Yellowknife musician, writer and now filmmaker Miranda Currie鈥檚 10-minute documentary Tails on Ice was featured in last week鈥檚 2021 Cannes Short Film Festival.

Currie applied for her film to be featured back in May on an app called Film Freeway. She was scrolling though the app, noticed the festival and remembered her sister always saying, 鈥淵ou miss 100 per cent of the opportunities you don鈥檛 take.鈥�

Three months after she applied, 鈥淚 honestly forgot about it,鈥� Currie admitted.

Then one morning in July, she woke up to an email that her film was going to be featured.

鈥淚 was like yeah, OK, that鈥檚 cool,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 obviously thrilled. It鈥檚 pretty awesome. I didn鈥檛 expect it.鈥�

Tails on Ice is Currie鈥檚 first ever film released to the public.

The project was made possible with support from the National Screen Institute鈥檚 IndigiDocs training program. She thought this program would be a great way to help her gain the skills to learn how to make a quality film.

Currie applied in August 2019 but didn鈥檛 hear back until four months later. For two weeks in February, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she travelled to Winnipeg to participate in the two-week IndigiDocs program boot camp. Out of four people, Currie鈥檚 concept was chosen to receive $26,000 to proceed to the filming stage.

Then she dove right into creating a film during a virus fraught 2020.

Out on Yellowknife Bay, 鈥淲e started filming in a pandemic right at the beginning of COVID-19, which was crazy,鈥� she recalled.

Her location was right outside her backyard, and she filmed out on the lake for three days with three sled dogs.

鈥淭hey say don鈥檛 film children or animals and they are probably right.鈥� Currie quipped. 鈥淚t was probably easier because they鈥檙e my dogs鈥� I spend a lot of time with them. They鈥檙e used to me. They know their commands.鈥�

Currie said to make and finalize the documentary took her and a team about a year.

Even though it is a 10-minute film, 鈥渋t was really difficult piece to make,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he filming was probably the easiest part鈥� It was really difficult to sit in-person with people during COVID-19 and you couldn鈥檛 really travel.

鈥淪o that was just a really difficult part about making the film, but we persevered and I鈥檓 just really stoked that my perseverance was able to make a film that was worthy of such a selection as well.鈥�

Having her film screened during such a high-profile event in France can help build her reputation, she said.

鈥淚 think the most significant thing about having my film in the official collective of the Cannes Short Film Festivals, is that it lends me some credibility as a filmmaker,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or me, that鈥檚 a really important stepping stone in my career as a filmmaker.鈥�

Currie鈥檚 future goals include the creation of a 快盈v3 Indigenous children鈥檚 television show.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the reason鈥檚 why I wanted to gain the experience in filmmaking so that going into a television series, I have some experience behind me,鈥� she said.

Even though the 2021 Cannes Short Film Festival is over, 鈥淚鈥檓 keeping my figures crossed that it [Tails on Ice] might be a selection at the Yellowknife Film Festival as well.鈥� That event runs from Nov. 3 to Nov. 7.