Like most filmmakers, Kalli Paakspuu was exposed to film at an early age. Her father had an old 8mm camera, and she can still remember him setting up a projector to screen home movies.
In an interview Sept. 10 she said when you grow up with film it 鈥渏ust becomes part of the communication that you have.鈥�
But when she inevitably picked up a camera of her own, her approach was wildly different from her father鈥檚 home movies. With her dad鈥檚 camera and a Neil Young soundtrack, she endeavored to tell a story about pollution.
Fast forward to the present, and Paakspuu is a Toronto filmmaker with a passion for pushing the boundaries of storytelling. From her work with Tahir Mahmood and Suzette Araujo on the interactive new media documentary experience World Without Water, to her 鈥渢ransmedia鈥� project Moment of Contact, Paakspuu has explored new forms of storytelling throughout her career in the film industry.
鈥淚 just want to make the most use of mediums,鈥� she said.
She explained that this vision was crystalized when she took an interactive arts program at the Canadian Film Centre; a program she said 鈥渞eally opened up what I saw as far as opportunities for what I could do with media.鈥�
Even one of her latest projects, Shchedryk鈥攚hich will be screened at the Jasper Short Film Festival Sept. 27鈥攂egan in part as an attempt to push the boundaries of documentary filmmaking.
Paakspuu co-produced the film with Ron Graner, and she explained that it was developed initially to integrate with the architecture of a Montreal Hotel.
鈥淭he whole vision behind the film was to have it projected on a wall, so that even the little portraits would play on the windows,鈥� she explained. Unfortunately Paakspuu and Graner weren鈥檛 able to make that happen, but the film is still captivating on a traditional screen.
According to Graner, beyond its unique production Shchedryk is part of a series of four inter-related films that weave together to form a full-length documentary. The project explores how certain Ukrainian composers鈥� music was suppressed during the early part of the 21st century.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really trying to create another type of model, which is to create pieces of [a documentary] that can exist in self-contained ways,鈥� Paakspuu said. 鈥淚t really is a bit of culture jamming we鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Paakspuu also strives to interpret and deconstruct culture in other aspects of her life. She recently completed her doctoral dissertation at the University of Toronto, which examined how Native people used art to extend their stories at the time of first contact with Europeans. She also teaches at York University in Toronto.
She said she鈥檚 proud to be a part of the Jasper Short Film Festival, and it鈥檚 her hope that it, and her and Graner鈥檚 film, will start new and interesting conversations throughout the community.
Trevor Nichols
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