Trevor Mack facts for kids

Trevor Mack (born June 28, 1992) is a Tsilhqot'in Canadian filmmaker, writer, and philosopher. He also used to be an extreme sports athlete in Crashed Ice.

He is famous for writing, directing, and producing the movie Portraits from a Fire. He is also known for his short films like The Blanketing, Clouds of Autumn, and In the Valley of Wild Horses. His first full-length movie, Portraits from a Fire, was shown for the first time in 2021. It was the first story-based movie ever written and directed by a Tsilhqot'in filmmaker.

Trevor Mack also competed in the Canadian Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships from 2011 to 2015.

Trevor Mack's Film Journey

When he was 15, Trevor Mack started making films. He would edit videos from the popular Xbox video game series Halo. He made these into special video collections called montages. He shared them on online forums and YouTube.

As his Halo montages became popular, he helped start a group called 'Viral Design'. This group did video editing, motion graphics, and videography. They made videos to promote products for companies like Red Bull and SteelSeries.

In 2011, Mack joined the 'Motion Picture Arts' film program. This program was at Capilano University in North Vancouver, BC. He did not pass his first year and left the program in his second year.

Right after leaving film school, he started working on a project. He worked with the Provincial Health Services Authority. For several years, Mack worked with Indigenous filmmakers. These included Damien Bouchard, Amanda Strong, and Asia Youngman. They often traveled to Indigenous communities in British Columbia. There, they taught children how to share their stories through filmmaking.

The Blanketing (2013)

In late 2011, Mack began a Crowd funding campaign. He asked for money to make his first short film, The Blanketing. After 10 months of planning and preparing, he started filming in summer 2012.

The short film was first shown in his hometown of Williams Lake, British Columbia. This happened on May 3, 2013. Afterward, the film was accepted into several film festivals:

• 2013 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
• 2013 Toronto Independent Film Festival
• 2013 Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival
• 2013 Red Nation Film Festival
• 2014 Square Pegs IV Film Festival

Clouds of Autumn (2015)

Trevor Mack received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. He then started filming Clouds of Autumn in August 2014. This short film explores how Canadian Indian residential schools affected First Nations families in Canada.

The film first premiered in North America at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It also played at many other festivals, including:

• 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival
• 2015 Ottawa International Film Festival
• 2015 Tacoma Film Festival
• 2015 Whistler Film Festival
• 2015 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
• 2016 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival

ʔEtsu (Grandmother) (2017)

In summer 2017, Mack worked with actor Elias Louie. Louie had also been in Clouds of Autumn. They made this short film with a small budget of only $500. The film is shot from a POV-style. It shows family life on a remote Indigenous reserve in Canada. The film was first shown at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It also played at the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival.

In The Valley of Wild Horses (2018)

Mack worked with the Xeni Gwe'tin First Nations. This community is part of the Tsilhqot'in nation. He co-directed this short documentary with fellow Indigenous filmmaker Asia Youngman. The film follows the Xeni Gwet'in Youth Wagon trip. This is a 200-km, 8-day trip with horses and wagons. It starts in Nemiah Valley and ends in Williams Lake. The film was shown at the 2018 Vancouver International Film Festival. It also played at other festivals, such as:

• 2019 Las Cruces International Film Festival
• 2019 Māoriland Film Festival
• 2019 Salt Spring Film Festival
• 2019 Powell River Film Festival

Portraits from a Fire (2021)

Portraits from a Fire is Trevor Mack's first full-length movie. Mack worked with writers Manny Mahal and Derek Vermillion on this project. He also worked with cinematographer Kaayla Wachell and producers Kate Kroll and Rylan Friday. The idea for the story came from Mack's own healing journey. This was after he was attacked in Vancouver in 2016.

Portraits from a Fire is a coming-of-age film. It follows a unique teenager named Tyler. Tyler spends his time recording his Indigenous community and hanging out with his grandparents. He then meets Aaron, an older, influential teenager. Aaron encourages him to show his latest work about his family to the community. This leads to important discoveries about the past, future, life, and death. The film first premiered at the 2021 Atlantic International Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It also played at these festivals:

• 2021 Calgary International Film Festival
• 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival
• 2021 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
• 2021 Edmonton International Film Festival
• 2021 American Indian Film Festival
• 2021 Cinéfest Sudbury Film Festival
• 2022 Virginia Film Festival
• 2022 Shining Mountains Film Festival

Trevor Mack and Red Bull Crashed Ice

Trevor Mack competing during the 2014 Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

While making his first short films, Trevor Mack also competed in the Canadian tour of the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships. From 2011 to 2015, Red Bull Crashed Ice held Canadian events. These events took place in Quebec City, Niagara Falls, and Edmonton.

Red Bull Crashed Ice is now called Ice Cross Downhill. It is a winter extreme sport. Skaters race downhill on a track with walls, sharp turns, and big drops. Ice cross downhill is like ski cross and boardercross. But instead of skis or snowboards on snow, it uses ice skates on an ice track.

Events were held under the name Red Bull Crashed Ice from 2001 to 2019. The sport has been officially recognized by the ATSX since 2019.

Trevor Mack's Community Work

In April 2023, Trevor Mack led an important effort. He brought together several Tsilhqot'in representatives. They went to the Brooklyn Museum to see several sacred Tsilhqot'in baskets. These baskets were taken from the Tsilhqot'in territory in 1905. They were later sold to the Brooklyn Museum. The process of bringing these baskets back to the Tsilhqot'in people is currently happening.