Institute at TIFF
Indigenous Series Lab Pitch Showcase
Join us on September 11, 2026 to discover what’s next in Indigenous storytelling as four emerging writers pitch an original series developed through the Indigenous Series Lab.
Event Description
The Indigenous Series Lab Pitch Showcase is the culmination of an intensive six-month writing lab supporting four emerging Indigenous writers from across Canada and the United States. This live event offers audiences and industry professionals the opportunity to discover the next generation of Indigenous storytellers as they pitch original projects developed throughout the program. Each writer will take the stage to share their unique story and creative vision, showcasing the range and ambition of Indigenous storytelling.
The Indigenous Series Lab is a partnership between the imagineNATIVE Institute and the Storyboard Collective, with support from the Indigenous Screen Office, Canada Media Fund, and the Schmidt Foundation.
Date + Time
September 11, 2026
1:30PM – 3:00PM
Location
The Commons, 401 Richmond St W, 4th Floor
Ticket Information
The Indigenous Series Lab Pitch Showcase is free to attend with registration. Please RSVP using this link and fill out the form if you are attending the imagineNATIVE Indigenous Series Lab Pitches.
Participating Writers + Projects
Ajuawak Kapashesit – Skyworld
Writer Biography
Ajuawak Kapashest is an Ojibwe, Cree, and Jewish writer, producer, director and actor. He was a story editor and contributing writer for the second and third seasons of the sketch comedy show, Tallboyz, on CBC. His work has been supported by Firelight Media, CAAM, PBS, and the Sundance Institute. He is an alumnus of the CFC Actors Conservatory, a Vision Maker Media Shorts Fellow, a 4th World Indigenous Media Fellow, and a participant in the imagineNATIVE Indigenous Series Lab.
Project Logline
An Indigenous man tries to drop his baggage and take a great leap forward when he starts a space program on the reservation.
Erin Lau – THE HĀLAU
Writer Biography
Native Hawaiian filmmaker Erin Lau explores empathy, redemption, and legacy through her work. Since graduating from Chapman University’s MFA directing program, she has been supported by the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Studios, Film Independent, Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative, and more. Her work spans narrative, documentary, and episodic storytelling and has been featured on the Criterion Channel, Netflix, and PBS. Her most recent directing credit was for FOX’s action-packed procedural RESCUE: HI-SURF.
Project Logline
THE HĀLAU is a one hour family drama that follows sixteen-year-old Maile Johnson who, after her mother’s death, is forced to live with her estranged family on Oahu and enter the world of competitive hula dancing.
Kristi Lane Sinclair – DII XUUX
Artist Biography
Kristi Lane Sinclair is a Haida/Cree filmmaker, writer, producer, composer, recording artist and podcaster who calls Gaw Tlagée on Haida Gwaii home. Her work moves — sometimes loudly — between film, music and storytelling, driven by a passion for the reawakening of X̲aad Kíl, the Haida language, and creating meaningful children’s programming. Her credits include the CBC documentary Retake and the NFB documentary Full Circle.
Project Logline
Set in present-day Haida Gwaii, DÍI X̲UUX follows the X̲UUXS — a wildly lovable supernatural family band living inside an enormous old-growth cedar tree.
The Strangling Wolf Brothers – Blood & Order
Writer Biography
Stevie-Ray Strangling Wolf & Shelby Strangling Wolf, also known as The Strangling Wolf Brothers are a Blackfoot filmmaking duo from the Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe) in Southern Alberta, Canada. With educational backgrounds in Psychology, Music, Screenwriting, and Filmmaking, they’re committed to writing original stories and Indigenous representation in the film industry. Together they develop film and television projects that combine Indigenous storytelling with genre, humour, and social commentary.
Their short films MOLD and E.V. Savage were part of the IN Originals at the ImagineNATIVE film festival in 2023 & 2025 respectively. Their half hour TV comedy pilot Blood & Order, was chosen for the 2026 ImagineNATVE screenwriting series lab with a residency in Geneva, Switzerland. Shelby continues to teach Filmmaking at Capilano University in Vancouver, BC, while Stevie-Ray mentors Indigenous film students in the Indigenous Digital Filmmaking program.
Project Logline
An Indigenous land back lawyer, John B. MacDonald, fights against colonial corporations in the courtroom by day, and by night against the evil vampires that control these companies. John is determined to expose the conspiracy that vampires are real.