imagineNATIVE Announces Feature Films and Documentaries

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Announces Feature Films and Documentaries
Plus
The Witching Hour Program • Industry Series

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, with presenting sponsor Bell Media, announces the Festival’s feature length films and documentaries, the return of The Witching Hour: Late Night Program, and the FREE Industry Series with panels, talks and case studies.

The 16^th imagineNATIVE Festival will present feature length films from October 14-18, 2015 such as Esprit de Corps, a Filipino film about two military cadets in a brutal training camp during the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship; The Dead Lands, the first-ever Maori-language action film, starring Lawrence Makoare (The Lord of the Rings) and James Rolleston (Boy); Chasing the Light, a dark comedy by Blackhorse Lowe with comparisons to Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino films; Le Dep, a French film about a young Innu woman held at gunpoint while working at her father’s dépanneur; and The Last Saint, a film with an unapologetic look at gang wars and drug addiction, directed by Rene Naufahu, known for his role in The Matrix trilogy.

2014 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival announces complete programming

This morning, the complete 15th Anniversary imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival programme was announced at the TIFF Bell Lightbox by Executive Director Jason Ryle, and guests including TIFF's Cameron Bailey and actor Glen Gould.

The 15th Annual imagineNATIVE returns October 22-26, 2014 with the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from around the globe featuring: 130 films and videos; nine Radio Works; seven multi-platform New Media works; four art exhibitions featuring 19 media artists; 11 industry panels and public workshops; and 17 commissions. imagineNATIVE will feature 175 artists representing over 70 distinct Indigenous nations from 12 countries.

imagineNATIVE Announces Feature Films & Documentaries and The Witching Hour Program

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, with presenting sponsor Bell Media, announces the return of The Witching Hour: Late Night Shorts Program and the Festival’s feature length films and documentaries. Opening night of the festival will be, People’s Choice Award-winner at TIFF’s Midnight Madness, What We Do In The Shadows, on Wednesday, October 22 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema with director, Taika Waititi in attendance.

The 15th anniversary of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will present feature length films from October 22-26, 2014 such as Black Panther Woman, about Marlene Cummins, an Indigenous teen full of political conviction, becoming a member Brisbane’s chapter of the Black Panthers, one of many in Australia in the early 1970s. As part of the Australia Spotlight, on Sunday, October 26, this powerful film will reveal how many Indigenous women paid a hefty price for their loyalty to a cause they thought was about equality for all.

Thursday, October 23 holds the World Premiere of The Lodge, a stunning stop-motion animation adopting equal parts Goldilocks and the traditional Anishnaabe legend of the Dandelion. The Lodge challenges colonial concepts of savagery, critiques the de-humanizing of Indigenous peoples and explores the powerful medicine of our animal relations. Later that night, the deadliness of Russian winters reaches psychologically destructive new ground in the International Premiere of A White Day by director Michail Lukachevskyi of the Yakut Republic.

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE 2014

Be part of imagineNATIVE’s 15th Anniversary Year!

Be a part of 15 ground-breaking years showcasing the rise of the Indigenous media arts movement! It’s time to submit your film, video, radio and new media works for the 15th anniversary imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. This year’s Festival runs from October 22-26, 2014 in Toronto, Canada.

imagineNATIVE is an international Festival that celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples at the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media. Each fall, the Festival presents a selection of the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from Canada and around the globe. The works accepted reflect the diversity of the world's Indigenous nations and illustrate the vitality and excellence of our art and culture in contemporary media. Last year, imagineNATIVE presented 127 works, and had 70+ artists and 15,558 people in attendance at the Festival.

2013 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, October 16-20

Female Filmmakers Dominate at the 14th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Where Artists are Heroes!
October 16 – 20, 2013

The 14th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, running October 16 – 20, 2013, returns to Toronto this fall to host the world’s largest festival of Indigenous film and media arts. The Festival has announced 101 films, including documentaries, features and shorts, and proudly presents a program dominated by female filmmakers with more than half of the screening works at the Festival made by women, a noteworthy representation.

Meanwhile, with TIFF premieres of both Jennifer Podemski’s indie drama Empire of Dirt and Jeff Barnaby’s debut feature film, Rhymes for Young Ghouls, the Native-Canadian presence at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival did not go unnoticed. With both of these films, and 99 more, screening at this year’s imagineNATIVE festival, Aboriginal art will idle no more with increased presence at the world’s most foremost festivals.

