Ten-year-old Ziibi Cameron announced as imagineNATIVE’s 2012 Youth Video Contest Winner!
August 27, 2012 – imagineNATIVE is thrilled to announce ten-year-old Ziibi Cameron of Saugeen First Nation as the winner of the second annual 2012 Youth Video Contest, as selected by almost a quarter of 600 public votes of 24 videos! Ziibi has won a trip to the 13th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, where his short film BEING BROWN will screen as part of the annual youth programme on Thursday, October 18, 2012.
Being Brown was created as part of the Festival’s youth video-making workshop which was presented as part of the imagineNATIVE Film + Video Tour earlier this year. His win makes Ziibi the second youngest filmmaker ever to have a work at imagineNATIVE!
Ziibi Cameron (Ojibway) is a grade six student at the G.C. Huston Public School. He comes from a family of six and enjoys attending powwows. In Being Brown, Ziibi explores his life as a young Indigenous boy through family, powwow dancing, and the importance of his culture. imagineNATIVE congratulates Ziibi on his victory and is excited to see the growth of this very young artist.
“Since incorporating the video-making workshop into imagineNATIVE’s Film + Video Tour, we have seen an exponential growth in participation in only two years,” says Sage Paul, Events + Communications Director. “It is exciting to see youth and children as young as ten enthusiastically take on the video-making challenge, using only equipment and software already available in their communities. Through this initiative we are constantly excited and encouraged that new, important voices like Ziibi’s are given the opportunity to shine and be heard.”
Twenty-four youth created video works as part of this unique project and imagineNATIVE applauds all participants. Using readily available resources, such as a point-and-shoot camera and pre-installed editing software, the 24 youth were led through the video production process with artist and filmmaker Keesic Douglas, in the workshop “My Space. My Story.” This invaluable opportunity has left each of these youth with the tools and knowledge to continue to create video work, share their stories, and ultimately see their career opportunities in film and media. All videos will be available for viewing on imagineNATIVE’s website following the 2012 Festival.
About the imagineNATIVE Film + Video Tour and the Video-making Workshop
imagineNATIVE’s Film + Video Tour brought the Ever Loud, Ever Proud youth shorts program from the 2011 Festival and the family feature program from imagineNATIVE’s 2011 closing night gala, Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes to 12 communities throughout Ontario. The tour was created to provide communities accessibility to Indigenous-made film and video from Canada and abroad. The tour encourages youth to explore the creation of film and video through screenings and discussions, and provides an opportunity to the larger community to experience imagineNATIVE outside of the Festival.
In response to demand, video-making workshops are now a part of the Tour, teaching youth under 30 how to write, shoot and edit short videos using readily available technology such as cell phones and webcams. The videos are the result of these innovative workshops, which subsequently see enormous support from the public through an open poll on imagineNATIVE’s website.
About the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples at the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio, and new media. Each fall, imagineNATIVE presents a selection of the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from around the globe. The Festival's programming, cultural & social events, and Industry Series 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.
The 13th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will take place October 17 – 21, 2012. The deadline to submit film, video, radio and new media works for consideration of inclusion at the Festival is June 1. For more information, visit www.imagineNATIVE.org.
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More information or media enquiries:
Sage Paul
Events + Communications Director
416 585 2333
spaul@imagineNATIVE.org
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