Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Floyd Kane’s new series Diggstown to premiere during CBC’s 2018-19 season

Posted: 25 May 2018 11:22 AM PDT

Diggstown, a new original legal drama from creator, exec producer and showrunner Floyd Kane (NSI Totally Television), is set to premiere on CBC in winter 2019.

The story follows on Marcie Diggs, a star corporate lawyer who reconsiders her priorities after her beloved aunt commits suicide following a malicious prosecution. Landing at a legal aid office in Dartmouth, Marcie is driven by one thing – to never again allow innocent lives to be destroyed by the justice system.

Diggstown is the first original Canadian drama series featuring a black female lead character.

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Apply to Gimli Film Fest’s Future is Female* mentorship program

Posted: 25 May 2018 11:03 AM PDT

Gimli Film Festival (GFF) has announced its commitment to a film lineup 40 to 60% written or directed by women for its 2018 edition.

As part of this effort the fest has launched an outreach project, The Future is Female* Mentorship Program, presented in part by Women in View and On Screen Manitoba. Interested local emerging female directors, actors, producers, writers and media artists are encouraged to apply.

As part of this program, GFF will provide up to 45 accepted applicants with free transportation to the festival via charter bus for a full day of inspiring and educational woman-driven film programming on Friday, July 27.

This includes woman-directed film screenings, Q&As with out-of-town filmmakers, a workshop about producing your own films, a panel hosted by Women in View, a networking reception and more.

Deadline for applications is June 22. Find out more and apply.

*The program is meant to be inclusive and as such the asterisk here is meant to represent any non-binary woman-identified folks. All woman-identified individuals are very much encouraged to apply to this program.

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NSI IndigiDocs students tell us about their boot camp training experiences

Posted: 25 May 2018 10:41 AM PDT

Above from left: Charlene Moore, Ryan Wilson, Cara Mumford, Christine Friday, Damien Eagle Bear, Caitlyn Pantherbone, Chris Ross, Candy Fox

Our NSI IndigiDocs students took part in an intensive two-week boot camp in Winnipeg back in February. At the end of boot camp we asked them to write about their experiences.

Christine Friday | Producer, Path Without End

Today is the day. The time is now to understand my own gifts and move forward to continue to turn my dreams into reality.

I feel like a new person from this experience. I am always so committed to family and my dance career, and to receiving direction, ideas and inspiration. I feel I can now take hold of my life and produce, articulate and execute.

I have always been afraid of success and my own power but I have no more time to hum and haw or wish and wonder. No matter how uncomfortable I make you feel there is room for all of us.

Whenever I feel defeated I will remember you as a human force and an inspiration to prove to myself, and to the world, that YES, I can be an incredible mother and wife and have a successful career while maintaining self-care and a good, honest spiritual life.

My mom always taught me if there’s something you think needs to be done, it’s your job to do it. My father taught me to be good to your word. I come from an ancestral struggle and it is in this lifetime that I will awaken and create a shift movement that will reflect reality and the human experience.

So carry on dear friends. Aspire to be the person you can be through the pain and the joy. We will uplift and uprise. We are all connected.

Cara Mumford | Director, Path Without End

Arrival day

Checked into my Airbnb loft with gorgeous high ceilings and dark wood beams, located mere steps from the NSI office. Travel days are a challenge for my health (I have chronic autoimmune disorders) so I was glad that supper was low key and a chance to meet the other participants before the craziness of boot camp started. Because of how I was feeling, the evening is a bit of a blur but it was great to see Christine (Friday – my partner and producer) and I remember meeting Ryan (Wilson) and adoring him like a kid brother right away.

Day 1: Storytelling is sacred

It was very grounding for me to start the day with Lisa Meeches and a smudge, followed by a pipe ceremony led by Elder Colin Mousseau. It was good to start out grounded because lunch was an overwhelming meet and greet with so many people. As an introvert, I’m much better one on one.

We spent the afternoon listening to Alanis Obomsawin talk about her process of documentary filmmaking which was so inspiring. Two things stood out most for me: “Storytelling is sacred” and “Start with sound.”

To me, Alanis is the very definition of integrity and respectful documentary filmmaking. This afternoon, she said that a release form doesn’t mean you should go ahead and use material without further permission. She always makes sure people are comfortable with sharing their stories throughout the process because storytelling is sacred, a belief I definitely share.

