had no idea the impact and I just feel like these stories are really worth telling,” Bernard said.
Bernard is working with the Revelstoke Museum & Archives on the film, saying it will complement an upcoming exhibit at the museum called Stories Beneath the Surface.
Bernard has striking archival photos of buildings being moved, or burned down, to make way for the water, as well as modern aerial and underwater footage of the area. She said she plans on using modern techniques to tell an older story.
“I want to make this documentary visually super appealing,” she said.
READ MORE: Agathe Bernard and Izzy Lynch receive funding from Storyhive
So far Bernard has worked with the Gawiuk family, who lived in the valley and had to move their home before the flooding.
Last summer she filmed the Spirit of Syilx Unity Run put on by the Okanagan Nation Alliance. First Nations youth run sections of the distance between the mouth and the headwaters of the Columbia River, beginning this year where they left off last year and learning from elders about the meaning and cultural connection to the river along the way.
In light of the ongoing Columbia River Treaty negotiations, Bernard has also interviewed stakeholders and experts about the effects of the treaty, the coming changes and what is at stake.
Vote for Bernard’s project at www.storyhive.com/project/show/id/3988. You can cast one vote a day, every day until Thursday at noon.
Storyhive has funded productions and supported filmmakers with mentorship and support from the National Screen Institute since 2013.
Once the community votes the first time around, finalists move on to a second round of voting and winners are chosen.
