Gina Payzant, who worked as an archivist in Athabasca, has won the Outstanding Music Video award for “The Hand That Picks the Stones” at the Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta (FAVA) Fest held Aug. 24 in Edmonton.
The video is part of the soundtrack to her first short file, “Just a Ploughboy,” about Athabasca area man George Ryga, who went on to international acclaim for his writing.
Payzant realized while working in the Athabasca archives that there was not a lot of historical information about the renowned writer. She started digging around and found Ryga’s childhood friend Alex Krawec.
A quick interview with Krawec led Payzant to write, produce and direct the short film focusing on Ryga’s famous 1967 play “The Ecstasy of Rita Joe,” about an Indigenous woman who moves to the city and ultimately is raped and murdered, as well as his impact in the literary world.
Out of the soundtrack to the short film came the music video that won Payzant her award.
“It was very important to me that the music video be filmed in Richmond Park, north of Athabasca, where George Ryga grew up,” Payzant said in an email. “We used a beautiful field owned by the late Pete Mahailuk.
Payzant continued, “The 1947 John Deere tractor was provided by Dave and Terry James of Island Lake.”
“I am the producer/writer/director of the film and the music video,” Payzant said. “david sereda is our composer, and Jared Paull is cinematographer and co-directed the music video with me.”
Dan Schiff of Athabasca performed the role of “Stonepicker” in the music video, Payzant noted.
Payzant herself undertook the role of “Ukranian Muse,” with an appearance by sereda playing piano and singing.
“You can view my film at the National Screen Institute of Canada’s online film festival on their website,” she said. “Just Google “’Just a Ploughboy’ music video;” “The Hand That Picks the Stones,” or go to the (Athabasca) library and archives for the DVD which features both the film and music video.”
The DVD has Ukrainian subtitles, she mentioned.
Payzant is now off to the western Ukraine where she has been invited to present “Just a Ploughboy” at The National University of Ukraine in Chernivtski.
