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Narrative Scripts Deadline: May 2, 2005
IFP Market and Expo
IFP Market announces the final deadline on May 2 for the submission
of narrative film scripts, with continuing deadlines for other
submissions until May 16. For further information on IFP Market
opportunities for independent filmmakers, click
here.
4/29/05
Word Lab for Screenplays
The Association of Independent Video & Filmmakers (AIVF) seeks
submissions for Word Lab, a new monthly series in New York City
for unstaged readings of original, feature-length screenplays,
performed by a cast of professional actors. The readings are presented
at the world-famous Nuyorican Poets Café, 236 E. 3rd St.
in New York.
For information and submission forms visit www.aivf.org/resources/wordlab.html.
2/28/05
Black Cloud
(2004). Director: Rick Schroder.
An angry young Navajo man finds a center for his life as a boxer
fighting for a spot on the US Olympic team. Starring Russell
Means as Bud, Eddie Spears
as Black Cloud, Tim McGraw as Sheriff Powers, Rick Schroder as
Eddie, Saginaw Grant as Grandpa, and Nathaniel Arcand
as Jimmy.
4/6/04
Cowboys and
Indians: The J.J. Harper Story (2003) (TV). Director:
Norma Bailey. Produced by Eric Jordan and Jeremy
Torrie. The story behind the shooting of Manitoba Native
leader John Joseph Harper by Winnipeg policement, and the struggle
to uncover the truth about his killing. Starring Adam
Beach as J.J. Harper and Eric Schweig as Harry
Wood.
1/30/04
Edge of America (2003) (TV) Director:
Chris Eyre. Based on a
true story, a black educator takes a job at the fictional Three
Nations Reserve, and becomes the coach of the girls' basketball
team. Starring James McDaniel as Kenny Williams, Irene Bedard
as Annie Shorty and Wes Studi
as Cuch, with Carla McKinney and Delanna Studi. Produced
for Showtime.
2/3/04
Evergreen (2004) Director: Enid Zentelis.
A mother and 14-year-old daughter start over again in Seattle,
facing loneliness and the teenager's shame at their poverty. The
mother starts a romance with a gentle Native poker dealer, and
the daughter's conflicts lead her to take up with a less than
ideal wealthy family. Starring Cara Seymour as Kate, Mary Kay
Place as Susan, Gary Farmer
as Jim, and Addie Land as Henri.
2/3/04
Ginger Snaps Back (2004). Director: Grant Harvey.
Set in 19th century Canada. When two sisters who have taken refuge
in a trading post are pursued by werewolves, an enigmatic Native
hunter comes to their aid. Featuring Nathaniel Arcand as
The Hunter.
2/3/04
Hidalgo (2004). Director: Joe Johnston. Writer:
John Fusco. Set in 1890, the story of a Pony Express courier who
travels to Saudi Arabia with his horse Hidalgo to compete in a
dangerous race. Starring Viggo Mortensen as Frank Hopkins and
Omar Sharif as Sheikh Riyadh, with Floyd "Red Crow"
Westerman as Chief Eagle Horn and Kimberly Norris as
the young Frank's mother.
4/6/04
I, Robot (2004) Director: Alex Proyas. In the year
2035 a techno-phobic cop investigating a crime uncovers the possibility
that robots are taking over the world. Starring Will Smith as
Del Spooner. Simon Baker plays one of the Farber Posse.
8/12/04
Lenny the Wonder Dog (2004). Directors: Oren Goldman
and Yariv Ozdoba. A family drama in which a dog with special powers,
the boy, and his friend work against a plot to turn all kids into
mindless robots. Featuring Evan
Adams as Razzel. aka A Dog and His Boy
2/3/04
Older than America (in production). Directed by
Andreas Kidess. Executive producer: Georgina Lightning.
A frightening thriller with Native American undertones. Starring
Adam Beach as Jim, Georgina
Lightning as Lucy, Gary
Farmer as Seven Thumbs and John
Trudell as Worm.
1/30/04
On the Corner
(2003). Director: Nathaniel Geary. Angel and Randy Henry are a
sister and brother, caught on the mean streets of Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside. While Angel seeks to escape her seemingly hopeless
situation, Randy slips deeper into a world consumed by abandonment
and fuelled by drugs. Starring Alex
Rice as Angel, Simon Baker as Randy, Gordon
Tootoosis as Floyd, Tina Keeper as Charlotte, Renae
Morriseau as Glenda and Margo Kane as Dolly.
1/30/04
Scary Movie 3 (2003). Director: David Zucker. In
the third installment of the Scary Movie franchise, Cindy has
to investigate mysterious crop circles and video tapes, and help
the President in preventing an alien invasion. With Cliff Solomon
as Native American #1, Byron Chief-Moon as Native American
#2, and Dolly Madsen as Native American #3.
5/25/04
Seven Times Lucky (2003). Directed by Gary Yates.
Features Gordon Tootoosis
as Mr. Five Wounds.
5/30/03
A Thousand Guns (in production). Directed by Richard
Friedenberg. Produced by Heather
Rae. Featuring Gary
Farmer as Junk Man and John
Trudell as Wild Bull Charlie.
5/30/03
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004). Director:
S.S. Wilson. In Nevada in a prequel set in 1889 the mining town
of Rejection experiences the hatching of the first graboid monsters
that threaten the inhabitants of the town in all the other Tremors
films. Featuring August Schellenberg as Teopa.
5/25/04
The Unknown (2004) Director: Karl Kozak. A thriller
in which high school students seek to save a beast that a group
of hunters are pursuing to revenge a killing of poachers. Features
Nathaniel Arcand as John Eagleheart.
2/3/04
Movie Music with CANOE
Artistic Director Brent Michael Davids of the First Nations Composer
Initiative (FNCI) announces a new program, CANOE/Composer Apprentice
National Outreach Endeavor. Starting in February 2004, CANOE is
offering a program of instruction in composing to Indian students,
age 14 to adult, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, with a final concert
of students' work two months later. FNCI is a new chapter of the
American Composer Forum and is currently planning a national gathering
of the top Native American composers in America at the time of
the concert. CANOE's mission is to become a national program for
Indian student composers from all across America.
Davids most recent work in the movies was to score the music for
Hallmark Productions' Dreamkeeper
with composer Stephen Warbeck. In 2003 Dreamkeeper was broadcast
on ABC-TV and was on the big screen at NAJA, American Indian Film
Festival and NMAI's Native American Film and Video Festival.
For more information about CANOE, contact Brent Michael Davids
at 651-778-9611 or brent@filmcomposer.us
or FNCI Business Advisor Pat Shifferd at 651-251-2818 or at pshifferd@composersforum.org.
1/30/04
Native Contemporary Dance and Film
The New World opened in theaters in December 2005. The
film pays uneven attention to historical understanding, but its
production values coupled with its work with imaginative Native
choreographers and dancers are intended to provide the "look
and feel" of a Native world in the 17th century. Some of
the cast of dancer/actors—known as the 17 Core Warriors—including
choreographers Raoul Trujillo and Rulan Tangen, along with actor
Wes Studi and producer Sarah
Green were featured in a lively panel discussion at a pre-event
of the August 2005 Native Cinema Showcase in Santa Fe, reprised
at The Film Society of Lincoln Center in December.
