Film & Television Production

Four Feet Up

Ackerman directs, writes and edits this heartfelt and intimate look into the life of Isaiah, an eight year old boy living in a trailer in New Minas, Nova Scotia.

Twenty years after the House of Commons promised “to eliminate poverty among Canadian children”, eight-year-old Isaiah contemplates what “less fortunate” means while his parents struggle with a legacy of poverty and abuse. Isaiah, soulful, sweet and wise beyond his years, lives in Nova Scotia's bread basket, the Annapolis valley. While food is literally falling off the trees around them Isaiah and his family worry about putting food on the table.

Through Ackerman's beautifully shot footage (with cinematography by award winning Christopher Ball) and Isaiah's own magical drawings and photography, Four Feet Up challenges the stereotypes of poverty while making the viewer question the true meaning of wealth.