On Screen Manitoba's Blog | Deep Focus - OSM's deeper focus into Film, Video, Media, People, Technology, Strategies and Forms of Medium.

The month of March brings with it a rejuvenation of spirits, a frenzied anticipation of spring and a release for the built up cabin fever that we experience. We start to pack up our winter boots and our parkas; we nervously put away our trusted extension cords and we start to get ready for a new season of street repairs.

This year, On Screen Manitoba brought its members a welcomed surprise to cap off the season. OSM proudly presented the CLOSE UP Speaker Series: a three part speaking event that brought industry experts to Winnipeg to share their experiences, information and helpful tips to current and future filmmakers.

We kicked off the series on March 17 with Tracey Deer, a Gemini award winning director, producer and writer from Quebec who shared her experiences as a young Aboriginal woman from the Kahnawake Mohawk territory. Tracey spoke to the filmmakers in attendance, explaining the importance of telling our stories in an honest and transparent fashion. Through laughs, and sometimes tears, Tracey took us on a journey of her work, starting with the inspiring One More River, then the emotional and powerful Mohawk Girls, and finally sharing Club Native with us. Before and after each film Tracey talked of her experiences and challenges in creating the productions. Tracey’s speaking style and the content of her words left those in attendance with an insider’s look at the dedication and willpower that is needed to take your craft to the next level. Visit here for video highlights.

Jason Ryle, Executive Director of the imagineNATIVE Film Festival in Toronto, joined us on March 21 and brought the film festival experience to our filmmakers in attendance. 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. Jason explained the ins and outs of the Festival, how to schmooze and how to utilize the resources available at the festival venues. He explained that if you are looking to showcase your film to a national and international audience, that the festival experience should always be close to the top of your list of events to participate in. Visit here for video highlights.

Finally, on March 28th Wanda vanderStoop, Distribution Director for Vtape introduced us to the wonderful world of distribution. Wanda spoke to the importance of maintaining your rights to your work, how to ensure that an artist is paid for their work through artist’s fee, and inside tips and tricks to finding ways how a filmmaker can cut those pesky costs associated with showcasing their work at festivals and the like. Filmmaker’s and industry professionals alike asked a multitude of questions and walked away with a greater understanding of how to show their work to a larger audience. Video highlights will be posted shortly.

On Screen Manitoba would like to thank Tracey, Jason and Wanda for sharing their knowledge to our members: the topics were both inspiring and informative.

Meegwetch also goes out as well to the members, filmmakers, and students that enjoyed our hospitality and provided great feedback.

A big thanks to the Financial Support from Telefilm Canada the Partnership from Film Training Manitoba.

We are currently planning more speakers for our new year. If you have any ideas or suggestions of topics and presenters that you would like covered, please feel free to contact Dennis at 927-5891 or dennis@onscreenmanitoba.com.

In the Spirit of Friendship,

Dennis Sinclair
Aboriginal Initiative Coordinator