For ‘Biidaaban: First Light’, Lisa Jackson joined forces with 3D artist Mathew Borrett to create an interactive virtual reality experience that pictures a future Toronto overgrown by nature. Intertwining scenes of the city’s downtown core overtaken by plant life with spoken and written text of the Wendat, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway), ‘Biidaaban: First Light’ is a work of Indigenous futurism that creates a world where languages and vegetation thrive.

Join Jackson and Borrett for a conversation that delves into the process of making this extraordinary work.

About Lisa Jackson:
Lisa Jackson is a cross-genre filmmaker whose works have screened at Hotdocs, Tribeca, SXSW, Berlinale and London BFI, and aired on many networks in Canada. Her work has garnered many awards including a Genie and Canadian Screen Award and Playback Magazine named her one of Ten to Watch. She is Anishinaabe, lives in Toronto, and her recent projects include the internationally acclaimed VR Biidaaban: First Light and the short IMAX 3D film Lichen. Along with a large-scale immersive installation Transmissions, on the power of Indigenous languages, she is also working on more traditional film and TV projects. See more at lisajackson.ca

About Mathew Borrett:
Mathew Borrett is an artist living and working in Toronto. He has worked as an illustrator, and as an environment/concept artist in the film and TV industry.This program is presented in partnership with the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective (ACC/CCA).

Image courtesy of Mathew Borrett