Gregory Coyes

My name is Greg Coyes, I’m from Alberta. I’m from a large Metis family the Larondelle family. I’ve been a filmmaker since 1984, and I started as an actor in 1982, and got completely hooked on the idea of creative people completely stimulated by their work. I love creative decision making, and I knew I was a good candidate to be a filmmaker when I recognized how much I enjoyed making creative decisions.

I actually got a degree in Geology, I was a Scientist, before I became a filmmaker, and I recognized the power of stories early on. It really excited me, I started as an actor on a film called Running Brave. The story of Billy Mills, who won a gold medal at the Olympics, 1964 Tokyo, and I auditioned for that part, and did very poorly because I was an inexperienced actor. But I was an athlete and ran and when I came around the track in the casting session, Billy Mills said Gammoudi. I thought he was speaking Lakota, but he was naming his competitor, Mohammed Gammoudi, from Tunisia. I ended up playing a North African in that film. But I also got the chance to work as a stand-in, and I didn’t know what a stand-in did and they said stay with the camera and we’ll use you to set up scenes. Well that was an incredible observation point on an 11 Million dollar picture in 1982. Which was huge at that point, and as I said earlier I got the chance to watch, 50 creative people completely stimulated by their work, all focused on the vision of this director. I recognized some potential in that. My first film two years later, was Kokoom stories, and I walked around our Metis farm that we’ve had for over a hundred years and I talked to my grandmother about the stories she knew, that she had from that piece of land. It was very personal, initially.

Its about for me the incredible resources we have in our communities. I feel as a producer and director it’s my job to bring the best technology I can, to these resources, because they are you can’t put a value on the knowledge, the humor, the experience that exists in our communities, the music. That’s what I’m doing right now is the music series, but it’s so rich.

My criteria for evaluating my work has little to do with the existing models in television. It’s really about being true to the subjects and true to the story, and making that accessible in some way, if I can make that accessible and bring the integrity of that story forward then I think I’ve been successful.

I think one of the best things an emerging artist can do is try and find opportunities to work with more experienced filmmakers. In any way you can assist them. I never went to film school, but when I look back on it, I hung around the National Film Board in Edmonton in the mid 80’s. I just hung out there until they hired me. Then I assisted people like Anne Wheeler on her early drama. I assisted Gill Cardinal on his early documentaries.

It’s about story well presented, and it has a lot to do with being true to the subjects. I think that’s really key.