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

Be part of imagineNATIVE’s 14th Anniversary Year!

FREE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2013
$25 LATE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 15, 2013

Complete submission details and film/video, radio, new media and TV Series submission forms:

• Online submission forms
• PDF submission forms

It’s that time of year once again for you to submit your film, video, radio and new media works for the 14^th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

2012 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Oct 17-21

The 13th imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival begins tonight with a gala screening featuring the world premiere of Alanis Obomsawin's The People of Kattawapiskak River at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor Street West). Beforehand, the festival will officially launch with a Welcome Gathering, a free event held at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

The closing night presentation will be Anita Doron's The Lesser Blessed, which recently had its premiere at the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival.

In addition to many other screenings, the festival will host their always-memorable music night The Beat at Lee’s Palace, and many industry events including the ROCK YOUR DOC! Documentary Pitch Competition and the DRAMA QUEEN! Drama Series Pitch Competition.

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE + CBC Internship 2012

Application Deadline: 5:00pm EDT, Monday, October 8, 2012

imagineNATIVE and CBC are seeking one young Aboriginal journalist (19-35) for an exciting and unique career-building opportunity with CBC.ca/arts (www.cbc.ca/news/arts). This week-long internship will run from October 15^th through Oct 21st, 2012 and will be flexible to work and school schedules.

The selected intern will assume the role of the Festival Correspondent, learning how to file copy, photos and videos with CBC.ca/arts while covering special events and screenings at the 12^th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (October 17^th-21^st) in Toronto. As Festival Correspondent, the intern will receive an All-Access pass to the festival, be connected to imagineNATIVE’s Publicist to arrange interviews with artists, and will work directly with experienced individuals from CBC.ca/arts who will offer guidance in posting daily reports to the website. A per diem will be provided during the five-day festival by imagineNATIVE.

imagineNATIVE Festival announces complete 2012 programming

13^th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
October 17-21, 2012

Five days of Indigenous film, video, radio, new media, entertainment, and more

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the world’s largest Indigenous media arts festival, celebrates its 13th year October 17-21, 2012 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (Reitman Square, 350 King St. W) and various other venues in downtown Toronto. This year imagineNATIVE celebrates 117 new works by Indigenous people at the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media.

The Festival officially kicks off at 2:00pm on Wednesday, October 17 with a Welcome Gathering at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (16 Spadina Rd.). This reception is FREE and open to the public, and features traditional Indigenous performances, craft vendors, food, and a welcome address from imagineNATIVE in a casual, family-friendly atmosphere.

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE micro meetings

Apply Now!

2012 imagineNATIVE Film + Medai Arts Festival
MICRO MEETINGS:
One-on-One Meetings for Funding and Film Distribution!

Festival Delegate Passholders coming to imagineNATIVE with a roster of films needing distribution and/or a project in development, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to take part in our annual MICRO MEETINGS, an application-based meeting service where you apply to discuss your current and past films for distribution or discuss your new projects for funding to one of our friendly and welcoming Buyers, Funders and Distributors!

When you complete your application, our imagineNATIVE staff will match your meeting requests as best possible with the Buyer that would have the best chance to start a new business partnership with you. We then schedule you to meet your scheduled Buyer for a 10-minute, one-on-one meeting, scheduled on Friday, October 19, between 1:30 - 3:30pm.

imagineNATIVE announces Opening and Closing Night gala presentations

The 13th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is just around the corner and the Festival is excited to announce the films for its Opening and Closing Night Gala Presentations.

The Festival opens with the World Premiere of The People of the Kattawapiskak River, the latest documentary from legendary Canadian filmmaker, Alanis Obomsawin. A moving and powerful feature that takes the viewer north to the Attiwapiskat First Nation in Ontario where a housing crisis and poverty levels made international headlines in the winter of 2011. With her unflinchingly honest, yet gentle lens, Obomsawin brings us into the homes of Attiwapiskat residents who share their frustrations and their hopes for a better future. The People of the Kattawapiskak River opens the Festival on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor Street West).

Having recently celebrated her 80th birthday, Obomsawin remains a cinematic force. The People of the Kattawapiskak River will be preceded by her first film, Christmas at Moose Factory (1971).

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE’s Documentary, Drama TV Pitch

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
2012 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
DOCUMENTARY & DRAMA TV PITCH:
Exclusive Professional Training & Pitch Sessions

This is your chance to be part of an intensive pitch training opportunity at this year's imagineNATIVE!

