A new version of Haida documentarian Christopher Auchter’s film Now is the Time (Waaydanaa), has been released in the Haida language.
Auchter wanted to share this story in the Haida language, which took many years to complete.
“It was a long process, and it is like you are repainting a painting. The Haida language acts differently than English in how you describe something,” he said.
The 2019 documentary celebrates the first totem pole raising in generations on Haida Gwaii in the village of Old Masset in 1969. The film follows artist Robert Davidson, who carved the totem pole when he was 22-years-old as he shares the impact the raising had on the community 50 years later.
“It took the whole community to raise the pole and it is almost like that with the language. It took generations working together to make this happen and it triggered all these different aspects of our culture,” Auchter said.
“My filmmaking is a way for me to contribute to my culture and to try to tell our stories and tell them well,” he said.
Gwaliga Hart, a relative of Auchter, was one of the main translators assigned to work on the film.
However, the project ended up becoming much larger than Hart expected.
“My role ended up being a lot different than what I had originally stepped into. I was going to help translate some lines, then it got bigger ... [Auchter] wanted the whole film translated,” he said.
“When you are translating English into Haida, things get complex. All kinds of different words become much more challenging because you are trying to figure out the best way to say something in Haida [translated from English],” Hart said.
Since a lot of Elders do not speak Haida, Hart wanted to make sure the translation was accurate. He asked his grandmother for help and other community members who continue to speak the language.
“I wanted to help hold them up and make sure we are taking important care and time to get it done properly,” Hart said.
Many people from the community were involved in the voice-overs in the Haida version of the film.
“[I have] so much gratitude for the fact they would use so much of their time and effort to do this,” Auchter said.
“It felt like we were helping honour those people who helped bring us to where we are today and continue these traditions ... and show we did not forget and we are still here,” Hart said.
Auchter is currently working on a film focusing on the 1985 Haida logging blockade, which took place at Lyell Island. The protest to preserve old-growth trees ended up being successful and the area became a Haida heritage site.
“The film is called The Stand and it is dealing with all the raw footage and piecing together a story, which has taken me more than four years,” Auchter said.
The film will be released this fall.
Now is the Time, can be viewed on the National Film Board website in both Haida and English,