Helen Haig-Brown facts for kids

Helen Haig-Brown is a talented filmmaker from the Tsilhqot'in Nation in British Columbia, Canada. She creates movies that often explore stories and themes from Indigenous and First Nations cultures. Many of her films are inspired by her own family's Tsilhqot'in heritage.

Growing Up and Learning About Film

Helen Haig-Brown grew up in the Yunesit'in community. This community is part of the Tsilhqot'in Nation in British Columbia, Canada. Her grandfather was a famous naturalist named Roderick Haig-Brown. A naturalist studies nature and the environment. Helen learned how to make films at Capilano University. She studied in a special program called Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking.

Making Movies and Telling Stories

Helen Haig-Brown has directed many films. She also works as a director of photography. This means she helps decide how the movie looks on screen.

Award-Winning Short Films

One of her early short films was called The Cave (also known as ?E?Anx). A short film is usually less than 40 minutes long. This film received money from the National Film Board of Canada. It was shown at big film festivals. These included the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and Berlinale in 2010. In 2009, ?E?Anx was named one of Canada's Top Ten Short Films. This honor came from the Toronto International Film Festival.

Documentaries and Collaborations

Helen has directed several independent documentary films. Documentaries are non-fiction films that show real events or people. She also helped with a TV series called Our First Voices. For this series, she wrote and directed three works. She also worked as the director of photography for other filmmakers.

Helen worked with her aunt, Dr. Celia Haig-Brown. They made a film called Pelq'ilc. This film is about the Secwepemc Nation's efforts to keep their language alive. Earlier, Helen wrote and directed Su Naa (My Big Brother) in 2005.

Feature Films and Important Themes

She also completed a feature film called My Legacy. A feature film is a longer movie, usually over an hour. This film explores the special bond between mothers and daughters. My Legacy was shown at the Victoria Film Festival. It also aired on the APTN Network in 2014. The film has an interactive website too.

Helen Haig-Brown co-directed the film Edge of the Knife with Gwaai Edenshaw. This film premiered, or was shown for the first time, at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Edge of the Knife was also named to Canada's Top Ten list for 2018. Helen and Gwaai won an award for Best Director of a Canadian Film. This award was from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.