My mother has often told me that Alanis starts with sound but I apparently never registered what that meant until I heard it from Alanis herself. How she records her own sound when she converses with people, long before the cameras are involved, listening to that recording, having it transcribed, reading and re-reading it, then finding the story.

It makes sense to me on so many levels. Coming from dance films and music videos, it’s often sound that provides my initial inspiration.

I’m also working with Christine, a dance artist, who creates incredible soundscapes for her dance works with her longtime, award-winning sound designer Rob Bertola. I’m meeting Christine’s family for the first time and I want a chance to get to know them and for them to get to know me before aiming cameras at them. Then there’s the Anishinaabe seven fire creation story that starts with sound.

Days 2 & 3: The blur of Belcourt

Our days with Shane Belcourt (director advisor) were a bit of a blur of structure, tech specs, loglines and more. The amount of information Shane imparted and the speed at which he did it … wow!

Let me just start by saying that the look book for Indictment: The Crimes of Shelley Chartier is fantastic. Given that the films I make are often impossible for others to visualize until they’re finished, I think making a kickass look book would be a good skill for me to develop.

Christine and I also started figuring how to pitch our project because it’s a bit different when the story is the personal family story of the producer who will also be the on-screen creative. I do think it makes more sense for Christine to tell her story and then for me to talk about our background of working together and why this film is also important to me, rather than the conventional approach of having the director tell the story.

I have plenty of notes from those days that I look forward to reviewing because there was just so much to absorb.

Day 4: Information overload

NFB and Tactica talking crossplatform storytelling in the morning and Midcan post-production in the afternoon.

I’m already working with the NFB to develop an interactive website through their initiative with imagineNATIVE, and they’re already a partner with this program, so this information was more for future reference. Kevin Glasier from Tactica was quite exciting to listen to because I am very interested in crossing platforms, especially with my current NFB project, but I can also see the potential for our doc.

The tech-filled afternoon at Midcan made me very grateful for the people I’ve worked with and continue to work with both in post-production and also on set. Every time Shane talked about data management, I silently thanked John Reed Hryszkiewicz, who was the first AC on my shoot last spring and who took care of hard drives, interacted with the digital imaging technician, giving me a chance to learn about that stuff without the stress of needing to know it all.

Day 5: Overshadowed by the verdict

I know we had a great day at boot camp. I know I loved meeting Monica Lowe from Winnipeg Film Group, and I remember feeling like an embarrassed teacher’s pet with Liz Hover when it came to our online presence. I remember feeling inspired talking to director Noah Erenberg and editor Ivan Hughes, but all of that is like a blur leading up to the moment I went online before bed when time froze.

I read the not guilty verdict in the Gerald Stanley trial. The cognitive dissonance of being shocked that he wasn’t at least found guilty of manslaughter while also being utterly unsurprised by the outcome made it hard to sleep.

Day 6: Canada’s legal system

“This isn’t a court of justice, son, this is a court of law.” ~ Billy Bragg

Today we were scheduled to watch Indictment with co-directors Lisa Jackson and Shane Belcourt, while having our pictures taken, followed by a discussion of the ‘making of.’ That changed because of last night’s verdict and the #JusticeforColten protest march that would start at 2 p.m. at The Forks in Winnipeg.

We had all watched Indictment before boot camp, so we just discussed it instead. Discussing what happens to Indigenous people in the mainstream legal system was very much on point that day, and Lisa really knows her stuff in that department. Knowing there are filmmakers like Lisa Jackson and Alanis Obomsawin was of great comfort on this day.

I didn’t feel up to attending the protest march with my own anger and sadness already triggering my anxiety, so I walked down to the waterfront instead and wrote this poem.

Today
I walked to the River
The Red

Resting place for too many of our own.

Red River
Red Clay
Red Road
Red Blood

It was so Cold
my face felt like Fire
it made my eyes Water.

I swear it was the Cold …
Not the Verdict.

I walked down to the River
Not the Protest,
the Gathering,
my nerves too raw to expose to others’ Suffering
to others’ Anger.

I offered my Tears to the River instead.

In the Spring, when the river thaws,
my tears will mix with the Blood of my Ancestors
running through the Veins of this Land.

For Today
I have no answers,
I am both raw and numb
with nothing clever to say,
but I write anyway
because I don’t know what else to do.

Day 7: One on one

It was really good to just sit down with just Lisa and Christine to talk about our project without a room full of other opinions. As much as it’s great to get lots of feedback, it’s also great to focus on your vision and have a more in-depth conversation with people you trust. And I definitely trust Christine Friday and Lisa Jackson.

