Filmography - click here to see list of films
FILMOGRAPHY
2025 – There is Hope, Malawi (15 min.)
2025 – Kwathu Ndi Kwanu (4 min.)
2024 – Coming Home to Grandmother’s Garden (16 min.)
2023 – Conservation Science (Comox Valley Land Trust)
2022 – 24 Hour Drum – Back Again (22 min)
2020 – Yalis Rising (29 min)
2019 – Cooperativa – La Lucha Sigue (40 min)
2019 – Ecology Transforms Youth (38 min)
2019 – 24 Hour Drum – Taking Action (12 min)
2018 – Our Language, Our Culture (7 min)
2018 – Embracing Life – Pow Wow (9 min)
2017 – 24 Hour Drum – Seeking Wisdom (19 min)
2016 – Drumbeats & Dreams (27 min)
2016 – Shared Drum, Shared Territory (9 min)
2015 – 24 Hour Drum – Sea to Sky (34 min)
2014 – Tribal Canoe Journey – 5 min.
2013 – Verna no.688 – Honouring Residential School Survivors (16min)
2008 – Pacific Biological Station – 100th Anniversary (24 min)
2007 – Empowering Youth – Canada World Youth in Africa (16 min)
2005 – Thirsty Planet – Introducing Solar Ovens in Ghana and Benin (27 min)
2001 – Think Big – Protecting Natural Systems in the Rocky Mountains (27 min)
1995 – Employed as Cameraman / Editor – Canadian Airlines International – Worked with producers to create airline promotion/employee training videos in Canada, United States and Mexico.
1988 – 95 – Filmmaker, A/V Coordinator, Alberta Environmental Protection – directed, and edited educational films in Kananaskis Country. (designed Visitor Center displays, partnered with Parks Canada, and Access Network (Calgary).
Edwin Carswell
mobile: 778 585-4130 carswellfilm@gmail.com
• Director / Videographer / Editor
• B.F.A. Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design
I have been directing educational films for over 35 years. Carswellfilm elevates voices of Indigenous and marginalized communities, documents ecological struggles, engages youth, schools, and communities in constructive dialogue, and offers visual storytelling grounded in empathy, respect for nature, and cultural sensitivity.
Updates and Stories
Filmmaking for WUSC Sri Lanka
After a successful filmmaking experience in Malawi, my partner Danielle and I are now on another assignment with World University Service of Canada (WUSC). We arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka in mid-November. My role as a "Visual and Content Creation Advisor" is to support various NGOs throughout the...
Learning from refugees in Malawi
There Is Hope is a Malawian NGO provides refugees of Dzaleka refugee camp, as well as their Dowa host community, with access to education, income generating activities and spiritual well-being. The Vocational Training Center across the road from the refugee camp was a filmmakers' dream; various...
Kus-Kus-Sum Video Production
Since 2022, I have been contracted to direct a documentary film on the Kus-kus-sum habitat restoration project coordinated by Project Watershed. This is a multi-year project of transforming an industrial site back to a vibrant natural part of the K’omoks Estuary. This winter part of the massvie...
Grandmother’s Garden
What a pleasure to create the film Coming Home to Grandmother’s Garden. Huy tseep q’u siem to Ken Elliot, Maiya Modeste, Dr. Shannon Waters and family for their willingness to share! And gratitude to Shawn Johnny Seymour for the Tzingquaw Dancer’s song! The film highlights the significance of...
24 Hour Drum film productions
Susan Leslie was instrumental in nine important film productions for the 24 Hour Drum. As the District Principal of Indigenous Education for School District 48, Susan and I worked closely together for over a decade to document and celebrate the Indigenous youth of the Sea to Sky region (Squamish...
Ecology Transforms Youth
Thanks to the wisdom and community connections of Wendy Kotilla, this documentary film highlighting the work of Wendy's Youth and Ecological Restoration program became a reality. Young people work with local researchers and environmental groups, while learning ecological restoration, wildlife...
Students learn Potlatch ceremony
Conceived and built by the ‘Namgis First Nation, the T’lisalagi’lakw Elementary School holds the deep spirit of Alert Bay, BC. The students learn traditional songs and dances in anticipation of a year-end Potlatch celebration. For the Elders, teachers, and community this event is a sign of Yalis...
Coffee dreams come true!
After many years working as a part time coordinator for World Community, I eventually realized my dream of shooting a documentary that follows the story of fair trade coffee in Nicaragua. Although I travelled alone, I was able to hire a translator and access to all remote coffee farms by 4x4s...
Zena leads the film, Phew!
While working in Merritt, BC for School District 58, I realized that Zena (seen to my left) would become an integral part of the film. Shortly after this student Powwow, Zena will attend her Indigenous Grad ceremony. From the haunting past of residential schools, to the ongoing lack of shared...
Post production for Council of Canadians
Its highly rewarding to take on projects of such importance. I was asked do the editing for this film about the devastating impact of fish farms on wild salmon populations. Synopsis: In late August, First Nations people of the ‘Namgis, Mamalilikala, Lawit’sis and Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw began...
Debut at Sid Williams Theatre
Verna Flanders is seen here enjoying the opening night of the World Community Film Festival and the debut of my film Verna No. 688. Verna is a survival of St. Michaels Residencial School in Alert Bay, BC. As part of the film, I travelled with Verna to Alert Bay to capture the demolition of the...
Eco-Leadership Across Africa
After completing the solar oven pilot program with Canada World Youth (Ghana / Benin), I was given the opportunity to direct Empowering Youth. I travelled to Burkina Faso and Senegal, and while back in Canada, directed camera crews in Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa. These were the days of...
Water on Tap
In Ghana, residents of the coastal City of Accra do not take their water for granted. Sometimes water supply simply cannot keep up with demand and people are forced to be very creative in their search for water. Water is now called the Blue Gold as world-wide shortages are a major concern now and...
Thirsty Planet – Solar Ovens in West Africa
Set in the West African countries of Ghana and Benin, Thirsty Planet (27 min.) reveals the surprising potential of solar ovens. With temperatures often near 40 degrees Celcius, these equatorial regions hold great promise for using the sun to cook food and pasteurize water. We travel to northern...
Himalaya South – Five Months in India & Nepal
In 2001, Danielle and I flew to Kathmandu, and explored the diversity of culture in of Annapurna, Pokara, Assam, Calcutta, Rajasthan Desert, Bombay, Kerala, Goa and temple lands of Tamil Nadu. Once back in Canada, we presented an interactive slideshow to several schools on Vancouver Island. The...
Think Big – Protecting Natural Systems in the Rocky Mountains
This film wouldn't have happened without support of "The Friends of Kananaskis" and Eric and Rosemary Langshaw. I was also very fortunate to work with the writing and acting talent of Don Enright. Ron Chamney assisted with the concept of the film and we all benefited from his vast interpretive...
Serengeti of the Rockies
In 1999, The Bow Valley was designated as a "Special Place 2000", but for the wildlife, navigating the Trans Canada highway still remains a deadly challenge. Fences and overpasses have made a difference, but this area and the Banff townsite were once the "Serengeti of the Rockies". What does the...
Dr. G.O. Morph – Mud to Mountains
An interactive display designed for both Kananaskis Country and Lake Louise Information Centres. The basement of the Banff National Park Visitor Centre was closed for a month and converted into a whacky science lab. Actor Don Enright played the lead role of Dr. Morph and Scott Mair played the...