Two locals, Indiana Wilson and Izzie Larter, received recognition and prize money at the 2023 Sea to Sky Shorts Showcase.
The event took place Nov. 8 at Buffalo Bills in Whistler. Wilson clinched the Judges’ Choice award for his piece, Still Living the Dream, and with it $2000. Larter’s Belonging was a big hit with viewers, earning her $500 as the Audience Choice winner.
These young filmmakers hail from different backgrounds, but they share a love of camera work and a passion for the Sea to Sky corridor.
Living the dream, a generation later
Wilson’s movie and the love that went into crafting it goes far beyond himself. It is, in fact, a spiritual sequel to his mom Carin Smolinski’s decade-old photography project.
“Living the Dream” began in 2010 as an attempt to document the wild, wacky and sometimes downright unreasonable living conditions that Whisterites put up with, from camper vans to overcrowded squatter houses. Smolinski and Wilson once subsisted in an unusual arrangement of their own: an old cabin on Alta Lake with no central heating.
The experience of waking up each day with frost on her sheets and those of her family ignited a desire in Smolinski to show others the dark side of a romanticized tourist destination like Whistler. It’s a story that countless more have empathized with over the years.
“I remember in my youth, going to the shoots with my mom, helping her take her camera gear places and meeting all these people who had the most insane living situations,” Wilson reminisces. “I think because I grew up in Whistler, that idea of these ridiculous places where people live is so ingrained in me. When I bring it up with other people—you know, 15 people in a room, that kind of thing—they're so shocked, but to me, it's such a normal thing.
“Now, there's plenty of social media and all these things, but back then it was just word of mouth. The people who lived here knew about it, but the tourists who had come here were blissfully ignorant about where their [lift operators] were cramming into.”
The family has, for years, wanted to continue their personal project, and the Whistler Film Festival (WFF)—which they’re big fans of—ended up providing an opportunity. It took Wilson roughly a month to assemble his nine-and-a-half minute short: storyboarding, re-scanning old photographs and arranging on-camera interviews facilitated by his Capilano Film School classmate, Kate Henderson. The narrative heft involved was a change of pace for the 19-year-old, who is used to filming winter sports.
The end result paid off—literally and otherwise.
“Honestly, I'm still kind of in disbelief that I won,” Wilson admits. “The Whistler Film Fest has been such a huge part of growing up, and I think it is a big reason that I got into film. I think it shaped what I wanted to do because I didn't have access to the Toronto International Film Festival, or even Vancouver International. This was my first solo entry into a film fest, and to come away with that award is very special to me.”
Smolinski might be even more excited about the achievement than her son.
“She’s a very passionate person,” explains Wilson. “Plus my friends and relatives like my grandpa have been really supportive. I’ve even had a lot of out-of-the-blue texts from people congratulating me.”
A sense of belonging
While Wilson represents the born-and-bred Sea to Sky local, Larter embodies another key part of our demographic: the expatriate. She grew up in Oxfordshire, a county in southeast England, and discovered filmmaking by way of a media teacher named Sarah Wilson. Larter and her brother Justus experienced a difficult upbringing, and Sarah played a key role in helping them overcome the obstacles in their path.
She also worked as a broadcaster for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“I actually hadn’t heard of Whistler [as a teenager],” says Larter. “I hadn't really planned on even coming to Canada. It wasn't on my radar. I just knew I wanted to travel for 10 months before I went to university and Sarah said: ‘you have to go to Whistler. You’ll love it.’”
Larter touched down in the Sea to Sky in 2018 and inevitably fell in love with the place. She and Justus established themselves as ski instructors, but their early days here were anything but easy. Between past demons and mental health afflictions, the 24-year-old had plenty to fight through, and it’s the community in Whistler that helped her pull it off.
Such was the inspiration for her latest project, co-narrated by herself and Justus.
“I couldn't have gotten through it without all the incredible people I have met in this community,” Larter says. “[Thanks to them], some of the hardest times of my life have been overcome with the best times. With the support and love from friends that I now call family, to my co-workers and support from the incredible wellness team we have working for Whistler Blackcomb, I have been able to work through hardship. For the first time in my life, I feel a deep sense of belonging and happiness.
“That was truly reflected the night [I won] the Audience Choice award, surrounded by my friends and people I know through the Whistler community coming out to watch my film and support me.”
Belonging struck a chord with all sorts of folks. She remembers one individual saying that her film made them feel prouder than ever to live in Whistler, with others disseminating it across their circles to express why they’ve chosen the Sea to Sky.
Larter has recently begun a new job as Whistler Blackcomb’s resort marketing specialist. In addition to that, she can’t wait to make more content representative of the heart and soul of her home.