In September 2005 Native Peoples, an article by Hollis
Walker, pp. 30-37, on six Native contemporary choreographers and
dancers, included both Trujillo—whose ancestry is Apache,
Ute, French Canadian, and Latino—and Tangen who is Metis
and is featured on the issue's cover. Alejandro Roncería
(Suesca/Sogamoso), a key partner and influence for these dancers,
is also profiled in the Native Peoples' article. In 1996 Roncería
co-founded the Aboriginal Dance Training and Performance Program
at Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta and also created dance
films of the program's performances. All three dancers see their
choreography for contemporary dance based in a global indigenous
viewpoint.
Larry Blackhorse Lowe (Navajo)
has directed an innovative film of La Renaissance Indigène,
a dance piece commissioned from Tangen as part of an exhibit at
the Heard Museum of the work of Virgil Ortiz (Cochitit Pueblo).
11/22/05
Maori Television
Congratulations to Maori Television as it celebrates its 2nd anniversary
of broadcasting. The channel was launched on March 28, 2004, with
an emotional opening karakia, speeches, and songs. Many works
are in Maori language, and programming includes fiction from Maori
directors, feature films re-versioned from English into Maori,
documentaries on Maori language and culture, sports, comedy series,
and live broadcasts from Maori cultural programs throughout New
Zealand.
3/15/06
The Alamo (2004) Director: John Lee Hancock. Historical
drama detailing the Texas revolution (1835-36) and the famous
siege of the Alamo, eventually leading to the independence of
Texas from Mexico. Starring Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, Billy
Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett, and Jason Patric as James Bowie,
with Wes Studi as Chief
Bowl.
4/6/04
American Indian Graffiti: This Thing Life (2003).
Directors: Tvli Jacob and Steven Judd. An ensemble drama about
four Native Americans whose lives intertwine with one another.
Starring Terri Poahway as Stephanie, Randi LeClair
as Rachel, Richard Ray Whitman as Barry and Steven Judd
as Steve, with Yvonne Russo
and Kimberly Norris.
4/6/04
Another Country (2003) Director: Gary Harvey. A
mystery on a reserve in Canada starts Simon Baker as Charlie,
Tina Keeper as Michelle Kenidi, and Dakota House
as Teeva. A North of 60 Mystery.
8/12/04
Atlantis: Milo's Return (2003) (Animation) Milo
Thatch and Princess Kida reunite with friends to investigate strange
occurances around the world that seem linked to secrets of Atlantis.
Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman featured as the voice
of Chakashi.
8/12/04
Barn Red (2003) Director and writer: Richard
Brauel. Starring Kimberly Norris as Lydia Bailey.
8/12/04
The Big Empty (2003). Director: Steve Anderson.
A comedy features a series of bizarre events in the desert involving
John Person with an assortment of strange characters. Starring
Jon Favreau as John Person, with Kelsey Grammer, Daryl Hannah,
Adam Beach as Randy and
Gary Farmer as Bob.
4/6/04
Coyote Waits (2003) (TV) Director:
Jan Egleson. The Navajo detectives solve a crime. Starring Adam
Beach as Jim Chee, Wes
Studi as Joe Leaphorn and Sheila
Tousey as Emma Leaphorn, with Graham
Greene as Slick Nakai. Produced for PBS Mystery!
series.
1/30/04
Dancing on the Moon (2003). Director
Roderick Pocowatchit. Three Native American friends, on the road
to a powwow, must also take his own personal journey. In his role
as Dean, Guy Ray Pocowatchit was awarded Best Actor by
the 2003 American Indian LA Film and TV Awards. Also starring
Mark Wells as Mark and Rodrick Pocowatchit as Joey.
8/12/04
Distant Drumming (2003) (TV) Director:
Dean Bennett. The murder of an elderly tourist is investigated
by RCMP officer Michelle Kenidi. Starring Tina Keeper as
Michelle Kenidi, Simon Baker as Charlie Dakota, and Dakota
House as Teeva Tenia. Produced for North of 60 Mystery.
2/3/04
Don't
Call Me Tonto (2003) Executive producer/writer: Annie
Frazier Henry. Director: Alan Smithee. In a rollicking
comedy an ex-rhinestone cowboy finds himself on the run with a
First Nations lawyer, being pursued for a crime they did not commit
by a Colombo-like detective. Starring David Hasselhoff as Clint,
Michael Moriarty as Callohan and Gordon
Tootoosis as attorney Dan John. aka Fugitives Run
2/3/04
Dreamkeeper (2003) (TV)
Director: Steve Barron. Writer: John Fusco. Produced by Hallmark
Entertainment. Starring August Schellenberg as Pete Chasing
Horse, an elder storyteller, and Eddie
Spears as Shane, his 16-year-old grandson, in a two-part
film that brings to life numerous Native legends, with excellent
production design and special effects. In a parallel story of
a youth coming to maturity, Chaske Spencer plays Eagle
Boy. Featuring an outstanding cast, including Nathaniel Arcand,
Gerald Auger, Simon Baker, Tantoo
Cardinal, Gloria May Eshkibok, Gary
Farmer, Saginaw Grant, Michael Greyeyes,
Dakota House, Margo Kane, Geraldine Keams,
Georgina Lightning (who was also Associate Producer), Griffin
Powell-Arcand, Alex Rice,
Sage, Gordon Tootoosis,
John Trudell, Sheila
Tousey, and Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman.
1/30/04
Little Brother of War (2003). Director: Damon Vignale.
A young boy's search for his deceased parents features Byron
Chief-Moon as Blaine and Cliff Solomon as the Conjurer.
5/25/04
The Lone Ranger (2003) (TV). Directed by Jack Bender.
Starring Nathaniel Arcand as Tonto and Wes
Studi as Kulakinah.
5/30/03
The Missing (2003). Director: Ron Howard. In 19th-century
New Mexico a father returns to his daughter and aids her in pursuit
of a renegade band, led by an Indian brujo, that has kidnapped
her daughter. Starring Tommy Lee Jones as Samuel Jones, Cate Blanchett
as Maggie Gilkeson, Eric Schweig as Chidin, Steve Reevis
as Two Stone, Jay Tavare as Kayitah, and Simon Baker
as Honesco. Also featuring Deryle J. Lujan as Naazhaao,
Matthew Montoya as Tsi Beoyuao, Joe Saenz as Mba'tsu-Naabitin,
Gandi Shaw as Izhashe, Rod Rondeaux as Hudlao, Juddson
Linn as Chauaiao, and Dutch Lunak as Aii Sionzilo.
2/3/04
Mr. Barrington (2003). Director: Dana Packard.
An unfolding mystery and a complex love relationship in which
Lila, a poet suffering from writer's block, and her husband Samuel
confront various troubling aspects of the past, and the intervention
in their lives of the enigmatic Mr. Barringon. Starring Jennifer
Nichole Porter as Lila and Eric Schweig as Samuel. On DVD
in Spring 2005
6/30/05
Nate and the Colonel (2003). Director: Paul Winters.
