Supporting Local Storytellers in Haida Gwaii
Providing support to aspiring digital media artists in the development of film.
Project Overview
Updated July 29, 2024
The Problem
Haida Gwaii, an archipelago located off the northern Pacific coast of Canada, is home to the ancestral territory of the Haida Nation. Due to limited physical resources and opportunities for capacity building, Haida Gwaii’s stories of world-renowned scenery and prominent Indigenous culture are often captured by community outsiders.
How We Are Solving It
Haida Gwaii Media Collective’s film incubator program will provide aspiring digital media artists on Haida Gwaii with support and mentorship in the development of a film project. 12 program participants will be selected to receive funding and mentorship from industry professionals over the course of 4 months, from story inception to marketing and distribution of their project. Local artists – particularly Indigenous women and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community – will build valuable industry skills, understanding of the entire film-making process and connect with work opportunities in the media industry on and beyond Haida Gwaii.
Program curriculum will include Pre-production (budgeting, storyboarding, documentary fundamentals), Production (directing, filming, technical skills, lighting, interview techniques), and Post-production (editing, audio engineering, marketing and distribution). Further, the curriculum is guided by a self-determined and culturally-rooted approach to Haida principles of reciprocity, respect, consent, and interconnectedness.
The Result
This project sought to fill a gap for consistent sources of training and mentorship in digital media production for Haida Gwaii locals: a gap that often results in residents having to leave the community for urban centres.
Over three weeks, 12 Haida Gwaii residents participated in the documentary film incubator program to create short documentaries and showcase them to the community. All teams and participants were connected with Indigenous industry professionals for one-on-one mentorship to receive guidance and feedback throughout the course of the project. Four locals received work placements on the Saints and Warriors documentary, with three locals participating in additional work contracts and opportunities with other organizations including the Haida Heritage Centre, Swiilawiid Sustainability Society and other external film productions.
Project Lead
Project Partners
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“For the first time, residents of Haida Gwaii are gaining access to the high level resources and training in digital media and technology to begin their careers as storytellers and changemakers. Remote and Indigenous communities have always had the talent and passion to thrive in digital industries, but just never the opportunity to participate, until now. Through the Haida Gwaii Media Collective’s Indigenous values first approach to capacity building and the support from DIGITAL, Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, a whole new generation of digital storytellers will be making waves in 2024.”
Co-founder, Haida Gwaii Media Collective