Roger Lagassé has a vision – to introduce the 48 French schools scattered throughout BC to First Nation values and culture.  He has tremendous admiration for Alanis Obomsawin, an Abenaki filmmaker from Quebec with an international reputation.

Alanis Obomsawin has a vision – to make films that mirror back to First Nation peoples the beauty and power of their traditional culture, their historical relationship with the natural world.  She is on her 39th film.

Ben Ged Low has a vision – as a youth he experienced a peculiar intuition, not unlike a vision, that the First Nations would one day offer to the Western world a lifeboat, a philosophy, a blueprint, for rescuing itself from the mess it has made.

Roger telephones me (Ben) one day.  He wants me to film the visit of someone coming to show films at two of his schools.  He wants to make a small film for the visitor as a gift.  I say ‘okay’.  I don’t ask who this visitor is.  Roger and I fly to Victoria.  Surprise, surprise.  The visitor is Alanis Obomsawin, someone I know, and adore; I photographed her very first film for her.

Alanis shows her films.  No flash, no hype, no hundred-million-dollar-Disney-special-effects.  The films are seemingly very simple.  And elegant in their simplicity.  Here is the remarkable thing:  There is a resonance there, something hidden under the surface.  I turn the camera on the faces of the watching children.  I can’t believe what I’m seeing, the stillness, the intense focus; I don’t think I’ve ever seen children so mesmerized by a film.

When the films are done and the class is over, the children line up to hug Alanis.  Great big affectionate hugs.  This happens at two different schools.  On that day I see three visions playing out.  Or one vision from three hearts.  A magical experience.