Eva Wunderman, concludes her interview with The Hope Standard, which featured two previous articles on her epic journey, documenting a historical/contemporary project in the Arctic. “Braving the Arctic winds, Part One and Two” examined her filmmaking experience in the freezing town of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, as she examined the descendants of Swedish explorer and fur trader Petter Norberg.
Filmmaking is a creative an experimental process according to the legendary Stockholm born documentarist who resides in Hope and Port Moody.
“It's about being creative and having new ideas — so much can come to you and it's about the people you work with, it's the teamwork,” she said. “I couldn't do it all myself. I have a great cameraman and sound team.”
On the legendary Norberg project that she's busy logging footage from, she mentions the feeling of Petter's spirit nearby.
“I feel like Petter is guiding me to do this, because so many things have happened, as if he wants me to have this done, so I go with the flow and I like to do that.”
Eva often does reenactments in the film that require her to be true to life.
“The actress that portray's Petter's wife in the documentary is an Inuit singer by the name of Tiffany Ayalik. There is a moment where she's standing out in the snow, and I did a reenactment where she passes away, and her spirit traces Petter's journey to the place where he disappeared at Bloody Falls. There's also a moment in the film where she's singing in the cold, and it's a Gwitchin song, and it was so beautiful.”
Being fearless and focusing on a vision is essential to the making of good documentaries according to Eva, who suggests being true to one's individuality while creating a film.
“Focus on your vision, don't take no for an answer, and break any rules you can find, because if you do something that someone else has already done, it will be similar, but if you can go past that, than you have a chance to be who you are and explore your individuality. With every project I try to have an open mind and do something that's completely different.”
Learning is essential in her craft, and she's still keeping up with the changes brought on by the digital age, but her advice is to learn everything from anybody, anywhere, and all the time.
“If you can learn your own thing and not get intimidated you have a shot.”
Eva will be wrapping up the filming of her latest documentary this summer