Photo Courtesy C.I.A. Solutions INC. Facebook Page

By Tanner Smith

Summer Camp

Youth Identity Film Camp coming to Grande Prairie this weekend

Jul 6, 2022 | 7:00 AM

C.I.A Solutions is bringing an Indigenous-led film camp to Grande Prairie July 8-11.

Ryan Dalgliesh, the owner of C.I.A Solutions, said this camp will teach kids all different aspects that go on in the film process, with hands-on experience to expose kids to something they might never think of for a career…

” I just think it’s a really great medium (film). There’s a lot of very creative people here in Grande Prairie and when you grow up here, you kind of grow up thinking you’re only getting into one thing, like oil and gas or something like that.”

“But we want to show people there’s a thriving filmmaking community in Grande Prairie and also just introduce them to the industry in case they want to explore.”

Dalgliesh said kids will learn all aspects of film in a hands-on setting, from directing, make-up, camera work, wardrobe, and sound effects, while bringing kids from different ethnicities and backgrounds together with the art of creating.

Dalgliesh is very excited to get back into camps after the pandemic caused them to shut down for a couple of years,

“Working with kids is so invigorating. We’ve been doing this for ten years now and you get stuck in the corporate world and this and that and working with kids reintroduces that passion and curiousness into our lives too so it’s really refreshing doing these camps.”

Dalgliesh said with this being indigenous-led, it is important to them to welcome everyone in their camp despite background or ethnicity and just solely on how passionate they are for film, and then using that shared passion to bring everyone together with one goal of creating a short film.

“I think it’s an example of that reconciliation, having Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working together to create art, not fighting their creating, I think it’s just a good example of us just trying in our own little way to help in that reconciliation process. “

This camp is free, but kids will have to apply to get a spot, applications can be sent online through a form by clicking here.

After the camp, all short films will be available to watch on Telus Optik TV.