Submissions are now open!
imagineNATIVE announces Programming Selection Committee and calls for submissions for milestone 25th Anniversary festival
November 1, 2024, TORONTO – The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is proud to announce its Programming Selection Committee and a call for submissions for the 25th anniversary edition of the festival taking place June 2025. Film submissions are open now through February 7, 2025 on Film Freeway.
To kick off the submission process, imagineNATIVE spoke to each of their programmers about what they’d like to see in this year’s submissions. There was a resounding call for submissions that break barriers and challenge how we, as audiences, view Indigenous content. You can read more about what each programmer hopes to see in their bios below.
The Programming Selection Committee for the 25th Anniversary edition of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival are as follows:
Film + Video
Kelly Boutsalis is the International Programmer, Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival. She’s also a freelance writer, and has written about film and television for the New York Times, NOW Magazine, Elle Canada, Flare, POV Magazine and more. She’s also written about lifestyle, design, and culture for publications including Vogue, Toronto Star, Chatelaine, VICE and Toronto Life. Originally from the Six Nations reserve, she lives in Toronto. She is on the board of imagineNATIVE and a member of the Toronto Film Critics Association.
What do you hope to see in this year’s submissions?
“I’m hoping to see new ideas, approaches and stories that haven’t been captured on film before. No pressure!”
Adam Piron (Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and Mohawk) is a Southern California-based filmmaker, writer, and curator. He is the Director of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, where he oversees the organization’s support for Indigenous filmmakers globally, and a co-founder of COUSIN: a film collective dedicated to supporting Indigenous artists experimenting with, and pushing the boundaries, of the moving image. As a film programmer, he has served as a member of the Sundance Film Festival’s Film Programming Team since 2013 and was also previously the Film Curator for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and he has guest-curated film programs for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, TIFF Lightbox, the Autry Museum of the American West, and Metrograph. His films have screened at the New York Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, MoMA Doc Fortnight, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and various other festivals and programs. His writings have appeared in The Criterion Collection’s Current, MUBI Notebook, Cinema Scope Magazine, the Metrograph Journal, and CNN.
What do you hope to see in this year’s submissions?
“In the past few years, Indigenous artists working in the moving image have been finding new forms and making work that has been without precedent. It’s an exciting era and we’re witnessing multiple Indigenous Cinemas creating themselves in real time. It’s my hope that we’ll see more of that work showcased in this year’s edition of imagineNATIVE that is both for and by Indigenous audiences, while also reaching a global stage.”
Pauline Clague is Associate Professor, Manager of Cultural Resilience Hub, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research at the UTS and Producer for her company Core Original Films. She has been a driving force in the creation and sustainability of the Indigenous voice in Australian screen and television. A Yaegl woman from North Coast NSW she has worked as a storyteller and producer in film and TV for over 30 years. She is founder and Artistic Director of Winda Film Festival in Sydney and was co-creator of NativeSLAM, a 72-hour Indigenous film challenge held at Maoriland Film Festival in Otaki.
Pauline also shares her wisdom, industry experience and integrity with emerging creative entrepreneurs through Creative Plus Business. Pauline helps independent filmmakers and other creative people to strengthen their financial sustainability so they can continue to make extraordinary art and stories with empowered, and viable, creative models. She was awarded the Stanley Hawes Award in 2015 for her contribution to Australian documentaries and the 2020 Natalie Miller Fellow. She has just completed shooting her feature Promise Mum and currently shooting her feature doco Colleano Heart.
What do you hope to see in this year’s submissions?
“I had been involved in some way with imagineNATIVE since its inception and finished up programming in 2019 at its 20th year. Being asked to come back after the pandemic and seeing the range of filmmakers who have made a stamp in the last 5 years, it is an honour to come back and work for one of the great Indigenous festivals that has helped to lift our voices onto the screen and to a growing audience.”
Digital + Interactive
Maize Longboat is Kanien’kehá:ka with family at Six Nations of the Grand River and was raised on the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation near Vancouver, BC. He is a Manager on the Partner Relations team at Unity Technologies. He holds an MA in Media Studies from Concordia University. His Master’s research examined Indigenous videogame development through the production of his own game Terra Nova, an award-winning cooperative platformer with an interactive narrative.
What do you hope to see in this year’s submissions?
“Digital and Interactive works have the unique ability to make their viewers and players feel something beyond what they can see or hear. I’d love to see creators lean into the uniqueness of interactive media and bring thoughtful, playful stories to the 25th anniversary imagineNATIVE Festival.”
Taylor McArthur, Nakoda of Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation. Raised in Southwestern Manitoba and currently residing in Montréal, Québec. She is a current Computation Arts Specialization undergraduate student in Concordia’s Fine Arts faculty. McArthur is a digital artist whose work spans 3D animation, interactive art, and video. Her practice is informed by Indigenous futurisms and she seeks to situate her Indigenous culture within both the modern and potential future vision.
What do you hope to see in this year’s submissions?
“For this year’s submissions, I am looking for pieces that use technology in bold and experimental ways but are also grounded in the strength and beauty of Indigenous storytelling. I love coming across new works that show artists are fearless in taking risks and sharing their stories that highlight Indigenous culture as an evolving force!”
About imagineNATIVE:
imagineNATIVE is the world’s largest presenter of Indigenous screen content. The organization is recognized locally, nationally, and internationally for excellence and innovation in programming and as the global centre for Indigenous media arts. imagineNATIVE (legal entity: The Centre for Aboriginal Media) is a registered charity committed to creating a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures through the presentation of contemporary Indigenous-made media art including film, video, audio and digital media.
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For additional information,
Ally LaMere-Shedden
Route 504 PR
ally@route504pr.com
Alya Stationwala
Route 504 PR
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