As a filmmaker I am an avid visionary. In my mind I am always working on several projects at once and am passionate about bringing my ideas to life. Currently, Visionkeeper has several projects in various stages of development.

 

Boyz Road

Synopsis
Aboriginal youth gang violence in the Cowichan First Nation community is explored from a historical and cultural perspective of traditional warrior societies, through a timeline of local Native gang-related activities, to current conditions of gang violence on reserve.

      

Treatment
“Boyz Road” is a proposed one-hour guerrilla-film style documentary intended to examine the increase in Aboriginal gang activity in the traditional territory of Cowichan First Nation. From the 2008 gang-related stabbing death of a young Native teen to Elders barring their doors and windows to protect themselves from aggressive home invasions, gang activity is on the rise in the Cowichan Valley.

This documentary will remain framed in Aboriginal culture and told from the perspective of personal stories of Cowichan First Nation gang members, those who ran in gangs in the past to present day gang affiliations. Their uncensored stories are riveting, compelling and candid. “Boyz Road” will include interviews with Elders bringing forward their opinions on the collapse of culture for Aboriginal youth, gang experts like Cpl. Mike Moyer, Aboriginal coordinator for the RCMP, and family members victimized by the behaviours of youth gangs. “Boyz Road” will travel to the Prairies, birth place of the most notorious Native gangs to capture First Nations bands struggling to reclaim their youth, their communities, and their culture. It will follow Johnnie Two Feathers, a Cowichan youth who found his way out of violence and is pursuing a career in professional boxing, and local community initiatives such as the restorative justice program at Hiiye’yu’ Lelum, the Cowichan Native Friendship Centre.

Having a personal history of gang violence in his own youth, “Boyz Road” producer/director Harold C. Joe was motivated to investigate his community’s gang escalation when the gangs crossed a cultural barrier moving from typical drug and criminal activities to the battering of Elders for their pension allowances, an unprecedented violation of traditionally respected Cowichan Elders.

The intention of this documentary is to raise awareness of the reality of Aboriginal gang lifestyle, reveal the deceitful lure of vulnerable Aboriginal youth, and expose gang myths, in an effort to ultimately support Native youth and defend the future of the Cowichan culture.