imagineNATIVE and LIFT announce 2011 Mentee, Susan Blight

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)
are pleased to announce that interdisciplinary artist Susan Blight,
from the Couchiching First Nation, has been selected for the 7th annual
LIFT/imagineNATIVE Mentorship. This annual mentorship was developed to
offer an Indigenous artist the opportunity to expand their practice into
the realm of film. Susan will be enrolled in LIFT’s seasonal workshops,
be paired with a suitable mentor, be provided with access to LIFT’s
production and post-production equipment, and receive additional
financial and resource support from imagineNATIVE and mentorship
partners, Kodak (www.kodak.ca) and Technicolor (www.technicolor.com), to complete a film for premiere at the 2011 festival.

“LIFT is excited to be working with Susan on her first 16mm film for
imagineNATIVE 2011,” says Ben Donoghue, LIFT’s Executive Director.
“Susan’s practice in photography and video is a great match for the
material qualities of film and the creative possibilities the medium
opens.”

Kerry Potts, imagineNATIVE’s Director of Development adds, “Beyond
having a compelling project idea, the Selection Committee recognized
that, with Susan’s extensive skills in digital mediums, this mentorship
would be an important step in expanding her practice into another
artistic medium.”

Selected mentee, Susan Blight, had this to say about this year’s
mentorship: “As an artist who has worked primarily in photography and
video, I am ecstatic about the creative possibilities in working with
film and I welcome the opportunity to learn and engage in a new medium.
The imagineNATIVE/LIFT mentorship allows me the capability to focus on
the completion of my short film, to have the support and resources to
dedicate myself to the project while at the same time learning a new set
of skills.

Susan continues, “I view myself as a storyteller regardless of the
medium I am working in and it is my goal to embrace and honour our
stories, a form so sacred and essential to our cultures. I feel
vitalized by the mentorship and the realization of my idea into film.”

Previous year’s mentees include actor and choreographer Michael Greyeyes (Seven Seconds), visual artist and filmmaker Amanda Strong (Honey for Sale), multiple Dora and Juno Award nominee Jani Lauzon (eu•tha•na•sia), and actor and filmmaker Michelle Latimer (Tomorrow),
who recently received an honourable mention for best short film at
Sundance (Choke). Susan Blight will premiere her new short at the 12th
Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, October 19-23, 2011. To
see more of Susan’s work to date, visit www.susanblight.com.

On behalf of the Selection Committee, thank you to all of this year’s
incredible applicants! To find out more about this annual mentorship,
and other artistic opportunities available through imagineNATIVE, please
contact programming@imagineNATIVE.org

Saturday 1 January 2011 –

Non-members:
Members:

Location:
LIFT 
 
Toronto ON Canada