Portraits from a Fire

Portraits from a Fire is the first narrative feature film written and directed by a Tsilhqot'in filmmaker.

Portraits from a Fire is a Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by Trevor Mack and released in 2021.[1] The film stars William Magnus Lulua as Tyler, an amateur filmmaker living with his father Gord (Nathaniel Arcand) on a Tsilhqotʼin reserve in northern British Columbia, whose life is upended following the revelation of a long-hidden family secret.[2]

The film was shot in 2019 on Tl'etinqox-t'in territory around the community of Anaham.[3] Mack has indicated that the film was inspired by a desire to tell a First Nations story that had nothing to do with colonialism or the Indian residential school system,[2] as well as by a desire to reclaim the Tsilhqot’in language, which during his early life was typically spoken by people in the community only when they needed to discuss something they did not want their children to hear or understand.[1] Many of the supporting roles in the film are performed by local residents of Anaham rather than professional actors.[3]

Trevor Mack, center, directing on the set of Portraits from a Fire.

The film had its official theatrical premiere on October 3, 2021 at the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival,[4] although it was screened on the online platforms of the 2021 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival[5] and the FIN Atlantic Film Festival[6] in September. It was also selected as the opening film of the 2021 Edmonton International Film Festival,[2] and was screened at the 2021 ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival,[7] and the 2021 American Indian Film Festival.

It premiered commercially on November 1.[8]