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July 2006
 Independent
filmmaker Tracey Deer (Mohawk)
divides her time between Montreal, Quebec and Kahnawake, her home
reserve. Deer and Neil Diamond (Cree) co-directed the documentary
One More River: The Deal That Split the Cree at the production
company Rezolution Pictures. One More River won the Best
Documentary Award at the 2005 Rendez-vous du cinema québécois.
Deer went on to direct a documentary, Mohawk Girls, which
follows the coming-of-age of four girls at Kahnawake. It won the
Alanis Obomsawin Best Documentary Award at the 2005 ImagineNATIVE
Film and Media Arts Festival. One More River and Mohawk
Girls have been broadcast throughout Canada on APTN, Aborginal
People's Television Network. Deer is currently directing a feature
documentary about modern Native identity and the membership debate,
which is being co-produced by Rezolution Pictures and the National
Film Board of Canada. She is also working with Paul Rickard (Cree)
on a two-part documentary on Mohawk immersion schools. Deer has
formed the company, Mohawk Princess Productions, to independently
produce her own short fictions. She received a BA in film studies,
with an emphasis on documentary production from Dartmouth College.
"All of my work to date has dealt with Native issues because
that is what I feel passionate about. Our stories and our communities
have so much vibrancy to offer and I'm very committed to expressing
that on the big and small screen. With all of my work, my ultimate
goal is to try to make a difference, even if it is just with one
person. I think that film and video, whether it is documentary
or fiction, are very powerful mediums, and it is important to
respect that enormous influence. I aim to create films that engage
and, hopefully, enlighten the audience in some way. It's not always
possible, of course, but that's what I strive for whenever I get
behind the camera."
Screened by NMAI
Image credits:
Tracey Deer - courtesy of the filmmaker; Tracey Deer - courtesy
of the filmmaker
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