32nd Annual American Indian Film Festival in San Franciso
Nathaniel Arcand to star in new drama series “Heartland”
Another Alberta boy making it big
32nd Annual American Indian Film Festival in San Franciso
The American Indian Film Institute (AIFI) and Title Sponsor, the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, proudly announce the 32nd annual American Indian Film Festival, November 2-10, 2007.
The American Indian Film Festival will premiere over 70 innovative feature films, shorts, public service, music videos and documentaries of USA American Indian and Canada First Nation communities.
The 2007 American Indian Film Festival is a nine- day showcase with an anticipated attendance of over 6,000. The Film Festival takes place at two theatre venues in San Francisco. The Landmark Embarcadero Center Cinema, One Embarcadero Center, Promenade Level, will hold screenings from November 2- 7; The Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon St. @ Bay St, from November 8 -10.
AIFI's Tribal Touring Program, a Native youth film workshop program supported by tribal host partners, will also be screening their films on Friday Nov. 9. This year AIFI will showcase youth films from the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, AZ ; Hoopa Tribe, CA; and the Confederated Indians of Graton Rancheria,CA.
The American Indian Film Festival will also be offering a film finance and film distribution seminars on Nov. 7 & 8. AIFI seminars will be bringing noted industry professionals to San Francisco to teach, inspire and share their knowledge with current and next generation of filmmakers.
AIFI’s American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show, honoring filmmakers and showcasing contem-porary Native American talent, will be held on Saturday November 10, 2007 @ the Palace of Fine Arts beginning at 6:00pm. Fourteen awards will be presented including Best Film, Best Actor and Best Documentary.
The awards show will include a mix of live entertainment by established and emerging Native artists and performers including special performances by multi-talented singer Jamie Coon, violinist Swil Kanim, Yaaw Tei Yi Tlingit Dancers from Alaska and acclaimed recording artist Robert Mirabel.
A complete schedule will be available on September 28, 2007 and will also be available on our website www.aifisf.com. All programs are open to the general public and will require tickets for admission.
Nathaniel Arcand to star in new drama series “Heartland”
Edmonton born Cree actor Nathaniel Arcand will star as equine veterinarian Scott Cardinal in Heartland, the most recent addition to CBC Television’s Sunday night lineup. Nestled in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, Heartland is a place like no other – a place where miracles can happen. It’s also home to the unshakeable family spirit of the Fleming family. The family tale centres on teenager Amy and older sister Lou, who are dealing with the tragic death of their mother, Marion, while helping their grandfather run the family’s debt-ridden ranch for abused horses. Heartland premieres Sunday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m., on CBC Television.
Nathaniel Arcand
Arcand’s character, Scott Cardinal, is a Native Canadian who is one of Marion’s “success stories,” a troubled youth who was taken under her wing, and has turned his life around. He is also secretly in love with Lou, and has been ever since high school.
Born and raised in Edmonton, AB, Arcand is Plains Cree from the Alexander First Nations Reserve. His career took off after landing the role of bad-boy William MacNeil in the CBC Television series North of 60, for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award. Today, he is a well-respected and established actor and has had notable feature roles, including performances in Black Cloud, Skins, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, Speaking of Sex and American Outlaws. His television work includes the miniseries Dreamkeeper, The Lone Ranger (as Tonto), 100 and Into the West.
“CBC Television helped launch my career, so I am thrilled to be involved once again with the network,” said Arcand. “Heartland has such a great cast, and it’s wonderful to be filming close to home in such beautiful surroundings.”
Heartland also stars Amber Marshall (The Elizabeth Smart Story) as Amy, Michelle Morgan (Diary of the Dead) as Lou, Shaun Johnston (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) as Jack, Chris Potter (The Pacifier) as Tim, the estranged father of Amy and Lou, and Graham Wardle (In the Land of Women) as Ty Borden, the new stable hand.
Heartland is adapted from Lauren Brooke’s series of international best-selling novels of the same name – 21 books created in the U.K. by Working Partners and published in Canada by Scholastic Canada. Over 6.5 million copies have been sold worldwide.
Heartland is a co-production with Dynamo Films of Toronto and Seven24 Films in Calgary and is written by Heather Conkie, (Road To Avonlea, Dark Oracle), Leila Basen (Bon Cop, Bad Cop) and David Preston (Tales of the Neverending Story). Executive producers are showrunner Heather Conkie, Michael Weinberg of Dynamo Films and Jordy Randall and Tom Cox of Seven24 Films. Heartland is available in HD.
Another Alberta boy making it big
Shane Yellowbird wins Chevy Rising Star of the Year at 2007 Canadian Country Music Awards
Congratulations to Shane Yellowbird, winner of the Chevy Rising Star of the Year Award at the Canadian Country Music Awards, held September 10th in Regina, SK, coming from Samson Cree Nation Chief and Council, friends and family.
Shane Yellowbird
“We are very proud of Shane and I am sure his achievement will impact our community in a positive way,” stated Marvin Yellowbird, member of Samson Council and Shane’s uncle, “[Shane] is looked upon as a role model for the younger generation of Samson Cree Nation.”
Born with a stuttering problem, Yellowbird saw a speech therapist as a child. The therapist suggested that he hum his words, which progressed to singing his sentences, to help him speak clearly. The technique proved successful and instilled a budding love of music in Yellowbird.
A choked up Yellowbird was lost for words as he accepted his trophy, and later expressed his gratitude – “I still don’t believe it yet,” says Yellowbird, “I’m so thankful for everyone who helped me get to this place. This year, and especially this night will be something I hold close to my heart for the rest of my life.”
Yellowbird hopes to inspire others to pursue their dreams. Wherever you come from, whatever obstacles you face, your dreams can come true – something Yellowbird knows firsthand.
For the second year in a row, the Chevy Rising Star winner walked away with a brand new vehicle from Chevy, in addition to the award. Yellowbird was also proud to be a featured performer during the ceremonies singing his big hit Pickup Truck.
Yellowbird was nominated in five categories at The 2007 CCMA Awards, tying him with George Canyon as the most nominated artist at the CCMAs this year.
The categories were: Single of the year - Pickup Truck; Album of the Year - Life Is Calling My Name; CMT Video of the Year - Pickup Truck; Chevy Rising Star Award; and Independent Male Artist of the Year Award.
Pickup Truck officially hit number one in July on the Country Music News Top 100 Chart. The video followed not long after, taking the number one spot on CMT Canada. His next single and video I Remember the Music will be hitting the air in the fall.