Christopher Auchter (4)
Christopher Auchter
Christopher Auchter grew up roaming the beaches and forests of the Haida Gwaii archipelago off Canada’s West Coast, and his art is rooted in the land and stories of the Haida people. Auchter’s art practice is fuelled by his close connection to the natural environment, his adventures in forestry and commercial fishing, and by the colourful people with whom he has lived and worked. From early on, he recorded his feelings and impressions as images, and today his filmmaking serves the same function.
Auchter studied media arts at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design (Vancouver, British Columbia) and graduated with honours in computer animation from Sheridan College in Ontario. His goal is to create films that are as engaging and entertaining as the many people and environments that have inspired him, to help facilitate genuine contact between the Haida people and the global community.
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Waaydanaa (Haida Version)Christopher Auchter 2019 16 minWhen internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he carved the first new totem pole on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century. On the 50th anniversary of the pole’s raising, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps easily through history to revisit that day in August 1969, when the entire village of Old Massett gathered to celebrate the event that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.
This version has been re-recorded in the Skidegate (Xaayda Kil) and Old Masset (Xaad Kil) Haida dialects. -
Ryan Reynolds: I'm a Laureate?Christopher Auchter 2021 4 minRyan Reynolds reflects on his childhood, family and career—punctuated by diversions into the charitable side of Twitter to appeal to his Canadian sense of self.
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The Mountain of SGaanaChristopher Auchter 2017 10 minIn The Mountain of SGaana, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter spins a magical tale of a young man who is stolen away to the spirit world, and the young woman who rescues him. The film brilliantly combines traditional animation with formal elements of Haida art, and is based on a story inspired by a old Haida fable.
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Now Is the TimeChristopher Auchter 2019 16 minWhen internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he carved the first new totem pole on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century. On the 50th anniversary of the pole’s raising, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps easily through history to revisit that day in August 1969, when the entire village of Old Massett gathered to celebrate the event that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.
