“It just is a love letter to my community,” says Tyra Delver, a third-year MacEwan design student whose 10-minute short film, pahkwêsikan sâkihitowin: Bannock is Love, is being premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September.
Bannock is Love is about the tradition of making bannock as a vehicle for culture, connection, and teachings. While the film is deeply rooted in Delver’s own heritage as a Cree two-spirit artist, she hopes it can spark connections with her audience regardless of their backgrounds.
According to the description given on the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) website, Bannock is Love centres on “the ways that cultural traditions nourish not only the body, but the soul and spirit of a people.”
Delver described the film as a story about “community and resilience through the act of making bannock.”
“I grew up on the reservation, and I was always surrounded by ceremony and culture, and so I really wanted to make this film be something for others who haven’t had my experience, have an experience like that.”
– Tyra Delver, filmmaker of pahkwêsikan sâkihitowin: Bannock is Love
Delver’s film was produced through the REDEFINED program, a collaborative effort between the NFB and TIFF that allows five filmmakers under 30 to have a film about the Canadian or Indigenous experience professionally produced and premiered at TIFF, one of the world’s largest film festivals.
Delver says that Bannock is Love could’ve been a feature-length film, but the selected REDEFINED filmmakers were given a 10-minute limit for their films. She says the way her film was initially written was immensely different from how it stands now. Delver believes that the initial version felt “out of scope,” and that the 10-minute length is now perfect for the story.
While she was working on the production of Bannock is Love, Delver said the hardest part was finding her confidence.
“The NFB is a machine, and they have been doing this for decades. I was so scared that I would mess up,” says Delver. “But working with them throughout the months has been eye-opening and, you know, there [are] no limitations.”
As Delver gears up for her film’s premiere at such a large film festival, she hopes that Bannock is Love sparks a connection with the audience, highlighting that being Indigenous is not necessary to connect with her film.
“If somebody can just have something to connect to in the film, that would be my goal.”
– Tyra Delver, filmmaker of pahkwêsikan sâkihitowin: Bannock is Love
Bannock is Love will premiere at TIFF on Sept. 16 and will then be available to watch online.
