Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008.
News release : August 25, 2008
Winnipeg: Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper will address a select group of 11 young Aboriginal adults from Winnipeg, Vancouver and Yellowknife who are graduating from the NSI New Voices program on Tuesday August 26 at the Fairmont Hotel. The full-time program run by the National Screen Institute — Canada connects young Canadian Aboriginal adults with industry professionals through six weeks of intensive film and TV training and an eight week full-time work placement.
Elijah Harper is the featured speaker at the graduation for the students and invited guests. Mr. Harper has long been an active promoter of Aboriginal rights in Manitoba, across Canada and around the world. He has represented Aboriginal issues as an elected official both provincially and federally, and continues to advocate indigenous and human rights around the world since leaving political life. His work has garnered him many awards and accolades.
“We are honoured and privileged to have Mr. Harper address our graduates,” says Lisa Meeches, Program Manager for NSI New Voices. “His words and actions inspire this next generation of Aboriginal youth to seek out and tell their stories in their own way from their own perspective and world view – as they pursue careers in the film and television industry.”
NSI New Voices training program is designed for young Aboriginal people, aged 18 to 35, who have a desire to work in the film and television industry. The program includes skills development training and an industry internship. It is open to applicants from across the country.
NSI New Voices 2008 would like to thank the following internship companies and mentors for hosting this year’s students:
Manitoba Film & Sound, Merit Motion Pictures, StrongFront Productions, Eagle Vision, Noam Gonick (Filmmaker), Citytv Winnipeg, APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network), Buffalo Gal Pictures, NCI-FM, Farpoint Films Inc., and Manito Ahbee A Festival for All Nations.
Information about NSI New Voices can be found on the NSI website.
NSI New Voices is funded by Presenting Sponsor Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport; Program Partners NBC Universal and the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development (CAHRD); and Provincial Sponsor MANITOBA FILM & SOUND. Additional funding generously provided by the RBC Financial Group, Mother of Red Nations Women’s Council of Manitoba (MORN), the Aboriginal Media Education Fund (AMEF), and Canwest.
About the National Screen Institute – Canada
The National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI) is widely known for its prestigious training programs for Canadian writers, directors and producers working in the film, television and digital media industries. Most programs are part-time so students keep their day jobs while they train. Participants do not have to relocate – intensive training happens in one place and participants return home to work with a mentor for the rest of their program. All training is delivered by senior industry experts.
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Tel: 204-957-2995 | Email: glynis.corkal@nsi-canada.ca
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