Day 8: Jammin’ with Jackson

Spent the day with Lisa Jackson. Finally saw her first film Suckerfish. I love Lisa as a filmmaker and as a person, so it was wonderful to spend the day watching and talking film. But the verdict still hangs over us. At one point, Lisa used the expression “put a gun to your head” and stopped, appalled at what she had just said, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only person picturing Colten Boushie. I don’t think any of us will ever be able to use that as an expression anymore.

Day 9: Research and opportunity

Morning with Kelly Fry on research, rights and clearances. I may have unleashed my inner archive geek a bit. Afternoon with APTN and their funding opportunities, which had us all buzzing. Christine and I have decided we need to make our five-year plan.

Day 10: Interview experience

This morning was about practicing the art of the interview, but it was also a nice chance to talk to the other directors and get to know each other better.

We had a bit of time to work on our questions which I was relieved about since I’d been focusing more on the upcoming sizzle reel edit. I woke up in the morning realizing I hadn’t prepared any questions and, as I thought about how I might try to wing it, I realized that I was no good at coming up with a good question on the spot. Probably few inexperienced interviewers would be good at that and I certainly wasn’t one of them.

Even with the time allowed, my questions were still not clear because my intention behind them wasn’t clear. Lots of work to do in this area. As for being on the other side of the camera, let’s just say I much prefer being interviewed on the radio.

Day 11: Scruffy the Squirrel

A little background on the day’s title: when I went out for my first fast, I was visited by three squirrels. I was told to notice who visited me and learn about them to understand why those particular animals chose to visit. Well, all of the Anishinaabe teachings I’ve been finding about squirrels seem to have a common thread of humility. While I think I am humble about many things, I know I am overly proud of my ability to learn quickly in a western-based education system. This does not translate to learning in an Anishinaabeg way. This is something I’ve been working to accept.

Christine is aware of this background. She also has this very cute rhyme she made up years ago about Scruffy the Squirrel (that I will leave for her to share). Now that you have that information…

I was feeling very confident prepping to edit the sizzle reel. Editing is one of the areas where I feel solid – highly skilled, even. I worked on my paper edit in the morning and Christine came over at lunch to check in and record some narration on my iPad. I told her I was feeling very prepared so she started calling me Scruffy and I remembered how everything always takes at least twice as long as you expect when editing, so I decided to shut my mouth and be humble.

Spent the afternoon in the edit suite with Ivan Hughes. It was a good thing I was mostly prepared because the morning teams had gone long. Of course, there ended up being a few photos or clips I hadn’t saved to the hard drive yet so I had to email them and Ivan had to download – a few other things I thought I’d already prepped.

I had also copied down a few time codes incorrectly … more time to sort out. Then we showed our first assembly to Lisa and Elise (Swerhone, program manager), got a bit of feedback, added some titles and rearranged a few things. Then Christine’s day was finished and she came by the studio. We re-recorded some of the narration, showed her what we had, tweaked a few more things and we were done right on time.

When I got home, however, I realized that upon rearranging some video we had also rearranged some sound and lost the music for one brief section. Of course I had to pull the reel into Final Cut 7 on my obsolete laptop and add those few bars of music back in which ended up being trickier than I expected. I’m so glad we’ll be working with a professional sound designer for the actual film. I eventually succeeded and think we ended up with a kickass reel overall, even if my audio transitions weren’t the best.

So yes, I’m proud of what we accomplished but I will always remember Scruffy.

Day 12: Sizzle and WAG

We got to see everyone’s sizzle reels today. I think we’re all better at showing our stories than pitching them right now because I felt like there was an ‘a ha!’ moment while watching all of them: “a ha, now I understand why you want to make this film!”

After lunch, a bunch of us went to the Winnipeg Art Gallery for their show Insurgence, Resurgence, which I highly recommend. I also picked up a copy of the book for the show as a belated birthday present for my mom because I’m such a good daughter. (Feel free to remind my mom about that!)

Chris Ross | Producer, Bad Indians

The journey ahead …

After taking the two-week NSI IndigiDocs boot camp in Winnipeg, I have learned everything there is to know about the film business, period! No, I’m just kidding, but I did get an excellent inside look at how the TV/film business operates and how Indigenous filmmakers and their stories fit into this. More importantly, I could envision where we, as Indigenous filmmakers, are going as a collective unit.

