Indigenous Screen Office — Global Festival Sizzle Reel
Overview
The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) needed a high-energy, visually compelling sizzle reel to promote the work of emerging Indigenous filmmakers at major international festivals, including TIFF, Cannes, and Venice. The piece had to reflect ISO’s mandate for representation across regions, nations (First Nations, Métis, Inuit), languages, and genres while meeting the strict technical and licensing requirements of top-tier festivals. With a tight turnaround and high visibility, the project demanded seamless coordination across multiple production companies, creative collaborators, and festival partners.
The Challenge
ISO required a showcase that authentically reflected the diversity and vibrancy of Indigenous screen creators while maintaining exceptional production quality. The reel needed to integrate clips from numerous funded projects, each requiring rights clearance, high-resolution assets, bilingual graphics, and alignment with festival-specific delivery standards. Additionally, ISO wanted the piece to feature a modern, energetic musical track from recognized Indigenous talent — all within budget — and to be created by an all-Indigenous post-production team. Meeting the TIFF deadline in a very tight timeline added further pressure to ensure a flawless workflow and on-time delivery.
My Role
- Production & Workflow Leadership: Oversaw the complete production process, establishing timelines, deliverables, and communication channels for the creative team, editor, audio team, ISO stakeholders, and festival partners.
- Clip Acquisition & Licensing: Coordinated with production companies to obtain high-resolution footage and secured all licensing and rights clearances required for festival use.
- Creative Collaboration: Partnered with the Creative Director to support storyboarding, narrative flow, and pacing. Guided the editor through revisions, ensuring the piece hit the emotional and visual tone ISO envisioned.
- Representation & Cultural Alignment: Ensured the reel included a balanced mix of stories across regions and Indigenous nations, and supervised the creation of bilingual (English/French) graphic elements.
- Music Direction & Negotiation: Identified and reached out to award-winning Indigenous musical talent. Negotiated usage rights within budget and collaborated on selecting a track that elevated the reel’s impact.
- Festival Delivery: Managed all final delivery requirements, including technical specifications, formatting, and festival-specific compliance for TIFF, Cannes, and Venice.
- All-Indigenous Crew Sourcing: Sourced and coordinated an all-Indigenous post-production team, aligning with ISO’s commitment to supporting Indigenous talent both on and off screen.
Outcome
The completed sizzle reel debuted at TIFF and later screened at Cannes and the Venice Film Festival, successfully showcasing the next generation of Indigenous storytellers to a global audience. The piece captured the energy, diversity, and creative excellence of ISO-funded projects and reflected the organization’s values through both its content and production process. The reel strengthened ISO’s international presence and served as a vibrant celebration of Indigenous filmmaking talent from across the country.
