Join renowned Ininew (Cree) astronomer, star knowledge keeper, and author Wilfred Buck for Star Stories: a cosmic journey into teachings and tellings of the northern night sky. For this special VIFF Live event, this stunning XR work will be projected on the dome of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and narrated live by Buck, followed by a Q&A with him and Anishinaabe co-director Lisa Jackson.
Star Stories is a 21-minute XR work that brings to life four star stories, gathered and told by renowned Ininew (Cree) astronomer, star knowledge expert, and author Wilfred Buck. From the practical to the poetic, Buck’s “tellings” of the northern night sky provide guidance on navigation, the Earth’s cycles, and how to live a good life with future generations in mind. Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories offers a rarely heard perspective on astronomy and cosmology in an immersive and intimate environment.
Marvel at immersive night sky cinematography, CGI cosmos, and beautiful macro cinematography of meteorites set to a transporting soundtrack in this expansive-yet-intimate experience. Star Stories combines the wonder of the universe with the warmth of listening to a wise elder whose teachings can help us understand that the stars are in fact our oldest relatives.
Star Stories, co-directed by Lisa Jackson and The Macronauts, is a sister project of the hybrid feature documentary Wilfred Buck, also directed by Jackson, which premiered in March 2024 at CPH:DOX and was a Top Five Audience Choice at the 2024 Hot Docs Festival.
The observatory at H.R. MacMIllan Space Centre will be open from 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm on the night of the performance for you to explore the night sky.
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Guests
Wilfred Buck
Wilfred Buck, also known as “The Star Guy”, is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and one of the world’s foremost keepers of Ininew (Cree) star lore. His Cree name, Pawami Nikititicikiw, means “dream keeper”. He has taught Cree astronomy globally, authored the books Kitcikisik (Great Sky): Tellings That Fill the Night Sky and I Have Lived Four Lives. In recognition of his life’s work, the International Astronomical Union has named asteroid 611326 “Wilfredbuck” in his honour; he is the recipient of a King Charles III Coronation Medal; and the 2023 Qilak Award for Astronomy Communications, Public Education and Outreach.
Buck obtained his bachelor of education and post-baccalaureate degrees from the University of Manitoba. As an educator, Buck has had the opportunity and good fortune to travel to South and Central America as well as Europe where he has met and listened to Indigenous people from all over the world.
He is a husband, father of four, son, uncle, brother, nephew, storyteller, mad scientist, teacher, singer, pipe-carrier, sweat lodge keeper, old person, and sun dance leader.
Researching Ininew star stories, Buck found a host of information that had to be interpreted and analyzed to determine whether the stories were referring to the stars. The journey began… The easiest way to go about doing this, he was told, was to look up.
“The greatest teaching that was ever given to me,” he says, “other than my wife and children, is the ability to see the humour in the world.”
Photo by Emily Cooper
Lisa Jackson
Lisa Jackson lives in Toronto and is Anishinaabe from Aamjiwnaang First Nation. Her award-winning work has screened at CPH:DOX, Sundance, Berlinale Forum Expanded, SXSW, Camden, Hotdocs, Tribeca, BFI London, the Melbourne Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and has been broadcast widely. She’s made works ranging from current affairs to IMAX, animation to VR, and even a residential school musical. In 2021 she received the Documentary Organization of Canada’s Vanguard Award, and in 2022 she was selected for a Chicken & Egg Award.
Her 2024 hybrid feature documentary Wilfred Buck premiered in the DOX:AWARD section at CPH:DOX and was a top five audience pick at Hot Docs, winning Best Canadian Film at the Calgary Film Festival and the Women Inmate Jury Award at RIDM. Her short Lichen screened at Sundance in 2020 and Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier (co-produced by Lisa) is one of the top watched documentaries on CBC, winning the 2017 imagineNATIVE Best Documentary award.
Her Webby-nominated VR Biidaaban: First Light premiered at Tribeca Storyscapes in 2018, was exhibited internationally to 25,000+ people, and won a Canadian Screen Award — the second time she’s received this honour.
Transmissions, a 6000-square-foot immersive multimedia installation and sister project to Biidaaban, premiered in Vancouver in 2019 and was featured on the cover of The Georgia Straight. In 2016, she directed the VR Highway of Tears for CBC Radio’s The Current, which was nominated for a Canadian Association of Journalists award. In 2015, Lisa was drama director for all eight episodes of the hour-long APTN/ZDF docudrama series 1491: The Untold Story Of The Americas Before Columbus, which was based on the bestselling book by Charles C. Mann and nominated for a Canadian Screen Award.
Lisa has an MFA in film production from York University (thesis prize) and is an alumna of the TIFF Talent and Writers Labs, Canadian Film Centre’s Directors Lab, IDFA Summer School, and CFC/NFB/Ford Foundation’s Open Immersion VR Lab. She was also a Fellow at the MIT Open Doc Lab.