Amplified Spirit

Programmed by Cole Forrest

The current wave of Indigenous filmmaking breaks ground with every frame and amplifies the distinct experiences we all undertake as Indigenous people. We show ourselves through the magic of genre and reach beyond what was creatively possible. Make no mistake, the films in this program exemplify the power short films have, especially within Indigenous cinema.

The Daily Life of Mistress Red – Peshawn Bread – 10min 33sec

Logline – Mistress Red is a mockumentary that explores the self empowerment of a native woman who is ready to defeat white supremacy in her own way.

Bio

Peshawn Bread [They/Them(She( for my elders) is a screenwriter, director and producer from the Penatʉkʉ (sugar eater) and Yapurʉka (root eater) bands of the Comanche tribe. Their writing focuses on Indigenous women, sexuality and telling truths through humorous experiences. As an artist, Peshawn loves to marry their love for fashion and film together through highly stylized or fashion forward productions. They’ve worked on productions ranging from short films, features, to studio productions such as Amazon Studios’ Outer Range (S1) and Marvel’s Echo. In addition to working on productions, Peshawn Bread is a Sundance Film Institute alumni of the Full Circle Fellowship (2014) and the Indigenous Filmmaker’s Lab where they had the opportunity to workshop her script “The Daily Life of Mistress Red”. A mockumentary short film about a Native Dominatrix for hire who whips apologies out of white supremacists. The Daily life of Mistress Red is currently on the film festival circuit. Peshawn also enjoys creative directing for fashion brands and ties their knowledge and passion for indigenous film into each project.

Ozigwan – Cole Forrest – 8min 28sec

Logline – A grandmother-grandson fishing trip unleashes the serpent people living at the bottom of the lake.

Bio

Cole Forrest is an Ojibwe filmmaker and programmer from Nipissing First Nation. They have written and directed independent short films that have been screened at film festivals including imagineNATIVE, TQFF, TIFF Next Wave, and the Vancouver International Film Festival. Cole is a recipient of the Ken and Ann Watts Memorial Scholarship, imagineNATIVE Director’s Lab, and of the James Bartleman Indigenous Youth Creative Writing Award. They are the 2019 recipient of the imagineNATIVE + LIFT Film Mentorship and a 2020 Artist in Residence as a part of the Sundance Native Filmmakers Lab. Cole is a 2023 participant of the Reelworld E20 Program. Cole has supported programming at festivals including TIFF, imagineNATIVE, VIFF, and Fabulous Festival of Fringe Film. They are a graduate of the Video Design and Production program at George Brown College. Cole is currently writing their first feature film. They are grateful to represent their community in all artistic pursuits.

Fluid Bound – Roberto Fatal – 7min 39sec

Logline – An experimental gender fluid, mestize-Indigenous video art work that uses text, sound design, crude animation, and bondage rope to meditate on the complex, generations-old relationships and battles between our skin and our souls.

Bio

Roberto Fatal [they/them/ellos] is a filmmaker and storyteller. They come from Rarámuri, Tewa Pueblo, Ute, and Spanish ancestors and Mexican-American culture. Their Queer, gender fluid, Mestize/Mixed identity informs the sci-fi, films they make. Their work centers on humans who sit at the intersections of time, space and culture. From this unique vantage point, these characters can bridge divides, see all sides, find new paths forward and recall multiple histories long forgotten. The mixed people of Fatal’s stories can connect us deeply to an undercurrent of humanity that we often overlook in a world that is increasingly divided. Survival, intersectional identity, perseverance, love, empathy, community, connection and creation are at the heart of their characters and films. Fatal is a Sundance Film Institute Native Film Lab Fellow Alum and an Imagine Native Director’s Lab feature film fellow alum. Their debut feature script, ELECTRIC HOMIES, was selected by GLAAD x The Black List as one of the best unproduced screenplays of 2022. Their latest short sci-fi drama, Do Digital Curanderas Use Eggs In Their Limpias, made it’s world premiere at the BFI Flare festival in 2023.

MisTik – Jules Arita Koostachin – 26min 16sec

Logline – MisTik follows Cree twins who carry the last of the healthy trees on their backs in hopes of saving the world they once knew.

Bio

Born in Moose Factory Ontario, Dr. Jules Koostachin was raised by her Cree speaking grandparents in Moosonee, and also with her mother in Ottawa, a warrior of the Canadian Residential school system. Jules is a band member of Attawapiskat First Nation, the Ancestral lands of the MoshKeKo AsKi InNiNeWak. She resides in Vancouver with her family. She completed her PhD with GRSJ at the University of British Columbia, her research MooNaHaTihKaaSiWew: Unearthing Spirit focuses on Indigenous documentary methodologies.

In 2010, she completed her masters at Ryerson University in Documentary Media where she was awarded the Award of Distinction for her thesis work, as well as the Graduate Ryerson Gold Medal for highest academic achievement. While in graduate school, she produced her first feature documentary film Remembering Inninimowin regarding her journey of remembering Cree. After graduation, Jules was one of six women selected for the Women in the Directors Chair program, where she directed a scene from her feature Broken Angel. Her script was also selected for the TIFF’s filmmaker lab, as well as the Whistler’s Screenwriting lab where she worked with story editor/screenwriter Dennis Foon. She is also part of the Blackmagic Collective Breakthrough Initiative in LA. Jules is ACTRA, and a DGC member.

Jules’ company VisJuelles Productions Inc. has a number of films and other media works in development. Her television series AskiBOYZ (2016) co-produced with Big Soul Production is currently being aired on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) in both Cree and English. In 2017, she released her documentary NiiSoTeWak: Two Bodies, One Heart and her second CBC short OshKiKiShiKaw: A New Day was released in the spring of 2019. Her third award winning documentary KaYaMenTa: Sharing Truths about Menopause was released in the summer of 2020. Over the years, she has released a number of other films/projects including Butterfly Monument (2017) about her relation, the late Shannen Koostachin with co-director/producer Rick Miller. Her award-winning narrative film OChiSkwaCho premiered at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and screened at several other festivals worldwide. Jules has just completed post-production on her narrative short MisTik and her feature drama Broken Angel. She is development with her next features Angela’s Shadow and KaTaWaSiSin. She is in production with her NFB feature documentary WaaPiiKee and in development with Soapbox Production with Chubby Cree.

Jules was the Indigenous Storyteller in Residence with the Vancouver Public Library where she further developed her poetry, and soon after, Unearthing Secrets, Gathering Truths (2018) was published with Kegedonce Press. Jules will currently writing her novel Moccasin Souls. Jules is represented by The Characters in Vancouver, and is the voice of Layla (Mom) on the new PBS Kids/CBC Kids animated series Molly of Denali. Jules is also represented by Lucas Talent for writing and directing. She carries extensive knowledge working in Indigenous community in several different capacities and these community experiences feed her arts practice.