Do you have a great idea for a pilot episode of a series drama (30 or 60 min), OR a feature, short or series documentary?  Enter our competitions to pitch your idea to a panel of commissioning editors and acquisitions executives from the major Canadian broadcasters – who will provide valuable feedback and development advice.  You will also have a chance to win imagineNATIVE’s Documentary Pitch or Drama TV Pitch prizes to help your idea become a reality.

First Peoples Cinema series begins with Tanya Tagaq/Nanook of the North

Last month, TIFF Bell Lightbox announced the retrospecitve series First Peoples Cinema: 1500 Nations, One Tradition on the cinema by and about Native peoples. It is fitting that the programs starts today on National Aboriginal Day.

Tonight's opening event will be the world premiere of a newly commissioned composition by renowned throat-singer Tanya Tagaq. She is an award-winning and Juno-nominated artist who takes a very avant-garde approach to the traditional techniques of throat-singing.

She will perform the piece as a live accompaniment to the groundbreaking if controversial silent documentary Nanook of the North by Robert J. Flaherty. Although discredited as a pure documentary, the film was nonetheless a milestone of cinema and sympathetic to its subjects in a way that mainstream cinema has only begun to match.

First Peoples Cinema at TIFF Lightbox

FIRST PEOPLES CINEMA CELEBRATED AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX THIS SUMMER WITH FILM SERIES, FREE EXHIBITION AND SPECIAL GUESTS

Programme features largest and most wide-ranging First Peoples film series ever seen in North America; major gallery exhibition with work from Native artists; and guests including Academy Award®-nominated actor Graham Greene

Toronto — Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox, announced today details for a multifaceted exploration of First Peoples on film including First Peoples Cinema: 1500 Nations, One Tradition a major film retrospective, Home on Native Land,  a free landmark gallery exhibition, as well as an international roster of special guests, all launching on June 21. First Peoples Cinema: 1500 Nations, One Tradition, a film series that traces a select history of Indigenous filmmaking from around the world, programmed by Jesse Wente (Ojibwe), Head of Film Programmes, TIFF, includes 28 features and over 30 shorts from First Peoples filmmakers from Canada, the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and the Philippines. Opening in conjunction with the film series is Home on Native Land, a free major gallery exhibition of new media work from celebrated Native Artists from Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. The programme also features guest appearances by many First Peoples filmmakers, scholars and curators, including an on-stage discussion with Academy Award®-nominated actor Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves).

International Polar Film Festival, Apr 24–25

International Polar Film Festival

The Canadian Film Institute is proud to present the International Polar Film Festival in Montreal, running April 24th and 25th at the Cinéma Impérial (Centre Sandra & Leo Kolber, Salle Lucie et André Chagnon). Featuring two nights of extraordinary films, the festival will present complex, fascinating and stunning visions of the Arctic and Antarctic worlds.

Fourteen different films will be screened, with eight Canadian entries highlighting the festival’s programming line-up. Entries from the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden will also be presented. All films will be screened free of charge and in their original languages with English subtitles.

Various themes will be explored throughout the festival including: The politics of global warming, the impact of climate change on the polar regions of the earth and the natural beauty of these extreme landscapes.

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE 2012

imagineNATIVE 2012 Call for Submissions

Be part of imagineNATIVE's 13th anniversary year!

FREE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2012
$25 LATE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 15, 2012
ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM

It’s that time of year once again for you to submit your film, video, radio and new media works for the 13^th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. This year’s Festival runs from October 17-21, 2012 in Toronto, Canada. imagineNATIVE is an international Festival that celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples at the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media. Each fall, the Festival presents a selection of the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from Canada and around the globe. The works accepted reflect the diversity of the world's Indigenous nations and illustrate the vitality and excellence of our art and culture in contemporary media.

Call for submissions: NSI New Voices program

Winnipeg's National Screen Institute (NSI) has put out a call for submissions for their 2012 New Voices program.

The program is a 14-week training program for Aboriginal Canadians 18-35 years of age. It provides culturally sensitive training in the film and television industry. There is a small application fee but no tuition fee for the program. Participants will in fact be paid minimum wage during the program.

Non-residents of Winnipeg may apply but must provide for their own travel and accommodation and demonstrate that they are able to do so.

The program begins April 30 and runs for fourteen weeks. The first phase is six weeks of skills development training, followed by a second phase of eight weeks in a work placement. Additionally, participants will shoot, edit and screen three short films.