About Us.
fILM production Created WITH
PASSION, COLLABORATION & EXPERTISE
Peakline Films is a full service video production company based in Calgary, Alberta. With over 15 years of experience within the Alberta Film Industry, our training, connections, and experiences, have set us up to take on productions of any size with confidence.
​
We specialize in a variety of production, including documentary, promotional, commercial, and event coverage, as well as music videos, live performances, artistic films and narrative filmmaking.
​
Our post production team provides a range of services including video editing, sound mixing, custom music scores, colour grading, and animation.
Behind Our Scenes.
Deciding to operate under the name Rundle Films was based on my love for the mountains. And that specific mountain, that most of us know as Mount Rundle, has always been one of my favourites. Its captivating size and dramatic shape really set it apart from all the peaks around it. Growing up, family camping trips to the Banff area were frequent, and even at a young age I'd always be excited to see that mountain every time we would visit. I chose it as a company name in tribute to the area that I love so much, a place that continues to inspire my work as a filmmaker. And it was through my work that I was able to learn a bit more about the history of the Rockies.
​
Over the past 5 years I’ve had the opportunity to work with Parks Canada on the Bison Reintroduction videos in Banff National Park, and with a few Bow Valley based directors alongside Indigenous collaborators on documentaries shot in the mountains. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had to work closely with Indigenous people. I’ve started to learn about cultural practices and histories that resonate so much with the ways I’ve built my own relationship with these landscapes. Through my own research, I’ve also become more aware of the terrible aspects of the past. The colonization and mistreatment of First Nations land and people through deliberate attempts to erase stories, histories and ways of being as if they never mattered to have existed. I started to question why so many of us go through life unaware of what has happened, and unwilling to question how certain things have come to be. Even the name of a mountain can mean so much.
​
WASKAHIGAN WATCHI or "House Mountain" is the Cree name for this mountain. It has been tough for me to get an exact story as to why it was named this. I can only assume it is named for its shape. It stands tall and very apparent above all the peaks around it in the valley, making it the main landmark or, figuratively speaking, "House" in the area.
​
Robert Rundle was a Methodist missionary who came to Alberta in the 1840s to spread Christianity. He was in the area for 8 years. He reportedly travelled to Indigenous camps, mostly in the Edmonton area, to spread his word. He learned the Cree language, or some form of it, to teach, and he was apparently respected amongst the Indigenous people, from what I have read. Maybe this is true in some instances, but the work he was doing was focused on conversion, and it was an initial step in colonization which led to the implementation of residential schools and then the tragic history to follow. John Palliser named the mountain Mount Rundle a few years after Robert Rundle went back to his home in the UK in 1848.
​
One of the more popular mountains in the Banff area, most commonly known as "Tunnel Mountain", received that name in the 1880s because of a potential railroad tunnel construction. That construction never happened, yet this mountain is still "officially" considered as Tunnel Mountain. The Cree and Nakoda name is "Sleeping Buffalo", which makes so much sense if you take a moment to look at the shape of the mountain, it clearly looks like a Buffalo. The Buffalo holds tremendous cultural, material and spiritual meaning to Indigenous people.
​
In 2016, around the same time the bison reintroduction began in Banff, 15 First Nations representatives came together and signed a resolution to have the mountain name reclaimed to "Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain". Although many locals recognize the mountain by this name now, this resolution has still not officially been "approved" and Tunnel Mountain signage still guides visitors up and around this mountain.
​
Learning more on traditional land names, certain land marks have a number of names, all depending on the Indigenous Nations and the various languages. In my research it seems that all traditional names are relevant to the area. Castle Mountain, the Cree name is "House of the Chinook". Cascade Mountain, Cree name "Big Waterfall Place", or Stoney Nakoda name "Mountain Where The Water Falls". Tunnel Mountain, Cree & Nakoda name "Sleeping Buffalo". All of these names are relevant to the land and what it showcases and symbolizes.
​
My learning over the past few years has encouraged me to consider what I can do, individually, to take steps toward truth and reconciliation. Making this name change is one thing, and I am committed to putting an ongoing effort into learning more about history and how to form the future from an Indigenous perspective. It is through respectful dialogue and relationship building that change becomes possible.
​
​
Jamie Wensley
​
Peakline Films Owner