Synopsis
A unique portrait of George Johnston, a photographer who was himself a creator of portraits and a keeper of his culture. Johnston cared deeply about the traditions of the Tlingit people, and he recorded a critical period in the history of the Tlingit nation. As filmmaker Carol Geddes says, his legacy was “to help us dream the future as much as to remember the past.”
A word from Tënk
When Tlingit filmmaker Carol Geddes set out to make a film about her clan relative Kaash KlaÕ (George Johnston) in 1996 she wanted to highlight a side of the Yukon that was lesser known. One that would deconstruct this idea of Yukon being a frontier territory – wild and uncharted.
Picturing a People: George Johnston, Tlingit Photographer details the larger-than-life story of an Indigenous man, who as a teenager, hiked hundreds of kilometres to meet his ancestors in Alaska. In 1910, he taught himself how to shoot and develop film in order to document his community. His photographs remain a rich archive of what life was like for Indigenous Yukoners in the early 20th century and act as a stark contrast with the footage initially captured by Thomas Edison's company during the Gold Run, which itself contributed to fuel Yukon's reputation of being a simple frontier vista.
Vivian Belik
Guest curator
Hot Docs, Available Light Film Festival
Jason Todd
Artistic Director
Tënk