In these two weeks, we learned from the best in the business in all aspects.

The film Candy (Fox) and I are making will be a great opportunity to take everything we have learned and apply it to this great story. We already have plans to turn it into a TV show, but first we are focusing on just producing a great film.

Above clockwise from top left: with Alanis Obomsawin and Lisa Meeches; with Damien Eagle Bear and Charlene Moore; getting team photos taken; with Lisa Jackson; at Midcan with Anita Lubosch and Howard Rissin; outside NSI; middle: with Shane Belcourt

I have never considered myself to be a filmmaker because I have too much respect for everyone else who has come before me – the many film producers, directors, actors and people who have made a path for us. They put in the work to create policies and programs, like NSI IndigiDocs and CBC New Indigenous Voices, to give emerging Indigenous filmmakers a chance to tell their stories, but also a chance to own their stories. After this boot camp, I can now say I am well on my way to becoming a fully-fledged filmmaker, as I promise to uphold the most professional practices in the industry.

When I’m done this short documentary with Candy, only then I will call myself a filmmaker – only then will I feel that I’ve earned it. So this is my journey moving forward.

I’m beyond excited to begin this unknown path, to make mistakes and learn, and face adversity and try to succeed.

I’m forever grateful to everyone at NSI and all the people brought in to teach us. They certainly gave us a head start and provided all the tools, but now the challenge is to follow through with it and make them proud. But, more importantly, make our ancestors proud in keeping our stories alive.

Thank you NSI for this opportunity. Now time to go make a film.

Candy Fox | Director, Bad Indians

Real-life industry knowledge at NSI IndigiDocs boot camp

I’m a recent university graduate. A four-year film production degree has given me a tremendous amount of knowledge and skill in creating films, applying those skills and becoming an artist with a vision. Taking the NSI IndigiDocs program has given me real-world knowledge from real filmmakers on how to thrive and work in the industry as an independent artist.

There was much to take in. I took most interest in the various ways to structure a short film for television, web or broadcast and getting the funding to do it. What’s different here from a university course is that it’s more about practical application of what you learn to get your short film made, and that is vital.

Above, clockwise from left: with Lisa Jackson; with Alanis Obomsawin; in front of the camera; Elise Swerhone interviewed by Lisa

Though all the presenters brought a breadth of knowledge with them, I was most impacted by what Shane and Lisa brought to the program. I thank them for sharing both their good and bad experiences because they gave me a sense of the realities I could face. I feel honoured to pick the brains of two people who have so much experience behind them.

I really appreciated the program facilitators and organizers from NSI (Elise Swerhone, Ursula Lawson and Kaya Wheeler) who made me feel so at home during the program – much thanks. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Airbnb and that we were all within walking distance of one another.

I’m looking forward to this whole process alongside my teammate Chris. I’m also excited to see all the films that each team creates. I think everyone has a strong story that deserves to be told.

Ryan Wilson | Producer, When The Children Left

My experience with NSI IndigiDocs was much more than I expected.

I knew that the course was gonna be packed with valuable information but I what I didn’t expect is that it would be packed with so much love as well. Let me explain.

On the first day we did a pipe ceremony and traditional feast – so many people came to support us. It was a very humbling experience, They gave us information about why they support NSI IndigiDocs and what it meant to them, and what it could do for us. With arms wide open, each representative told us they would help us succeed in our future goals, and encouraged us to work with them in future.

On that same day we got to sit with Alanis Obomsawin who, in my personal opinion, is a legend. I am a huge huge fan of Miss Obomsawin. I was extremely grateful to meet her, shake her hand and ask her about how she works as a director. With grace she answered every single one of my questions and then some, and she also got me a ride home at the end of the day. It was a glorious first day.

On the second day we got to sit with Shane Belcourt – our advisor for the first week of boot camp. Throughout the week Shane gave us so much gold information that I will continue to use throughout my career. He was a true knowledge keeper of the art of filmmaking. And some day I hope to work him. He is a wizard, LOL. #youngmerlin.

Everyone who came into our classroom was a complete genius in the their craft. NSI IndigiDocs truly is a program that will help any documentary filmmaker become much more.

During the second week we were joined by the incredible, smart, talented, hilarious Lisa Jackson. She is one of the most present people I have ever met in my life. She listened to every single word spoken by each team and always had the most incredibly creative answers to help polish our projects and make our ideas so much more relatable. I love how she always found a way to explain something in a very clear and concise way. She is amazing.

