YORKTON — The Yorkton Film Festival, a staple of Canadian cinema since 1947, became the backdrop for a conversation on identity, representation and the creative economy.
Among the creators gathering in Saskatchewan were producer John Loeppky and Cara Nye, the director of content development and production for Accessible Media Inc. (AMI-TV).
The duo took the opportunity to showcase their new series History in 60 while shedding light on how AMI-TV is shifting the landscape of disability-led storytelling in Canada.
Unearthing overlooked heritage
For Saskatoon-born Loeppky, bringing an episode of History in 60 to Yorkton was a full-circle moment. The six-part documentary series aims to fill a gap in Canadian cultural education by spotlighting moments in national disability history.
"Quite often we talk about Canadian disability history and people say, 'Well, I didn't hear about that, I didn't learn about that in school,'" Loeppky explained during an audio interview at the festival. "My response is, well, you know, I've been a para sport athlete, I've been a journalist, I've been a disabled theatre artist. I didn't know this history either to the level that, ideally, we would."
The specific episode screening at the festival tracks the grassroots origins of wheelchair rugby, a heritage sport created in Winnipeg during the 1970s. For Loeppky, the festival served as a vibrant hub to celebrate how local talent drives national conversations.
"It's just so exciting to be in a space with so many people from across the country talking about the way that Saskatchewan is producing work in the creative economy," he remarked.
From "text on screen" to premium television
The journey of History in 60 from a simple concept to a premium television series was years in the making. Cara Nye revealed that she had envisioned a disability history project well before the COVID-19 pandemic, initially imagining it as a low-cost, informative segment.
"Back when I wanted to do this, like celebration of disability history, it was literally going to be like text on screen. Something really inexpensive, but informative, too," Nye said.
The project truly found its footing when AMI-TV paired Loeppky with co-producer Brent Kawchuk of Danny Rockett Productions and 3 Story Pictures. Nye recalled that after talking with John many times decided we should put these together. Once connected, Loeppky was able to "craft that from the disability perspective because everything that we do needs to have that perspective."
Changing the perspective: "A window pushing out"
For AMI-TV, a national broadcaster dedicated to serving the disability community, authentic perspective is everything. Nye emphasized that while mainstream networks are releasing more disability-related content, it is rarely created with a disabled audience in mind.
"When we get pitches in, I literally close my eyes … and picture who is watching this," Nye stated. "A lot of times the ones that come to us, I picture a non-disabled audience. The perspective is different."
"Most of the stuff we do, especially when it comes to the creator's perspective, it's a window looking out, a window pushing out, as opposed to a window looking in, which would be for the non-disabled audience," Nye said. "There's room for both of them, but it's really important for us to make sure that we get that lived experience from the likes of John… bringing that to the screen and honouring those stories because that's really what it's all about."
History in 60 is currently available to stream online on AMI’s website and broadcasts nationally on AMI-TV.