After the Civil War a Confederate soldier and his friend, Nate,
a recently freed slave, find a chance for a new life in an Ojbiwe
community. Features Mark S. Brien as Hunting Thunder, Al
Harrington as Standing Elk, David Midthunder as Kills
the Enemy and Lee Whitestar as Offers the Pipe. Winner
of 2004 American Indian LA Film and Television award for Best
Feature Film.
5/25/04
El Padrino (2003) Director: Damian Chapa. A plot
focused on gang life and drug dealing in East Los Angeles. With
Jay Tavare as Special Agent Sanchez.
2/3/04
The Republic of Love (2003). Directed by Deepa
Mehta. Set in the coldest of winters, this story explores love
in the 21st century, based on a novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning
author Carol Shields. Featuring Gary
Farmer as Ted.
1/30/04
Scrambled (2003). Directed by John DiMinico. Features
Geraldine Keams as Dore.
5/30/03
Skinwalkers (2002) (TV). Director:
Chris Eyre. The Navajo
detectives investigate the mysterious deaths of Navajo medicine
men and are drawn into complex twists in the plot. Starring Adam
Beach as Jim Chee, Wes
Studi as Jim Leaphorn and Sheila
Tousey as Emma Leaphorn, and featuring Alex
Rice as Janet Pete, Michael Greyeyes as Dr. Stone
and Noah Watts as Ruben Maze. Produced for PBS Mystery!
series.
1/30/04
A Thief of Time (2003) (TV). Director: Chris
Eyre. The Navajo detectives pursue the illegal theft of
ancient ceramics and the cover-up of homicides. Starring Wes
Studi as Jim Leaphorn, Adam
Beach as Jim Chee, and Sheila
Tousey as Emma Leaphorn and featuring Alex
Rice as Janet Pete, Tantoo
Cardinal as Irene Musket and Kelly Byars as Delbert
Tsosie.
1/30/04
Twist (2003). Directed by Jacob Tierney.
A modern day version of Oliver Twist stars Gary
Farmer as Fagin.
5/30/03
First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) has announced its
2004 scholarship recipients:
- Melody Grant (Creek), who is finishing her MFA degree in filmmaking
at Loyola Marymount University;
- Gerald Vandever (Navajo), a theater arts major in his senior
year who intends to pursue his BFA degree in teaching;
- Thirza Defoe (Lac Du Flambeau), who is studying acting in
her final semester at the California Institute of the Arts;
- Kurtis Redhorse Bradley (Navajo and Assiniboine), who is attending
the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe, AZ,
where he is studying audio engineering and music production.
For 2005 scholarship nomination forms and more information contact
FAITA at www.firstamericans.org.
7/30/04
September 19 - 24, 2005
Independent Feature Project Market and Expo
New York, NY
The IFP Market is a major venue for learning everything you need
to know about making and selling your film. It is seeking narrative
screenplays, shorts, and rough cuts AND documentary shorts, features,
and works-in-progress (anything from selected scenes all the way
up to rough cut). More than $150,000 in awards includes a $5,000
screenplay award, a $5,000 short award, two $5,000 awards for
African-American filmmakers and $100,000 in goods and services.
Seeking financing for your script? Looking for completion funds
for your work-in-progress? Trying to sell your doc? Scoping out
potential production partners? The IFP Market has been organized
for filmmakers to introduce new work-in-development to an industry-only
audience of sales companies, fest programmers, distributors, TV
buyers, producers and agents from the U.S. and abroad. For the
industry it is a vital exhibition and discovery forum for new
talent and a place to discover new films before they hit the festival
circuit. For both groups, it instantly expands your contact list
and accomplishes in 5 days what would otherwise take months and
miles of travel.
The IFP Market's 27-year model is comprised of 1200 targeted
pitch & business meetings, facilitated introductions, dozens
of networking events, and hundreds of screenings and seminars,
all intended to help put new projects on the radar and introduce
them to the industry. An essential networking opportunity, IFP
Market connects you with the industry reps you need to know to
get your work financed, completed and distributed.
New this year: Narrative Rough Cut Lab, a mentorship program
consisting of structured meetings and seminars intended to help
filmmakers successfully complete their works-in-progress before
they enter the marketplace. The goal is to identify independent
features that can benefit from the support and expertise of a
team of experienced film professionals serving as advisors (producers,
directors, editors, post production supervisors and music supervisors)
the films selected to participate. Highly competitive. Submission
fee is $50, but registration to attend the IFP Market is free.
- Rolling deadlines May 2-16 (deadline for screenplays: May
2)
- Submission: $40-$50
- Registration: $200-$450 (paid on acceptance)
- Students Attend free (if accepted)
For additional information and to apply on-line go to www.ifp.org/market27
or call 212-465-8200, x 222.
4/24/05
Application deadline: November 17, 2004
NSI Aboriginal Youth Pilot Project
Winnipeg, Manitoba
The National Screen Institute-Canada (NSI) announces a new youth
program to expose Aboriginal participants to a wide range of creative
and challenging opportunities in the film and television industry.
Up to 12 young adults, 18 to 30, with post-secondary education
and/or industry experience and/or work experience in a related
filed will be selected to participate. The program is located
in Winnipeg, NSI's headquarters, and is divided into two phases,
totaling 16 weeks. The first phase (four weeks) offers workshops
and seminars on story development, writing styles, and the media
industry. The second phase (12 weeks) offers Work Experience Internship
Placement in broadcast and independent production companies.
The pilot program, based in Winnipeg, will serve as a prototype
for a national program in the future. NSI is one of Canada's four
nationally recognized film and television training schools, and
over 80% of NSI graduates work in the industry. It receives public
funds from Telefilm Canada and additional support by industry
patrons and partners. For application and program criteria go
to www.nsi-canada.ca/aboriginal.
For additional information contact Chris Vajcner, NSI Media Relations,
at 204-957-2998 or chris.vajcner@nsi-canada.ca.
10/28/04
Applications accepted now
All Roads Film Project Seed Grants
National Geographic's new All Roads Film Project is now accepting
submissions for applications for up to 10 seed grants to be awarded
in 2004 for indigenous and minority filmmakers, with production
classes and networking sessions with studio executives. The Project
is also launching in 2004 the All Roads Film Festival. To apply
for an All Roads Film Project Seed Grant, you must complete and
submit the application as well as the information or items listed
under the application requirements to All Roads Film Project,National
Geographic, 1145 17th Street, N.W., Suite M2106, Washington, D.C.
20036.
For information and application form go to www.nationalgeographic.com/allroads
(links are at the bottom left of the page) or contact the project
by phone at (+ 1) (202) 857-7660 or by email at allroads@ngs.org.
2/12/04
Application due: August 13, 2004
Program dates: November 8 - December 18, 2004
Screenwriting Workshop for Aboriginal Storytellers
Eight Aboriginal writers from across Canada will be selected for
Banff Centre's six-week intensive screenwriting program workshop.
During the first four weeks writers will work with instructors
and other industry leaders to examine the demands of writing and
storytelling for series television and other film and video media.
In the last two weeks, writers will continue work on their scripts
independently and with the guidance of mentors and instructors.
Once each writer has completed their respective scripts, participants
will work with a production crew to shoot select sample scenes
from participant's scripts. Applicants to the program must be
available to attend all on-campus workshop sessions and able to
meet all deadlines for the program.
2004 marks the 4th year of the Aboriginal Screenwriting Program.