Everyone that was part of this incredible program was so helpful, caring and loving. I can feel and see how much everyone wanted us to succeed. Charlene (Moore) and I are definitely going to do our best and use all the knowledge and techniques that everyone gave us during boot camp.

Charlene Moore | Director, When The Children Left

We (Ryan Wilson and I) applied to NSI IndigiDocs after we heard about the injustices Indigenous youth face when they’re forced to leave home to complete secondary schooling. We were shocked when we realized how many youth are constrained to living with strangers away from their communities and families. I strongly felt we needed to get this story to a large audience and we knew that NSI IndigiDocs would help us do that.

I was also looking forward to the boot camp to meet the other teams and presenters that would teach us. It was, and is, imperative to me that this project gets the best of what I can offer and I knew that boot camp would push me to do that even more. I was humbled and honoured to spend time with people I look up to and have a lot of respect for.

A film requires so many people to be involved and feel passionately about the story and it was nice that everyone we met tried to help us with our projects. After completing CBC New Indigenous Voices a few years ago, I knew the most valuable thing I would gain out of boot camp would be the contacts I made.

However, my initial feeling was that I wasn’t cool enough to be sitting at the table with such talented peers and experts. Having only directed a few things, I was nervous yet excited to gain more tools and a better understanding of my job and how to enhance my skills.

I was also concerned because, while attending boot camp, I was also teaching a class at the University of Winnipeg. I had done my best to prepare for the classes before boot camp but it still meant I had to run after class almost every day to either teach class or meet a student at the university. It was a really stressful situation because I wanted to give both everything I could. Somehow it all worked out and I was able to maintain my class while also being perceptive and immersed in boot camp.

Ultimately, it was invigorating to be surrounded by creative minds that are all passionate about the same thing. Although the week was immensely difficult, it was also artistically rejuvenating.

As we move into the next phase, I’m eager to further develop the project and lock down our deliverables. Filmmaking always lights a fire within me that motivates my spirit to do good work. I am incredibly thankful to have the support and ability to make this project happen. I know that Ryan and I will have a great product with an important message.

Thank you to NSI and all its funders for giving us this amazing opportunity. Thank you to all the professionals who shared their time with us. Thank you to the other teams for keeping every day fun, light and exciting, and for partaking in Winnipeg (and some of our weird traditions, like drinking out of bowls at the Aboriginal Filmmakers Collective).

Caitlyn Pantherbone | Director, Big Momma

After spending two weeks in Winnipeg, I feel so inspired as a filmmaker.

I had taken a year off film work and focused on moving back home to Calgary where I got a full-time job as a youth/child worker. Although I enjoy my job working with youth, my dream has always been to become a director. It feels good to make a positive career move and I appreciate all the support we’ve received from the program managers and instructors.

Since graduating from film school in Vancouver, I worked for years in various departments. My main goal has always been to direct and produce my own projects and tell Indigenous stories.

I am happy there are programs like NSI IndigiDocs available to emerging storytellers like myself and my project partner Damien Eagle Bear. I look forward to working on our short documentary Big Momma. I know this year is going to bring many learning experiences for us both.

I wish the other participants luck and am glad we all got to share this experience together.

Boot camp was really intense but I learned so much. Shane Belcourt and Lisa Jackson were so helpful as instructors. I was so happy to meet Alanis Obomsawin. She is so inspirational and a great role model.

• • •

Students work on their projects for 10 months following boot camp and deliver a 10-minute documentary in about a year’s time. Completed short documentaries from the course air nationally on APTN as a one-hour special and stream on aptn.ca, and then nfb.ca.

Teams receive a cash award of up to $16,000 to put towards production of their documentary and attend the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto.

NSI IndigiDocs 2017-19 is funded by Program Partners APTN, Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and RBC Emerging Artists Project; Boot Camp Presenting Sponsor Manitoba Film & Music; Supporting Sponsors the Directors Guild of Canada, Entertainment One, Super Channel, Corus Entertainment, Telefilm Canada, imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Breakthrough Entertainment and the Jim Murphy Filmmakers Bursary; Provincial Sponsors Manitoba Film & Music and Creative BC through the Daryl Duke and William Vince Scholarship Fund; Industry Partners the National Film Board and the Directors Guild of Canada; and Service Sponsor Line 21 Media. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.

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