UNAFF 2005 : Films : Suckerfish

SUCKERFISH
Lisa Jackson (Canada) 8'

Description:
When she was ten, Lisa Jackson fled Toronto to live with relatives in Vancouver to escape her mother‚s depression, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse˜legacies of the residential school experience. Now, sifting through her memories and her mother‚s letters, she constructs a portrait of a mother whose drive to love her daughter triumphed over her demons of addiction. Animation, childhood photographs and stylized recreations add the young child‚s whimsical voice to this moving, at times humorous, look at the director‚s relationship to her mother and native identity.

Biography:
Suckerfish is Lisa Jackson‚s first professional film. It premiered at 2004 Hot Docs and has screened at over thirty festivals across Canada and internationally. Lisa spent several years researching and production coordinating award-winning educational programming for air on Knowledge Network, and directs and produces curricular video and multimedia projects. She has a degree in film and history from Simon Fraser University and has directed numerous short films and videos. She is currently developing a one hour documentary on aboriginal languages with the NFB. In addition, she is co-directing the feature-length documentary Riddle (in development) with cinematographer Bob Aschmann, as well as working with Screen Siren Pictures on the one hour documentary Reservation Soldiers (in development).

Contact Information:
Documentary Educational Resources
101 Morse Street
Watertown, MA 02472
E-mail: docued@der.org
URL: www.der.org