Films available by Aboriginal film-makers make up new catalogue from film board

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The National Film Board of Canada publishes a catalogue that chronicles the work of Aboriginal directors and film-makers. The catalogue, titled Aboriginal Directors Video Collection 1999, features brief biographies on the directors, and short profiles and histories of each of the videos they have on offer. There is a list of addresses and phone numbers to use when ordering. The 15 names in this year's catalogue includes Anne Frazier Henry, Dana Claxton, Gary Dale Farmer, Doug Cuthand and Gil Cardinal.

The National Film Board has developed an action plan called "A New Charter for a New Century, which will help to reflect Canada's diverse society and provide more of a selection in Canadian cinema. The plan will support the development of Aboriginal films by training men and woman to make their own documentaries.

In 1991, a project called Studio One was started in Edmonton. It was developed as an opportunity to train Aboriginal people in the field of film-making. A review done on Studio One in 1995 indicated that Aboriginal film-makers who lived and worked in other provinces found Edmonton inaccessible to them. The Studio One program was then replaced by the Aboriginal Film Making Program that runs all across Canada. This move enabled other Aboriginal people a chance to produce their own documentaries or animated films. The program started in April 1996.

The program funds Aboriginal people who want to enhance their skills in film-making. It allows them to apprentice on different film making projects in their communities or province. According to Jerry Krepakevich, producer of the National Film Board Office in Edmonton, "this provides the people a chance to tell their stories on film."

The National Film Board's English Program Branch has allotted $1 million dollars a year to be used for productions and co-productions of Aboriginal films.

This funding is announced four times a year. Proposals must be received at least one month prior to the committee's decision dates. Tentative dates scheduled are in early June, September, December and March. The film must be directed by an Aboriginal director, and proposals can be submitted to any National Film Board office across Canada.

"There have been a lot of good films made in the last few years, such as Annie Frazier Henrys Totem Talk and Gil Cardinals documentaries and motivational films," said Krepakevich,

"We've trained quite a few Aboriginal people since 1968, but in the last 10 years it has really exploded."