June 1 - 26: Vote for Your Favourite Youth-Made Video & send an Indigenous Youth to the 2015 imagineNATIVE Fest in Toronto!

Between March and May 2015, 40 Indigenous youth from eight communities participated in an innovative workshop as part of the 11th - and first-ever, national - imagineNATIVE Film + Video Tour. Rather than supply the equipment, the imagineNATIVE crew did something different: the youth were instructed on how to make the videos using technology already available in their communities (iPods, tablets, point-and-shoot digital cameras, camcorders, and mobile phones ) and using editing software already installed on available computers. Of the resulting 37 videos created, eight were short-listed for your voting consideration.

The artist whose film garners the most votes will win a trip (hotel & transportation) to the 2015 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto and attend and participate in public screening of their work! Watch them all! Cast your vote! And tell your friends and family! Voting is open June 1 - 26th. Results will be announced by July 11.

imagineNATIVE congratulates these emerging artists and thanks the participating schools and communities for their support:

Daylu Dena Council, Lower Post (British Columbia)
Bonar Law High School (Rexton, New Brunswick)
Fredericton High School (Fredrickton, New Brunswick)
Parry Sound High School (Parry Sound, Ontario)
Mississaugas of the New Credit FN (New Credit, Ontario)
Delores D. Echum Composite School (Moose Factory, Ontario)
Carcross Tagish First Nation (Yukon)
Council of Yukon First Nations, Whitehorse (Yukon)

Thank you to our Tour Sponsors and Partners:

Ontario Arts Council
Indigenous Visual Culture Program - OCAD University
Porter Airlines
Nunavut Film Development Corporation
Nuschool Design Agency
Air Canada Foundation
New Brunswick Filmmakers’ Co-operative
REEL Canada

This Tour is made possible in part by grants from the Ontario Arts Council’s Touring Programs.

Title: Look at Her
Canada / 2:36 min / 2015 / iPad
Director: Dallayce Smith (Champagne and Aishihk FN)
Council of Yukon First Nations - Whitehorse, YK
Synopsis: This video tells the stories of my parents' experiences in school during the 70s and 80s.
Bio: Dallayce Smith (Champagne and Aishihk First Nations) grew up in Whitehorse, YT. She is from the Crow Clan and is 19 years old. She carves and paints Northwest Coast Art. Dallayce acted in theatre during high school. She is an aspiring filmmaker and plan on moving to Toronto or Vancouver to pursue her dreams.

Title: Kaska Reel
Canada / 2:37 min / 2015 / Go-Pro Camera + iPad
Director: Erick Dennis (Kaska)
Daylu Dena Council - Lower Post (BC)
Synopsis: A short film of highlights of activities in and around Lower Post.
Bio: Erick Dennis is from Lower Post, BC. He loves outdoor sports, especially winter and summer.

Title: Closure
Canada / 1:49 min / 2015 / iPad, iPhone, Digital Camera
Director: Marina Byrne (Ojibway)
Parry Sound High School - Parry Sound, ON
Synopsis: This video is a free verse poem about people who struggle with the paranoia of somebody watching them.
Bio: Marina Byrne, a Vancouver born Ojibway woman, enjoys playing volleyball, watching movies and listening to music.

Title: Amigos vs. The Doods
Canada / 1:49 min / 2015 / iPad, iPhone, Digital Camera
Director: Mackenzie General, Arielle MacDonald, Kendra Hill (Ojibway)
Parry Sound High School - Parry Sound, ON
Synopsis: This video is about two groups of people that consider themselves very different but are actually the same.
Bio: Mackenzie General (no bio). Arielle MacDonald is currently attending L.S.K. School. She is a member of the New Credit First Nation. She is a hockey player and an athlete. Kendra Hill is Ojibway and proud of it. She likes to consider herself a musician and a gamer.

Title: Speed of Light
Canada / 3:04 min / 2015 / iPad
Director: Sigi Conroy
Carcross Tagish First Nation - Carcross, YK
Synopsis: This short video captures the landscape through a time-based experimentation.
Bio: TBC

Title: The Secret
Canada / 3:25 min / 2015 / iPhone
Director: Johnny Sacobie (Maliseet)
Fredericton High School - Fredericton, NB
Synopsis: This film is about depression and what it's like being a teen dealing with depression.
Bio: Jonnie Sacobie (Maliseet) is 17 years old, grade 11 student at Fredericton High School. Jonnie loves being around family and people that she cares about while she is not in school. Her passion is travelling and exploring and dream job is to be a hairdresser.

Title Uncommon Thoughts
Canada / 4:19 min / 2015 / Digital Camera
Director: Tiger Levi (Mikmaq)
Bonar Law High School - Rexton, NB
Synopsis: A drug addict who's trying to deal with the death of her parents and her brother.
Bio: Tiger Levi (Mikmaq) grew up with both parents, two brothers and one sister. He is the youngest and the only one still living at home.

Title: Drama Life
Canada / 3:45 / 2015 / Video
Director: Danika Sack (Cree)
Dolores D. EChum Composite School - Moose Factory, ON
Synopsis: Using whiteboard animation, a family's ever-evolving configuration and resulting emotional impact is presented in this short documentary.

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