Left to right: Writer/ Director Pete Kolopenuk, Producer Laura Faul, Director of Photography Anastas Maragos. (Submitted/ Laura Faul)

By Nigel Maxwell

Promoting culture

Carlton alum and film producer excited for powwow documentary

Oct 28, 2025 | 4:00 PM

A woman who grew up in Prince Albert is producing a new documentary that explores the beauty of Indigenous powwows.

Filming is expected to begin sometime next spring and will involve a number of communities in Saskatchewan.

Recalling her days at Carlton Comprehensive High School, and the mentorship of Victor Thunderchild, Laura Faul has fond memories of her native studies classes that sometimes involved elders coming in and telling different stories about treaties.

“I didn’t realize that was a Prince Albert thing and not an everywhere thing. I’ve always had a huge love for Indigenous culture,” she said.

Faul and Pete Kolopenuk (director/writer and filmmaker) were recently among 17 groups chosen for Telefilm Talent to Watch Program. They are the only group from the prairie provinces and every year hundreds of emerging film makers and producers apply for the prestigious grant.

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“It’s an exciting part of my career to be able to say you know, we acknowledge that you have the skills and the dream and they see it behind the story of a powwow the documentary that we’re gonna be doing,” she said.

Faul’s film career started with hallmark style feature films as a makeup artist. She then went on to do reality tv shows in United States and Canada. Her first big documentary about the 1986 Swift Current Broncos bus crash comes out next month.

The grant money she received for the powwow documentary amounts to $150,000. She explained a lot will help cover costs related to travel, as well as the extensive editing process which can take months to complete.

Pete Kolopenuk, originally from Peguis First Nation, (Swampy Cree) is a talented and ambitious Indigenous Award-Winning Filmmaker based on Treaty 4 Territory.

After lengthy careers in both the Canadian Armed Forces and in film, Kolopenuk has extensive experience from working on the set of several Motion Pictures, Documentaries, National and International Broadcasters/Distributors, and many First Nations.

“Talent to Watch is a powerful springboard for emerging filmmakers, giving them the opportunity to share their unique voices and contribute to the mosaic of stories that shape Canada’s identity” said Julie Roy, Executive Director and CEO of Telefilm Canada. “The richness and diversity of these projects reflect our deep commitment to showcasing a wide range of genres, languages and perspectives in many of our regions, each one adding a vital thread to the fabric of Canadian storytelling.”

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell