Aboriginal artists invited to submit proposals for innovative digital media projects
Press release
imagineNATIVE and the NFB Seek Proposals for Groundbreaking Digital Media Project
The submission deadline is January 31, 2011. All Canadian Aboriginal artists are eligible to submit their proposal.
Toronto, October 22, 2010 – The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) are looking for proposals from Canadian Aboriginal artists for audacious, innovative and socially relevant digital media works. Proposals can be for works in any digital medium and genre, including interactive documentary, mobile and locative media, interactive animation, photographic art and essay, data visualization, physical installation, community media, interactive video and user-generated media. Projects can be on any theme.
“For more than a decade, imagineNATIVE has led the way in showcasing and curating multi-media works by incredible artists, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with them on this groundbreaking digital media project,” said Cindy Witten, Director General of NFB English Program. “The NFB has a long-term commitment to working with Aboriginal film and digital media makers, and to developing initiatives that help Canadian artists succeed in the new media landscape.”
“This new collaboration with the NFB is helping imagineNATIVE fulfil our commitment to expand the presence of new media and the digital arts at our festival,” said Jason Ryle, Executive Director of imagineNATIVE. “We are extremely excited with this project, and we look forward to witnessing the creativity, ingenuity and artistry expressed through the selected piece. This project is a groundbreaking opportunity for a First Nations, Métis, or Inuit artist in Canada.”
It must be possible to produce the project within a $30,000 to $50,000 budget range. One project will be selected jointly by imagineNATIVE and the NFB for production, with the NFB serving as creative and administrative producer and imagineNATIVE providing creative input at key stages throughout the production. The project will be presented at imagineNATIVE 2012.
The submission deadline is January 31, 2011. All Canadian Aboriginal artists are eligible to submit their proposal. Full submissions detail can be found at NFB.ca/imaginenative/proposals. For some relevant examples of NFB digital media work, go to interactive.NFB.ca.
imagineNATIVE has been active in the programming and commissioning of digital media work by Aboriginal artists since the early 2000s. As Canada’s public producer, the NFB has been producing films by First Nations, Métis and Inuit directors since the late 1960s. Today, the NFB works with a range of artists to reflect Canadian perspectives through film, video and interactive digital media projects.
About the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is an international festival in Toronto that celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples on the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media. Each fall, the festival presents a selection of the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from around the globe. The festival’s screenings, parties, panel discussions and cultural events attract and connect filmmakers, media artists, programmers, buyers and industry professionals. The works accepted reflect the diversity of the world’s Indigenous nations and illustrate the vitality and excellence of our art and culture in contemporary media.
About the National Film Board of NFB
Canada’s public film producer and distributor, the National Film Board of Canada creates social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. The NFB is expanding the vocabulary of 21st-century cinema and breaking new ground in form and content, working in collaboration with Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities as well as partners across Canada around the world. Since the NFB’s founding in 1939, it has produced over 13,000 works and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars, 2 Canadian New Media Awards and 2 Webbys. The NFB’s new website features over 1,800 productions online, and its iPhone and iPad apps are among the most popular and talked about downloads. Visit NFB.ca today and start watching.
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Information:
Jennifer Mair
NFB Publicist
Tel: 416 954-2045
Cell: 416 436-0105
E-mail: j.mair@onf.ca.
Twitter : @NFB_Jennifer
Ingrid Hamilton
imagineNATIVE Publicist
Tel: 416-731-3034
E-mail: ingrid@gat.ca