March 2004

Shirley Cheechoo (Cree) began directing films in 1998, after working as an actor and playwright of notable plays such as Path with No Moccasins (1991). Cheechoo teaches drama workshops to Native youth across Ontario, and has founded a touring youth drama company, the Debahjehmujig Theatre Group, which often performs in the Ojibwe language. She has won first prize awards for her works at numerous film festivals including Montreal's First Peoples Festival, the Santa Fe Film Festival, and the American Indian Film Festival of San Francisco. In 2002 Cheechoo was named Independent Filmmaker of the Year at the Arizona International Film Festival.

"I am drawn to films that have a certain honesty to them. Since my mom told me stories as a young child I always wanted to be a storyteller. I am a writer, I write in order to direct. I write the script on paper and then I write while I am directing the film and then I write again as I sit and edit. You are writing throughout the whole process. I think that with this form of filmmaking the film finds itself and its audience. I want to make films that tell a story about life itself."

Screened by NMAI

• Johnny Tootall (2005) director
• Pikutiskwauu/Mother Earth (2002) producer, director
• Tracks in the Snow (2001) producer, director
• Christmas in the Clouds (2001) actor
• Bearwalker (formerly Backroads) (2000) producer, director, actor
• Silent Tears (1997) producer, director, writer, actor

Image credit: Shirley Cheechoo - courtesy of the filmmaker