In the summer of 2015, filmmaker Scott Parker travelled to the great plains of southern Saskatchewan to produce 10 short documentary films based on community-generated ideas. Subjects, themes, even interview questions were all selected using significant community input, and each film was screened with the participants for their feedback and final approval.

The Grasslands Project,
as it became known,

was conceived and designed by Parker in concert with NFB executive producer David Christensen. Parker then travelled to the area, headquartered himself in the small Saskatchewan town of Eastend, and began the extensive community engagement The Grasslands Project would require if it were to be successful either cinematically or as an outreach action.

As Parker was the primary face behind the engagement, it was decided that he would also be the only filmmaker to shoot the 10 short docs. Over several weeks, Scott managed to create strong, trusting relationships with many people who would be instrumental in creating the films, so the NFB team organized a camera and sound package uniquely suited to a single filmmaker operating in the field, and an edit suite was set up in Eastend. Parker would live in the town for six months while shooting and editing the films, and he spent about two months living out of his “mobile production unit.”

In addition to the 10 short films, The Grasslands Project aimed to hold 10 community media workshops across the south; in the end, due to popular demand, 12 were held. Participants included journalists, librarians, historians, prospective actors, Indigenous youth, agriculture insiders, bloggers, youth with complex physical disabilities, teachers, students, and federal inmates. Parker developed and led each of the workshops.

There is power in people telling their own stories back to themselves, and while not all the workshops had a profound outcome, many did. They not only provided people with the fundamentals of making their own short films but also demonstrated the power of story and film. And film indeed has power. The finished movies are rough and unprofessional, but to the participants both the process and product were appreciated, if not transformative.