Over the first three years of the program, 23 Aboriginal screenwriters
have participated in this intensive training workshop. As a result
of their involvement in the program, a number of participants
have successfully moved on to screenwriting or related projects
in their respective communities, or have gone on to writing projects
of national and international scope.
For additional information go to www.banffcentre.ca/programs.
2/25/04
DreamCatchers, in association with Writers Boot,
is providing scholarships for Native American writers to participate
in dramatic screenwriting workshops. The six-week courses-held
in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco-meet once
a week and are designed for students to complete a first draft
of a screen play.
For information contact Gary Rhine at 310-457-1617 or visit www.dreamcatchers.org.
8/19/02
In April 2005 Sundance at MoMA in New York
City presented short films from the Sundance Film Festival including
indigenous directors Taika Waititi's Tama Tu and Andrew
Okpeaha Maclean's Natchiliagniaqtuguk Aapagalu (Seal Hunting
with Dad). Two Latin American works with indigenous themes
were Blanca Aguerra's Our Story (La historia de todos)
and Juan Alejandro Ramirez's Solo un cargador (Porter).
7/15/05
Powwow Highway
Special screenings of Powwow
Highway have been programmed in Washington D.C., New York,
and Santa Fe, including audience discussion with lead actor Gary
Farmer (Cayuga) and director Jonathan Wacks. The film has
recently been released on DVD. It remains an enduring classic
with memorable performances by Farmer as Philbert and a strong
supporting cast, including a young Graham Greene in a cameo role.
A "Companion to Powwow Highway," a selection of articles
and reviews about the film organized by Zakary Naranjo-Morse,
Margaret Sagan, and Sierra Ornelas for the NMAI Film and Video
Center, is now available in the museum's Resource Centers in New
York and Washington.
7/7/05
May 11 - 22, 2005
First Nations/First Features:
A Showcase of World Indigenous Cinema and Media
New York and Washington, D.C.
In May 2005 the National Museum of the American Indian, Museum
of Modern Art, and New York University are producing First
Nations/First Features, a showcase of world indigenous film
to be presented in New York City and Washington, D.C. More than
20 feature films, short fictions and seminal documentaries by
an outstanding international group of Native directors will be
screened in each city.
Among the directors attending to introduce their films are Chris
Eyre (Cheyenne-Arapaho/United States), Barry Barclay (Maori/New
Zealand), Nils Gaup (Sami/Norway), Anastasia
Lapsui (Nenet/Siberia), Victor Masayesva, Jr (Hopi/United
States), Crisanto Manzano (Zapotec/Mexico)
and Shelley Niro (Mohawk/Canada).
In New York, NMAI will host screenings of A Thousand Roads,
the new Mall Museum signature film by Chris
Eyre, and a symposium on "Cultural Creativity and Cultural
Rights." All other New York screenings will be held in the
Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters at the Museum of Modern Art.
In Washington, DC, May 18 - 22, screenings will be held at seven
venues: the National Gallery of Art, Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur
M. Sackler Gallery, Embassy of Canada, National Museum of Natural
History, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Library of Congress,
and National Museum of the American Indian.
For inquiries and complete schedule for First Nations/First
Features, E-mail fvc@si.edu.
2/28/05
National Screen Institute-Canada (NSI) has announced a
new NSI Aboriginal Cultural Trade Initiative to support
Canada-New Zealand-Australia co-production opportunities. This
is an ambitious three-phase training program designed to help
Canadian Aboriginal producers to develop co-productions with producers
in the two other countries, with a range of project development
support including a 10-day Export Mission to both countries in
April 2004. The initiative is presented in association with Global
Television Network and the Government of Canada through its Trade
Routes Program. NSI, headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is one
of Canada's four nationally-recognized film and TV training schools,
and operates with funding from Telefilm Canada and other television
industry supporters. The 2004 selected participants are:
- Shirley Cheechoo, Spoken
Song Productions, M'chigeng, Ontario
- Jim Compton, Rising Day Media, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Dennis Jackson, Dark Thunder Productions, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Katery Legault, InterINDigital Entertainment, Cantley, Quebec
- Clarence Michon, Eclipse Media, Geraldton, Ontario
- Sheila Pokiak, tuc:tu productions, Ottawa, Ontario
- Paul M. Rickard, Mushkeg
Media, Montreal, Quebec
- Richard Story, Echo Lake Productions, Toronto, Ontario
- Jeremy Torrie, high definition
pictures, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Ernest Webb, Rezolution Pictures International, Outremont,
Quebec
2/20/04
Library of Congress Screenings
January - May 2005, the Library of Congress' Motion Picture and
Television Division film programs, drawn from its collection,
include:
- January 25. Young Deer's Bravery, a 1909 silent
drama, preceding Smoke
Signals, the first feature film written, directed,
and acted by Native Americans, directed by Chris
Eyre, written by Sherman Alexie and starring Adam
Beach, Evan Adams, Irene
Bedard and Gary Farmer. Images
of Native Americans series.
- January 28. Redskin,
the 1929 film directed by Victor Schertzinger, is a tale about
two young lovers, separated from their tribes by being sent
East to school, and the issues they face in trying to return
home. Images of Native Americans series.
- March 14. Navajo, a 1952 film directed by Norman
Foster and nominated for Best Documentary Feature in the Academy
Awards. The 71-minute film, shot with non-professional actors
on the Navajo reservation, follows the story of a boy adjusting
to a life of tradition and modernity. A program of the Environmental
Film Festival in the Nation's Capital.
- May 20. The Doe Boy,
directed by Randy Redroad,
tells the story of a young Native man coming to terms with his
complicated background and his future, with the meanings of
his experiences extended by a lyrical and wise reframing of
the story by his grandfather. A program of First Nations/First
Features: A Showcase of World Indigenous Cinema and Media.
Library of Congress screenings start at 7:00 in the Mary Pickford
Theater. For additional information go to www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/pickford/pickford-current.html.
2/21/05
Extended Deadline: November 16, 2004
Spark Plug Program
Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; and Banff, Alberta
First Nations producers with television or dramatic film experience
are encouraged to apply to the Spark Plug Program, intended to
increase opportunities for minority and aboriginal filmmakers
in Canadian television. The program supports the development of
Canadian television dramas by providing funding for production,
as well as access to intensive sessions with industry leaders
and participation in the Banff Television Festival, June 12 -
15, 2005. This program offers up to Canadian $30,000 funding,
in the form of an advance of up to 80% of project budget, and
includes expenses for 10-day training and pitching sessions and
a Banff Television Festival fellowship. To be eligible, producers
must have on-screen credits for producing 120 minutes of television
programming in any genre or 60 minutes of dramatic film or television.
Winning projects must be produced, shot, and set in Canada. The
Spark Plug Program, organized by Telefilm Canada to promote working
partnerships within the TV industry, is part of a wider initiative
of the National Film Board of Canada, the Canada Council for the
Arts, and Telefilm Canada.
For detailed information, visit www.telefilm.gc.ca.
Questions may also be directed to Jeanine Basile or Ginette Pépin,
514-283-6363 or 800-567-0890.
10/26/04
Telefilm Canada announced its first ever recipients of its Spark
Plug Program to promote cultural diversity. 15 producers from
across Canada will receive professional and project development
support for dramatic television programming for broadcast in Canada.
- Paul Rickard (Cree)
of Mushkeg Media Inc. for Sideways North. ·
- Annie Frazier Henry
(Blackfoot and Sioux) of Full Regalia Productions for the
Roger Adolph Story.
- Doug Cuthand (Plains Cree) of Blue Hill Productions
for Distant Thunder.
- Luc Lainé (Huron-Wendat) of K8E K8E (KUEI) /
Productions artistiques et culturelles inc., for Shaputuan.
The Spark Initiative is a three year partnership between the
Department of Canadian Heritage and Telefilm Canada, the National
Film Board of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts to ensure
their programs, policies, and services take into account the needs
of ethno-cultural and Aboriginal communities.
For more information contact Douglas Chow, Communications and
Public Affairs Attaché. Tel: (514) 283-6363 or 1-800-567-0890,
chowd@telefilm.gc.ca,
www.telefilm.gc.ca/
7/21/04
Cold Mountain (2003). Directed by Anthony Minghella.
The story of the long journey to his Smokie Mountain home of a
Civil War deserter, based on the best selling book, stars Jude
Law as Inman and Nicole Kidman as Ada and features Jay Tavare
as Swimmer.
12/09/02
Paris (2003). Directed by Ramin Niami.
A crumbling American Dream filmed in the underworlds of Los Angeles
and Las Vegas. Features Irene Bedard as Sandy.
1/30/04
This So-Called Disaster (2003). Directed by Michael
Almereyda. A documentary shot three weeks into rehearsals in LA
of Sam Shepard's play The Late Henry Moss, with the play's
cast Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrelson, Cheech Marin, and
Sheila Tousey who plays Conchalla.
1/30/04
Tortilla Heaven (2003) Directed and written by
Judy Hecht Dumontet. A miracle occurs at a local eatery in a New
Mexican community. Featuring Irene Bedard as Liberata and
Elaine Miles as Caridad.
9/12/02
The 2004 First Americans in the Arts Awards were announced
on March 20 at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles,
hosted by Michael Horse. The evening opened with a meal
and screening of short films by students from the Owens Valley
Career Development Center, Rosendo Salas, Jullian Behill,
and Kristina Albary. The blessing was given by Jim Castillo
of the Tongva Nation, and the Rising Eagle Dance Group from New
York followed with a dance and honor song. This year's FAITA scholarships
were awarded by Wathene Young, founder and president of
the American Indian Resource Center of Tahlequah and Thomas Yahola,
speaker of the House of the Creek Nation. Award winners were Melody
Grant (Creek), Gerald Vandever (Navajo), Thirza
Defoe (Lac du Flambeau), and Kurtis Redhorse Bradley
(Navajo and Assiniboine). Chairman of the FAITA board, Bob
Hicks, welcomed the guests and Michael Horse gave a strong
overview of this year in the movies for Native American actors,
playing "the good," "the bad" and, with lots
of makeup, "the ugly." For a list of all of this year's
award winners enter here.
6/7/04
The 2004 American Indian LA Film and TV Awards were announced
on March 5 in Hollywood. Best Picture award was given to Nate
and the Colonel, a tale of life on the Western frontier after
the Civil War, which features Native actors Mark S. Brien,
David Midthunder, Billy Day Dodge and many others.
Hallmark Entertainment and ABC-TV's Dreamkeeper
was awarded Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. For a list of all of this
year’s award winners enter
here.
5/21/04
Composer Jim Boyd (Colville), who performed much of the
music for Smoke Signals,
is part of the "One World Beat 2004," performing in
June with a stellar lineup of musicians including Derek
Miller, George Leach, Martha Redbone and others, at Acoma
Pueblo's Sky City Casino.
4/17/04
The 7th Native American Dance Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee,
on June 7, features a talented lineup, including actor and headliner
Wes Studi (Cherokee).
4/17/04
May 3 - 6, 2004
Tribeca All Access (TAA) has selected 24 narrative and documentary
projects, from 330 submitted, for its inaugural professional support
program for filmmakers. A program of the Tribeca Film Institute
in New York, All Access provides support to filmmakers of Native
American, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander and African
American background. An additional three projects selected for
the TAA Signature Series are by established directors Bill
Duke for The Engagement Party, Chris
Eyre for Up the River, and Stanley Nelson for Jonestown.
Taking place during the Tribeca Film Festival, four days of events
will be held with the honorees, with some 100 members of the film
industry participating. A panel discussion on "Diversifying
American Cinema" features directors Chris Eyre, Lisa
Gay Hamilton and Wayne Wang, and film executive Peter Kang, moderated
by indieWIRE Editor-in-Chief Eugene Hernandez.
For more information e-mail allaccess@tribecafilm.com
or call 212-941-4012.
4/17/04
First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) announces its 2003
scholarship recipients, Gerald Vandever (Navajo), Dmitri
Seth (Nez Perce) and Gerald Willow (Northern Arapaho).
The scholarship committee, composed of Bob Hicks, Kathy Peltier
and Nancy Tuthill, can answer questions about the scholarship
application requirements.
FAITA can be contacted at www.firstamericans.org
5/25/03
Application due: June 25, 2004
Program date: October 11, 2004 - January 30, 2005
Coordinator for Aboriginal Screenwriting Story Development
Banff Centre for the Arts
Banff, Alberta, Canada
The Aboriginal Work-Study Program at Banff offers an apprenticeship
for a Story Development Coordinator for a period of four months.
Work will be under the guidance of the Aboriginal Arts Program
Director and Program Coordinator. The Story Development Coordinator
will be involved in a range of training in arts management, production,
and various software programs used by Aboriginal Screenwriters
faculty and participants (e.g., Movie Magic Screenwriter and Microsoft
Office Suite), and will be expected to assist the program's production
crew during the production phase of the project. A stipend is
offered for the work of $425 Canadian per week.
For more information about this and other Aboriginal Arts Programs
and work study opportunities go to www.banffcentre.ca/programs.
2/25/04
Application Period: June 1 - June 16, 2004
ABC Writing Fellowship Program
ABC Talent Development is an initiative to recruit ethnically
and culturally diverse talent in several creative fields for television
and film. The programs are highly competitive and provide strong
professional opportunities for the successful applicants. The
Writing Fellowship Program will select eleven writers for work
on Disney films or ABC television in 2005; the fellowship award
is $50,000.
For more information and applications visit www.abctalentdevelopment.com.
5/25/04
Deadline: May 26, 2004
Retreat: July 29-August 1, 2004
Sundance Institute Independent Producers Conference
Sundance, Utah
The Sundance Institute is pleased to announce the 19th annual
Independent Producers Conference to be held in Sundance, Utah.
Of the 80 applicants who will be accepted, the Sundance Native
American Initiative will directly select 4 - 6 participants. The
weekend conference includes film screenings, ample networking
opportunities, and panel discussions chaired by leading entertainment
executives, producers and broadcasters on practical issues like
financing and distribution.
For additional information contact Virginia Pearce at 801-328-3456,
or e-mail producers@sundance.org.
Indigenous applicants should send a copy of their application
materials to native@sundance.org.
