By Angela Brown

Vancouver-based stuntman meets local kids in BEATS Encounter program

Apr 10, 2018 | 2:11 PM

North Battleford students in the BEATS Encounter program had an opportunity to learn how to make a movie during a visit from professional stuntman Lauro Chartrand Tuesday.

Chartrand who lives in Vancouver has worked on many Hollywood movies over the years. He spoke to students about his personal experiences in the business as well as personally, and how he overcame challenges to stay the course. Chartrand has also done a lot of directing and producing in his work.

He said life was tough growing up but with discipline he managed to follow through with his goals.

“You’re the master of your own destiny,” Chartrand said. “There is no one better than you.”  

About 20 students from North Battleford Comprehensive High School, Sakewew High School and the Manacowin Program attended the presentation at the NBCHS as part of the BEATS Encounter program, which stands for Building Expression and Awareness through Theatre and Sound, and is aimed toward at-risk youth.

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Students at John Paul II Collegiate who were interested took in Chartrand‘s presentation remotely.

In the afternoon students in the BEATS program went to the local airport to work on the movie they were creating as part of their course work — a sci-fi-comedy spoof about a zombie apocalypse. The movie was filmed at various locations. The youth learned all the different jobs in the movie industry during the day. Students taking the BEATS Encounter program also receive a credit for their work once they complete all their projects.

Alan Corbeil is a Saskatchewan Health Authority social worker and the BEATS Encounter program coordinator.

“(Chartrand) volunteered to come out here after we contacted him to help us do a day of filming with our youth here,” Corbeil said. “We’re giving them an experience they will never have elsewhere.”

Corbeil said in the BEATS program students learn to better deal with the challenges in their life while they learn new skills and develop their potential.

“A lot of kids who are hurting tend to withdraw from society. We’re trying to reconnect them with role models in the community, so they can see potentials and careers, and (stay) in school instead of exploring the darker side of life,” he said.

Living Sky School Division learning consultant Sherron Burns said taking part in the movie-making workshop was a good learning experience for the kids.

“I think we need some fun in our lives, right now especially,” she said. “I think they are going to learn some real skills around film-making and the industry, thinking about careers, and seeing themselves as maybe somebody they haven’t previously seen themselves. Sometimes we get stuck in these stories about ourselves and other people have stories about us. That really impacts the way we can interact in the world.”  

Burns said the program helps students feel more positively about themselves and their future.

She said every week there is a different workshop offered to students in the BEATS Encounter program.

The primary partners in the program are Saskatchewan Health Authority, Living Sky School Division and Sakewew High School.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW