Windigo film to screen at Mayfair
According to the Anishinaabe, the Windigo is a malevolent, supernatural spirit that can possess and transform people into greedy, cannibalistic creatures. The Windigo is also part of the inspiration behind Armand Garnet Ruffo’s first feature film. Ruffo, a professor in the Department of English, has spent the last six years producing, writing and directing a Windigo Tale.
The film depicts a road trip in which a Native grandfather, Harold, who is desperate to save his troubled grandson Curtis from a life on the street, shares the dark secrets of their family and community. Focusing on the intergenerational impact of the residential school experience, the story Harold tells involves as estranged mother and daughter who must reunite to exorcise the dreaded Windigo spirit that is tied to their family’s painful past of abuse.
The movie was shot in two parts, the first on Six Nations Reserve, and the second two years later in Ottawa and the Renfrew area.
Organizers of both the Sundance Film Festival and the Reel World Film Festival have invited Ruffo to submit his film to their competitions.
In the interim, the Carleton community can get a sneak peak at a private screening of the film on Wednesday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mayfair Theatre. Carleton I.D or an invitation is required.
