United Aboriginal Productions
A Charles Street Video Partnership
As part of the Tauqsiijiit Collective 2005-06, The Seventh Generation Image Makers (Native Child and Family Services of Toronto) hired a group of five youth to work with video and experience a collaborative arts based experience in two parts. These youth named themselves United Aboriginal Productions.
Partners in the Tauqsiijiit Collective 2005-06 include: De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group, Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation; Qaaggiq Theatre, Iqaluit; Seventh Generation Image Makers, Toronto; Kunik Productions, Iqaluit; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; with invited guest artists.
Phase I
June 13 to August 5, 2005
Team Building, Training, Individual Video Production and Arts Exploration
Five youth wrote, produced, directed, and edited their own video projects. The youth range in age from 16-24 and are all Indigenous or Aboriginal and include an Evan from Siberia, Russia; a Metis from Alberta; a Cree from Saskatchewan; and two Ojibway from northern and central Ontario. The diverse background of this small group led to an array of projects including a stop motion animation, a docu-drama, two personal experimental pieces, and a narrative drama. All of the projects explored personal experiences and gave a vehicle to express their voices to these youth while exploring their own environments.
CSV provided expertise, equipment, and facilities through all stages of the youth’s videos including, concept development, story boarding, shooting, paper editing, rough cuts, and the final edit. The youth had access to CSV’s camera and sound equipment and were able to perform their editing at CSV.
The participants for the 2005 project were:
Afanassi Grigoriev who made film looking at the life of his uncle who was obsessed with aliens.
Adam Garnet Jones made an animated film about the power of imagination.
Cheyenne Gervais shot a fiction about a Corporal who earns his Sergent stripes in a game of basketball.
John Hupfield created a documentary about his experiences of growing up as a mixed race child and teenager.
Trevor Messon interviewed friends and family to help uncover who he really is in his personal documentary.
Phase II
August 8 to 19, 2005
Collaborative Artistic Convergence and Production
All collaborators and participants converge at Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island for a two week arts directed camp experience in relation to the land.
Each group undertook art and video training in the summer session prior to the Artistic Convergence and will be completing two separate 5 minute short videos under the supervision of Jolene Arreak from Kunik Productions, Iqaluit.
2005
