Five films from five NWT regions will make up a collaborative effort between the 快盈v3 Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC) and Western Arctic Moving Pictures (WAMP) to debut the brand new Trapper Radio Series.

鈥淚t was a long road to get here,鈥� said Jeremy Emerson, WAMP鈥檚 executive director.

The series features a collection of projects from the North Slave, the Mackenzie Delta, the Dehcho, the Sahtu and the South Slave. Pat Braden, Leanne Goose, Wesley Hardisty and Dylan Jones 鈥� also known as Crook the Kid 鈥� are among the many artists showcased.

For Marie Coderre, NACC鈥檚 executive director, the development of the series came about to find new avenues to present artistic material after NACC shut down in March 2020.

鈥淓verybody was doing their best to do online shows in their living rooms and things like that,鈥� Coderre said of the transition.

Through research that she conducted, she would end up getting in touch with WAMP, which was in a similar situation regarding a growing number of online shows.

鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 do a lot of in-person stuff,鈥� Emerson explained. 鈥淲e were turning to video and (different) projects to engage filmmakers, but also musicians and performers from the NACC side of things and working together on that.

鈥淪o that was kind of where they didn鈥檛 have as much experience in doing video and things like that,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey were able to handle the performing arts side of things, and I think it worked out really well.鈥�

The collaborative efforts of the two organizations would result in the creation of the $170,000 Trapper Radio Series. The injection of federal and territorial government funding was especially important for NACC, which was facing significant revenue losses.

鈥淟ike hundreds of thousands (of dollars),鈥� said Coderre. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have rentals. We didn鈥檛 have ticket sales. Many sponsors bailed off because they were facing some important financial losses. So it was very stressful to just plan a big, high-scale project like this.鈥�

The project funds led to the hiring of the necessary crews in each region to make the Trapper Radio Series a reality.

鈥淲e hired a lot of local filmmakers. We use footage from filmmakers from different regions,鈥� said Coderre. 鈥淪o it was a project that was aimed at supporting the economy of local artists here. It鈥檚 100 per cent NWT.鈥�

Despite being a combination of various films, the title Trapper Radio Series comes from bush-style radios that are still used in some communities today.

Alhough editing is ongoing for some aspects of the project, the Trapper Radio Series is scheduled to premiere via an online screening on Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m.