After feeling the stress of finding work, homeschooling three kids, and staying home through the pandemic, Dene artist and actress Melaw Nakehk鈥檕 said 鈥渢his is too much," and, with her family, 鈥渏ust threw everything in (her) truck and went to Dehcho.鈥�

The experience of life on the land with her kids and parents for the season鈥檚 turn is documented in her film. In her first filming and directing experience, Nakehk鈥檕 highlights the power of slowing down, hitting reset, and connecting.

In such an uncertain time, when communities are devastated by the pandemic, Nakehk鈥檕 says she feels lucky for the pristine 快盈v3 landscape. She says she's grateful for the time with her family and that it's important for her kids to know what they鈥檙e capable of and that they are able to be on the land for long periods of time.

鈥淭here were some really beautiful moments that we had as a family. We're definitely going to have a lot of memories from that time,鈥� she said.

Among them, Nakehk'o was impressed by the work that her sons put into hauling wood, using the chainsaw, and her two older boys scraping an entire moose hide on their own.

"I was really proud of them for doing that. That's a big job," she says.

The film is part of a series from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) called The Curve. The idea is that filmmakers from around the country showcase different perspectives on the Covid experience. 

K鈥檌 Tah Amongst the Birch was one of three short motion pictures released to kick off the series. The Curve鈥檚 30 films will continue to roll out into the winter.  

Nakehk'o's documentary wasn鈥檛 planned. It came about from NFB producer Coty Savard seeing Nakehk鈥檕鈥檚 social media posts about her time in Dehcho with her family and asking her if she would participate in the project. 

鈥淲ith all of the constant news that we were getting all the time, and this barrage of really scary stuff, there was Melaw's social media stories, and these little clips of her land camp and it was just like such a breath of fresh air,鈥� Savard says. 

Savard sees The Curve as a kind of time capsule of the Covid era. 

鈥淲e're all going through all of these brand new experiences, and we're feeling all of these new things, and something that can kind of showcase that, I think, is really important,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think that's what a lot of these films do, they are kind of just helping us through these really complex new experiences and emotions 鈥� and that's what art is.鈥� 

Nakehk鈥檕 is known to many for her role as a kidnapped Arikara woman in 2015 film The Revenant. She is also one of 10 founding members of Dene Nahjo collective, where she runs hide tanning camps and initiatives through the schools and other community partners.  

In the fall, the Asinabka Film and Media Arts Festival in Ottawa will be releasing a documentary following her story, along with two others, as a hide tanner and their journeys to reclaiming the knowledge. 

On NFB's The Curve initiative, Nakehk'o says that it's "beautiful" to continue to see different perspectives of what people are doing as the world continues to cope with a global pandemic.