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Manitobans Celebrated at Toronto’s imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

Posted on October 12, 2017

Manitoba producers and creators will play a starring role at this year’s imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the world's largest showcase of Indigenous screen content. imagineNATIVE runs October 18 – 22, 2017 in Toronto, ON.

As part of the festival, Manitoban Tina Keeper, a Cree actor, humanitarian, activist and founder & president of Kistikan Pictures, will receive the 2017 August Schellenberg Award of Excellence, an annual prize that recognizes significant professional and personal achievement by an Indigenous actor, of any gender, from Turtle Island (North America). Keeper will receive her award at the festival’s Awards Presentation event on Sunday, October 22 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Earlier this year, Keeper was named 2017 ACTRA National Woman of the Year.
 
Manitoba producer and OSM member Jeremy Torrie’s MFM-supported film Juliana & the Medicine Fish will screen at the festival on Friday, October 20 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The film stars Manitoba-born actor Adam Beach and Canadian child actor Emma Tremblay. Juliana & the Medicine Fish was supported through MFM’s Feature Film Production Fund.

Erica Daniels' short documentary Mikinakay: Trail of the Turtle, Madison Thomas' short film Zaasaakew / Shout with Joy, Shane Belcourt and Lisa Jackson's short documentary Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier produced by FRANK Digital and JJ Neepin's Bayline will screen as part of the festival's various thematic series.

Two projects produced by Alicia Smith of the Winnipeg NFB office (North West Studio) have been selected to show at the imagineNATIVE Digital Media Art+Cade, a free interactive hangout showcasing Digital Media Works such as Indigenous-made video games, web series, radio and audio works, digital apps and virtual reality experiences. The Cache, a digital photo essay from directors Bonnie Ammaaq and Michelline Ammaaq, will be presented as part of the showcase, alongside What Brings Us Here, an Instagram essay by director/writer Katherena Vermette at the TIFF Bell Lightbox from October 19 – 21, 2017. These creators will take part in a Digital Media Artist Talk October 20.

In addition, Manitoban artists Madison Thomas and Darcy Waite will pitch a web series Spectrum, a story about the things in life that drive us apart, and the love that brings us back together.

"Manitoba is a hotbed for Indigenous talent,” said Carole Vivier, CEO & Film Commissioner at Manitoba Film & Music. “We are seeing an increase of Indigenous producers and filmmakers developing projects in Manitoba, which are shown across Canada and around the world. Our province’s unstoppable Indigenous content creators are telling compelling stories that reflect our society and challenge the status quo.”

“The Award for Tina Keeper and the number, quality and diversity of productions screening during imagineNATIVE attest to the incredible depth of talent of Indigenous media production industry professionals in Manitoba," said Nicole Matiation, Executive Director On Screen Manitoba.

Here is a complete list of screenings and events featuring Manitoban projects:

What Brings Us Here (Kate Vermette, NFB) and The Cache (Bonnie Ammaaq & Michelle Ammaaq, NFB) - Digital Media Art + Cade  - Installation open from 10 AM to 6 PM Thursday to Saturday
 
APTN / ImagineNATIVE Web Series Live Pitch Competition (Madison Thomas) - Thursday, October 19 - 12:45 PM
 
Mikinakay: Trail of the Turtle (Erica Daniels) - Friday, October 20 - 11:15 AM - Screening as part of Wisdom of Youth
 
Digital Media Artist Talk (participants of the Digital Media Art-Cade) - Friday, October 20 - 1 PM
 
Juliana & the Medicine Fish (Jeremy Torrie) - Friday, October 20 - 9:15 PM - TIFF Bell Lightbox

Zaasaakew / Shout with Joy (Madison Thomas) - Saturday, October 21 - 10 AM
Screening as part of First Step
 
Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier (Shane Belcourt, Lisa Jackson, produced by FRANK Digital) - Saturday, October 21 - 8:30 PM - Screening as part of Indictment
 
Bayline (JJ Neepin) - Sunday, October 22 - 11 AM
Screening as part of The Land Within

imagineNATIVE Awards Presentation - Sunday, October 22 - 4:30 PM at the TIFF Bell Lightbox

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