5/20/04
URGENT. Application deadline: May 31, 2004
ABC Entertainment Television Group - Associates Program
This year-long program is seeking candidates for a program that
provides professional experience in different creative and business
divisions at ABC. It is one of the on-going programs of the ABC
Talent initiative, which has been designed to increase the amount
of ethnically and culturally diverse talent in several creative
fields at ABC, a television network owned by the Walt Disney Company.
The initiative's programs are highly competitive and can be an
important step for individuals interested in a media career.
Native American participants have included Vincent
Blackhawk-Aamodt (Blackfoot/Lakota/Mexican), Sean Lee Fahrlander
(Ojibwe), and Diane Fraher (Osage). Other ABC Talent projects
have included the Four Directions Talent Search and this year's
Institute of American Indian Arts Summer Filfm & Television
Workshop.
For more information and applications, visit www.abctalentdevelopment.com.
5/22/04
Theater: New Indigenous Voices
March 11 - May 18
A series of staged readings of new plays by Australian Aboriginal
writers and discussions between Aboriginal and Native American
playwrights and actors. All programs are open to the public and
free. For further information contact Karen Oughtred at karenoug@erols.com
or call 212-514-3703.
The series opened with a panel discussion Global Voices: Cultural
Exchange, moderated by Karen Oughtred, NMAI, with M. Cochise
Anderson (Chickasaw/Choctaw), Dr. Wendy Darby, Jadah Milroy (Palku),
John Scott (Ininga) and Russell Tall Chief (Osage).
The series has included staged readings of Crow Fire by
Jadah Milroy (Palku) and of Yanagai! Yanagai! by Andrea
James, and the performance of a one-woman show, Box the Pony
by Scott Rankin & Leah Purcell (Goa-Gungarri-Wakka Wakka).
Future programs:
- Tuesday May 4, 7:30 pm at Drama Book Shop, 250 W. 40th St.
(7th/8th) Stolen by Jane Harrison (Muruwari). Director:
Karen Oughtred. Post show discussion with writer and the director.
- Tuesday May 18, 1:00 pm at United Nations Building, First
Avenue at 42nd St. Conversations with the Dead by Richard
Frankland (Gunditjmara) Director: Muriel Miguel (Kuna/Rappahannock).
Post show discussion with the writer and the director.
4/22/04
Deadlines: April - June, 2004
IFP/Independent Feature Project is a not-for-profit membership
organization that serves as a key resource of the American independent
film movement. IFP's noted independent feature film marketplace
is held annually in New York, and it gives highly-prized awards
to independent features and documentaries each year. It also offers
year-round activities ranging from popular screenings to professionally
informative workshops and seminars. IFP has six chapters, in Chicago,
Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York and Seattle.
Its Project: Involve program promotes cultural diversity
in the film industry.
For more information www.ifp.org.
- Project: Involve. Created by IFP in 1993 to promote
cultural diversity in American filmmaking, Project: Involve
has fostered the careers of over 400 filmmakers from under-represented
communities in Los Angeles and New York. It is a mentorship,
training, screening and placement program, and also brings independent
films to underserved audiences.
- Extended deadline: May 3 for Fall 2004. Los Angeles
Project honorees are provided with career workshops,
individual mentorships and access to quality job listings
and referrals. Applicants can apply to either the spring
or fall cycle. Twenty participants are accepted into each
cycle, which lasts for a four-month period.
For more information go to www.ifp.org
and go to "Program Overviews" or email projectinv@ifp.org.
- Deadline: June 1 for Fall 2004. Fellowship
Program in New York. To assist mid-career filmmakers
from underrepresented communities to gain experience, this
fellowship provides practical experience through placement
within the film industry and facilitates networking with
peers and industry leaders. The Fellowship can be taken
in the spring or fall. It requires a full-time, five-month
commitment and offers a $10,000 stipend to offset participant's
costs.
For more information go to www.ifp.org
and go to "News: Submission Deadlines" or contact
Pooja Kohli, Member Outreach Coordinator at pkohli@ifp.org.
- Deadline: June 1 for July - December 2004. Networking
Workshops in New York. The workshops consist of monthly
professional gatherings to assist "emerging" filmmakers
in building a community of colleagues and to gain introductions
to the film industry. Workshop participants must be available
to meet on a monthly basis in the evenings for a 3-hour
gathering.
For more information go to www.ifp.org
and go to "News: Submission Deadlines" or email
pkohli@ifp.org.
- Deadline: April 19, 2004. IFP/Los Angeles is now accepting
applications for the 2004 Screenwriters Lab, held in
June and July. The Lab is sponsored by the Writers Guild of
America.
For more information and application call Josh Welsh at 310-432-1219.
- Conference: April 24, 2004. IFP/Minneapolis-St. Paul
presents its 5th annual Independent Producers Conference,
discussing marketing, film festivals, distribution and financing,
with presentations from SAG Indie/Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA.
Among the speakers are several with films in the New York-based
Tribeca Film Institute All-Access Program.
For more information call 651-644-1912.
- Entry deadlines: May 10 - 28. 2004 IFP Market in
New York.
For information about registration and entry fees and an application
call 212-465-8200 x 207.
4/17/04
Deadline: March 1, 2004
Sundance Screenwriters Lab
Organized by the Sundance Institute Native Program and Feature
Film Program
Feature film scripts written by Native American and indigenous
filmmakers are being received and considered for the Screenwriters
Lab to be held for five days in late June at Sundance in Utah.
In the past 22 years, Sundance Institute has supported more than
40 Native writers and directors through its Feature Film Program,
which operates both the Screenwriters and Directors Labs. These
are designed to offer emerging talent the opportunity to develop
new work in a uniquely creative environment under the concdntrated
guidance of veteran filmmakers.
The application form, two copies of the script and supporting
materials must be received by Monday, March 1. No late submissions
will be considered. To obtain application contact Native@Sundance.org.
Submission packages are to be sent to The Native Program, c/o
Sundance Institute, 8857 West Olympic Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA
90211. For more information about the Feature Film Program, go
to www.sundance.org
2/23/04
Extended deadline: April 22, 2004
Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition
Supported by the Writers Guild of America, West
Submisions are being solicited for the 6th annual Scriptapalooza
Screenplay Competition. The first prize is $10,000 and screenwriting
software will be given to the top 30 winners from Write Brothers.
Over 50 production companies are reading all the entered scripts.
Winners will be considered by Scriptapalooza's participating organizations;
A Band Apart, Samuel Goldwyn Films, HBO, Material, Disney and
many more.
For information visit www.scriptapalooza.com
or call 323-654-5809.
4/16/04
February 17 - May 18, 2004
Indigenous Performance: Australia/US
New York, NY
Screening
February 17 - March 7, 1 pm daily and 5:30 pm on Thursdays at
the National Museum of the American Indian, One Bowling Green
(NMAI). Vis á Vis: Native
Tongues. Steve Lawrence and Phil Lucas (Choctaw). Indigenous
performance artists James Luna (Luiseno) and Ningali Lawford
(Walmajarri) compare perspectives in conversations via satellite,
scenes from their performances, and their video diaries.
Theater: New Indigenous Voices
March 11 - May 18
A series of staged readings of new plays by Australian Aboriginal
writers and discussions between Aboriginal and Native American
playwrights and actors about the issues the plays raise: forced
removal, denial of land claims, and cultural continuity. All
programs are open to the public and free. For further information
contact Karen Oughtred at karenoug@erols.com
or call 212-514-3703.
- Thursday, March 11, 6:30 - 8:30 at NMAI. Global Voices:
Cultural Exchange. A panel discussion, moderated by Karen
Oughtred, NMAI, with M. Cochise Anderson (Chickasaw/Choctaw),
Dr. Wendy Darby, Jadah Milroy (Palku), John Scott (Ininga) and
Russell Tall Chief (Osage).
- Wednesday, March 17, 7:30 pm at the American Indian Community
House, 404 Lafayette St., 8th Floor. Crow Fire by Jadah
Milroy (Palku). Director: Kaipo Schwab. Post show discussion
with Ms. Milroy.
- Tuesday March 30, 3:00 pm at New Dramatists, 424 W. 44th St.
(9th/10th). Yanagai! Yanagai! by Andrea James (Yorta
Yorta). Director: Marcy Arlin. Post show discussion with Ms.
James.
- Tuesday April 20, 7:30 pm at The New Group, 410 W. 42nd St.
(9th/10th). Box the Pony by Scott Rankin & Leah Purcell
(Goa-Gungarri-Wakka Wakka) in her one-woman show about growing
up in a boxing family on the outskirts of an Aboriginal mission.
- Tuesday May 4, 7:30 pm at Drama Book Shop, 250 W. 40th St.
(7th/8th) Stolen by Jane Harrison (Muruwari). Director:
Karen Oughtred. Post show discussion with Ms. Harrison.
- Tuesday May 18, 1:00 pm at United Nations Building, First
Avenue at 42nd St. Conversations with the Dead by Richard
Frankland (Gunditjmara) Director: Muriel Miguel (Kuna/Rappahannock).
Post show discussion with Mr. Frankland.
Tribeca All-Access Program
Tribeca Film Institute in New York announces a new program, Tribeca
All-Access, to focus on works by Native American, Latino, Asian-American,
Pacific Islander and African American filmmakers. The program
will run, May 3 - 6, 2004, during the Tribeca Film Festival in
lower Manhattan. Approximately 20 fiction and non-fiction projects
will be selected for the program. At the core of the program will
be individual project discussion meetings with film industry representatives,
including independent producers, production companies, development
executives, sales agents, literary agents, and equity financiers.
For more information go to www.tribecafilminstitute.org
or call (212) 941-4012.
2/12/04
The Oneida Nation and NBC Television announce that the second
annual Four Directions Talent Search is being expanded
to give as many people as possible an opportunity to participate.
Additional cities for auditions to be held in January 2003 have
been announced, including Edmonton, Minneapolis, Toronto, and
San Bernardino. New dates for the semifinals and finals, originally
scheduled for November 17th and 18th at the Oneida Nation's Turning
Stone Casino Resort and PSNBC in New York City, will be announced
at a later date.
For information go to www.fourdirectionstalent.com
11/25/02
Zigzag (2002) Directed by Davis S. Geyer. Stars
John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes and features Michael Greyeyes
as Dale.
5/30/03
The Slaughter Rule (2002). Directed by Alex Smith
and Andrew J. Smith. Features Eddie Spears as Tracey Two
Dogs with Noah Watts and Geraldine Keams.
5/30/03
Sunshine State (2002). Directed by John Sayles.
Features Michael Greyeyes as Billy Trucks.
5/30/03
Posers (2002). Directed by Katie Tallo. Features
Adam Beach as Sinclair.
5/30/03
Legend of the Phantom Rider (2002). Directed by
Alex Erkiletian. Starring Saginaw Grant as the Medicine
Man
5/30/03
Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West (2002). Directed
by Bruce Niehaur. Alex Rice
stars as Sacagawea.
5/30/03
Another Country (2002). Directed by Gary Harvey.
Starring Tina Keeper as Michelle Kenidi, Simon Baker
as Charlie Dakota, and Dakota House as Tee Vee.
5/30/03
Now & Forever (2002). Directed by Bob Clark. Against
a backdrop of clashing cultures John Myron (Adam
Beach) and Angela Wilson (Mia Kirshner) seek a
new spirit. Gordon Tootoosis plays Ghost Fox.
9/12/02
AKA Birdseye (2002). Directed by Stephen Beckmer
and Michael C. Huber. A comic mockumentary murder mystery. Features
Michael Horse as Pete Longshadow.
9/12/02
The Four Directions Talent Search announces 2001 screenwriting
awards and performance finalists. Writers Bruce King (Oneida),
Darwin Seed (Cree) and Suzanne Armajo (Arapaho) won the first
screenwriting awards. Following an intensive selection process
with regional schowcases in Seattle, Denver, Toronto, Miami, and
at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's Foxwoods, eight people were
selected to perform on November 8 in New York before a live audience
of TV executives, network casting agents, and directors. The performers
were Don Kelly (Ojibwe), Trina Sxwithul'txw (Penelkut), Robin
Van Dyke (Ottawa), Rosalie Jones (chippewa), Vanessa Shortbull
(Oglala Sioux), Jim Ruel (Ojibwe), Abel Silvas (janero) and Chez
Chilcote (Luiseno).
Contact Information:
Four Directions Talent Search,
Oneida Nation Communications,
579A Main Street, Oneida, New York 13421
Press: Oneida
News
12/10/01
Cancom (Canadian Satellite Communications Inc.) has announced
eight recipients selected for the 2001 Ross Charles Awards.
Winners are Dawn Dumont (Cree), Penny Gummerson (Metis), Stephen
McGregor (Algonquin), Laura Milliken
(Chippewa), Jennifer Podemski
(Saulteaux and Israeli), Greg Pruden (Metis), Patrick Tenascon
(Algonquin), and Raoul Trujillo (Apache and French Canadian).
Program Director for the awards script workshop is Jordan Wheeler
(Cree) and faculty includes Carol Geddes (Tlingit).
For more information go to www.banffcentre.ab.ca/aboriginal_arts/programs/2001/writing_for_series_tv.htm
12/10/01
Adaptation, directed by Spike Jonz and written
by Charles Kaufman, opens in theaters in December 2002. In this
story screenwriter Charles Kaufman (Nicholas Cage) struggles to
adapt Susan Orleans' (Meryl Streep) nonfiction book The Orchid
Thief -the story of a Florida orchid poacher (whose work is
in collaboration with three Seminole men) into a film. The film
takes an imaginative leap to present versions of the real Kaufman's
real struggle. Features Gary Farmer
(Cayuga) as Buster Baxley, Roger Willie (Navajo) as Randy and
Jay Tavares (Navajo) as Matthew Osceola.
12/09/02
Three feature films by Native directors released in 2002 continue
to draw audiences. Zach Kunuk's
Atanarjuat/The Fast Runner
is being re-released in December 2002 and will soon be on DVD.
In September Chris Eyre's Skins
opened in major US cities, following its two-week Rolling Rez
Tour that brought a full-equipped screening facility on wheels
to Native community sites across the country, ending in a gala
New York premiere at the National Museum of the American Indian.
Sherman Alexie's The
Business of Fancy Dancing opened in major US cities
in October, following a year of award-winning screenings at numerous
festivals. Both Alexie and Eyre premiered their features at the
2001 Sundance Film Festival, and both are currently in preproduction
on new film projects. Watch this space for more news!
12/09/02
Chris Eyre's Skinwalkers, based on the novel by
Tony Hillerman, was nationally broadcast on PBS in November 2002.
It is the first American production to be featured on PBS' Mystery!
series in its 22-year history. The project teams Robert Redford's
Wildwood Enterpises with PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,
and the UK's Carlton Television, and stars Adam
Beach and Wes Studi as detectives Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn
of the Navajo Tribal Police. The work had its sneak preview at
2002 Native Cinema Showcase in Santa Fe.
For more information go to www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/programs/skinwalkers
12/09/02
Aboriginal Theater. Murial Miguel, director and founder of New
York's Spiderwoman Theater, directs the world premiere of The
Scrubbing Project featuring Native actors Jani Lauzon,
Monique Mojica (Smoke
Signals) and Michelle St. John (The
Business of Fancy Dancing, Where the Spirit
Lives). Produced by Native Earth Performaning Arts, Inc.
and Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble, the play is being presented
November 20 - December 8, 2002 at Toronto's Factory Studio Theatre.
For more information go to www.turtlegals.com
and www.nativeearth.ca
11/18/02
The Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) 2001
awards for television/video feature and news productions to: Carol
Adams, Nelson Bird, Craig Baumann, Haven Daley, Rosanna Deerchild,
Joh Ghahate, Sharon McConnell, Duncan McCue, Bruce Spence, Mary
Kim Titla, and Ken Williams. Non-Native award-winner is Rhonda
McBride. Wishelle Banks was awarded first place for feature writing
for her series in ICE/Indian Cinema Entertainment, a publication
of the American Indian Film Institute.
10/25/01
First Americans in the Arts 2001 awards for performers
and directors in television series and movies to: Tantoo Cardinal,
Tyler Christopher, Molly Culver, Michael Greyeyes, Miko Hughes,
Kanna Lombard, Kimberly Norris-Guerrero, Dana de Vally Piazza,
and Floyd Red Crow Westerman.
For more information go to www.firstamericans.org/9thawards.htm
10/25/01
Noted action director John Woo's Windtalkers, presentng
a story of Navajo code talkers in the Pacific in World War II,
has been released on home video. Two teams-one Navajo code talker
and one Marine "bodyguard" in each-are played by Adam
Beach and Nicholas Cage, and Roger Willie--in his premiere
film role--and Christian Slater. The film was big on battle scenes
but received lower ratings for its scripted treatment of the remarkable
Navajo story it could have told.
For a review on a Native youth website see www.reznetnews.org/culture/020624_windtalkers
10/11/02
The Art of Woo (2001). Directed and written by
Helen Lee. Adam Beach stars
as the artist Ben Crowchild in this romantic comedy about an ambitious
art dealer who meets her match in the gifted painter.
9/12/02
Greasewood Flat (2001). Directed and written by
Susan K. Brigham. A story of a struggling blues musician estranged
from his family who returns to the three generations of women
he left behind. Featuring Irene Bedard as Abbey.
9/12/02
Zoe (2001). Directed and written by Deborah Attoinese.
Three run away girls highjack a car to get to Los Angeles. Featuring
Gordon Tootoosis as Red Shirt Montoya.
9/12/02
Forty Aboriginal professionals in film, television, and new media
from across western Canada met on June 8-9 in Vancouver, B.C.
to discuss their common concerns. The result was an initiative
to form an association with the interim name Aboriginal Media
Industry Professionals Association (AMIPA).
For more information contact AMIPA vice-president Tracey Jack
at 250-493-7181, Ext. 28.
9/5/02
In August 2002 the University of Alaska-Anchorage Art Department
and Epicenter Productions sponsored Mythic Structure
in Screenwriting, as part of the preparation for Epicenter's
development of an Alaskan Native children's television show.
For more information contact: Alaska Film Group at 907-696-5150
or e-mail AFG manager and Epicenter Productions president Laura
Simkins at epicenter@hotmail.com.
8/19/02
ANNOUNCEMENT July 8, 2002
Forty aboriginal professionals in film, television, and new media
from across western Canada gathered on June 8 and 9 in Vancouver,
B.C. to discuss issues of common concern to their professions.
Following two days of lively and intense discussions, the result
was an initiative to form an association with the interim name,
'Aboriginal Media Industry Professionals Association'.
(AMIPA) The group's next step is to organize an Annual General
Meeting of Aboriginal media professionals with representation
from across Canada.
The fledgling group cited three main objectives to be represented
by a mission statement at a later date. One, to create a meaningful
voice for lobbying and consultation with relevant cultural institutions
(public and private) in Canada regarding their policies and programs.
Two, to create ways to share information between aboriginal professionals
in film, television, and new media. A website would contribute
to such information sharing as well as provide a database of individuals
in industry. Third, to assist in opportunities for both training
and professional development for those entering the field and
those already involved.
There was a great sense among the producers gathered that, given
the growth in numbers of active aboriginal producers in the past
decade, the time has come for such an association to take its
place on the cultural and industry stages of Canada for the active
continuation and enhancement of their collective professions.
For more information contact interim AMIPA Vice President Tracey
Jack at (250) 493-7181 Ext 28.
07/30/02
Jeff Bear and Marianne
Jones launch Ravens and Eagles: Haida Art, a new documentary
series on art and artists of Haida Gwaii, to be aired weekly on
APTN.
12/10/01
The provincial government of British Columbia has contributed
$218,000 toward a First Nation joint business venture, Wildhorse
Town, on the Skeetcheston Indian Reserve, to establish a Western
film set.
12/10/01
TVOntario announces a new series The Longhouse Tales,
for broadcast in the province. For further information contact
Catherine Poezevarz, Audience Relations, 1-800-463-6886.
12/10/01
Windtalkers. Scheduled for Jue 2002. MGM's $100
million movie directed by John Woo, stars Nicholas Cage, Christian
Slater, and Adam Beach.
Beach plays a Navajo code talker in World War II who becomes friends
with his bodyguard (Cage).
For more information go to www.mgm.com/windtalkers
and www.northernstarsmag.com/beach.html
12/10/01
Skins. Scheduled
for January 2002. Director Chris
Eyre tells the poignant story of two brothers, one a cop,
one an alcoholic veteran, set on a reservation. Eric Schweig
stars as Rudy Yellow Lodge and Graham Greene as Mogie Yellow
Lodge.
12/10/01
Dice. Scheduled for 2002. In a TV miniseries director
Rachel Talalay (director of TV series Wolf Lake) focuses
on compulsive gambling. Gary
Farmer is featured.
12/10/01
In 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) was
permitted by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission) to increase its international television programming
content from 10% to 30%. This will enable the network to provide
audiences with programs about the perspectives, lives and cultures
of Aboriginal peoples around the world, including Australia, New
Zealand, Central and South America, Greenland, Northern Europe,
Asia, Hawai'i, Alaska, and the continental U.S.
For more information go to www.aptn.ca
Press: APTN
Increases International Television Programming Content From 10%
to 30%
10/25/01
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