Improvisation is part of Tantoo Cardinal’s dreams. The renowned aboriginal actress said she’s always felt that the natural way to make a film is without being bogged down by a script that’s been scrutinized, and one to which funding is tied.

“This was a part of my vision when I would be around a set and dream of making my own film,” she said.

Cardinal had the chance to be part of such a film in the 2008 Mothers and Daughters by Vancouver-based writer and director Carl Bessai. She said the film started out as a bit of an experiment.

“There was no script per se. It was all improv,” Cardinal said. “I just loved it… I was just really delighted with the opportunity to work that way.”

And everyone involved was really happy with the finished film, she said.

Audiences in Whistler will have the chance to give their verdict, and take part in a discussion with Cardinal, at a screening of Mothers and Daughters tonight (Thursday, June 11) at 7:30 p.m. at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.

The comedy is described as a study of several different mother-daughter bonds. Cardinal plays one of the film’s mothers, Celine. Her character is a Métis woman who owns her own business, and is faced with troubling questions when she is hired by Cynthia, played by Tinsel Korey.

Cardinal said Mothers and Daughters makes people think and feel, and takes them to places they’ve perhaps forgotten about. The film stays with you after you see it — it’s not just a mindless thing you forget about, she said.

“I think mothers and daughters would get a tremendous amount out of it,” she said. “It has heart.”

Now based in Vancouver, Cardinal was born in Anzac, near Fort McMurray, Alta. She has an extensive resumé in film, TV and on the stage dating to the 1970s, and she’s most often noted for her role as Black Shawl in Dances With Wolves. Other films and series include Legends of the Fall, Smoke Signals and North of 60.

Cardinal has many awards and accolades to her name, with the most recent being an Artistic Merit Award from Women in Film and Television Vancouver for her role in Mothers and Daughters. She’s also the recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award (NAAA), among other honours.

According to the NAAA website, Cardinal “infuses her characters with warmth and honesty, and has had directors re-write roles if she felt they were a dishonest portrayal of Aboriginal people.”

She’s coming to Whistler at the invitation of the Whistler Forum for Leadership and Dialogue. In addition to her appearance at the screening of Mothers and Daughters, Cardinal will deliver the keynote speech at the graduation ceremony for the two current cohorts in the Forum’s Leadership Sea to Sky program. The graduation is set for Friday (June 12), also at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.

The theme of improvisation continues through Cardinal’s speaking engagements. She said she typically doesn’t prepare a speech in advance.

“We’ll see what’s required of the moment,” she said.

Explore the mother-daughter relationship and live in the moment with Tantoo Cardinal. The screening of Mothers and Daughters, followed by a question-and-answer session with Cardinal, starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (June 11) at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler. Friday’s (June 12) luncheon with Cardinal begins at noon. Visit www.whistlerforum.com for more information and to sign up for the graduation lunch.