Filmmakers in Indigenous Leadership & Management Business Affairs (FILMBA)

On successful completion of the program, you will be able to:

1. Describe core production workflows for human resources, production resources, unions and guilds and accounting.
2. Prepare industry-standard production budgets for budgets up to a million dollars.
3. Determine the legal risks and responsibilities of various business structures and the industry necessity for incorporation as a preferred structure.
4. Develop and negotiate industry agreements to produce and distribute projects.
5. Distinguish the varied approaches to developing, producing, and distributing projects for film, television and new media.
6. Apply market analysis to identify the appropriate markets and distribution channels for your own projects.
7. Develop a five-year plan for your professional development and career goals.

The program specifically seeks Indigenous producers who have demonstrated management experience in producing.

To apply, you must:

• Have Indigenous ancestry.
• Have at least two years' film training from a recognized film studies program or equivalent industry experience.
• Have been out of film school for at least one year.
• Have produced at least one short film in which you managed a budget of at least $10,000.
• Have qualified for development funds from a recognized source (e.g., federal or provincial Arts Council, Telus STORYHIVE, APTN, CBC Shorts, ISO Development Funds, Telefilm Talent Development funds or verifiable private funds).
• Have a production you wish to develop.
• Commit to attend all workshops and mentorship.

• Competent with essential software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Docs and Zoom.
• Note: out of courtesy to our instructors, we ask our participants to leave their cameras on during workshops. 
• Have access to a computer with a high-speed internet connection, equipped with a camera and microphone.

• Allen Belcourt
• Kyle Charles
• Selina Crammond
• Sharon Desjarlais
• Rosie Johnnie-Mills
• April Johnson
• Sarah Kelley
• Bruce Miller
• Donna Munro
• Fawnda Neckoway
• Mike Nichol
• Laurie Oulette
• Ntawnis Piapot
• Jenna Poorman
• Tim Riedel
• Jerome Turner
• Cole Vandale

• Roger Boyer
• Ryan Cooper
• Charley Flyte
• Daniel Foreman
• Monique Manatch
• MoniGarr
• Julia Rayanne
• Kaitlyn Redcrow
• Kelvin Redvers
• Wayne Roberts
• Kelly Roulette
• Eva Thomas
• Colin Van Loon

Doreen Manuel (Secwepemc/Ktunaxa) has over 20 years of experience in the film industry and over 38 years of experience in education. Doreen has been working at Capilano University since 2004 and during that time has worked on and developed several successful programs, including the Indigenous Digital Film program.

Doreen has an extensive background working in First Nations education and community development in both rural and urban centers and has won many film industry and education leadership awards in the community. She has served many film industry and education boards.

Most recently, she was a founding member of Capilano University’s Indigenous Digital Accelerator (IDA) and has been a valuable proponent in developing and leading the IDA program since its inception. Through the IDA, Doreen created the Filmmakers in Leadership and Management Business Affairs, NBC IDA Screenwriting, Indigenous Assistant Director training, Indigenous Production Management and the Leadership in Indigenous Business Incubator programs. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Vancouver International Film Festival.

She also serves on the Telefilm Canada Indigenous Working Group and is a Matriarch advisor to the IM4 virtual, augmented, mixed media program, advisor to TELUS STORYHIVE Indigenous envelope and Screen BC (formerly MPPIA) Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Shaelyn Johnston is an award-winning Ojibwe and Irish-Canadian writer from Vancouver, B.C. She is a recipient of the Governor General’s History Award and holds a BFA and MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia.

Shaelyn was selected for both editions of Telus STORYHIVE’s Indigenous Storytellers Edition and has participated in the Whistler Film Festival’s Indigenous Filmmaker Fellowship and Screenwriters Lab; Reelworld’s Emerging 20 TV Program; and the Pacific Screenwriting Program’s Indigenous Screenwriters Lab.

Her animated short film, The Healing Dance, has screened at numerous festivals across Canada & the US, and won Best Short Film at the Weengushk International Film Festival. Her second short, Anishinaabemowin, a live-action narrative, recently wrapped its run on the festival circuit after playing at numerous festivals across Canada and the US including Santa Fe International Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, and ImagineNATIVE Film Festival.

Outside of her writing and filmmaking, Shaelyn coordinates professional development programs for Indigenous filmmakers through Capilano University’s Indigenous Digital Accelerator and is an adjunct professor at the UBC School of Creative Writing.

• Loretta Todd
• Jennifer Podemski
• Jeff Bear
• Jordan Wheeler
• Rosie Johnnie-Mills
• Eva Thomas
• April Johnson
• Sarah Kelley