A PTN lumi has greenlit Blackfoot filmmaker Trevor Solway’s horror-comedy anthology Tales from the Rez.

Written and directed by Solway (Kaatohkitopii: The Horse He Never Rode), the series (6 x 15 minutes; pictured) is currently in production in Siksika, Alta. It is produced by Colin Van Loon under his British Columbia-based banner Blackfoot Nation Films. Julian Black Antelope (Secret History of the Wild West) serves as an executive producer, while Jessica Matten (Dark Winds) is the associate producer.

Tales from the Rez received financial support from the Bell Fund, the Indigenous Screen Office and APTN lumi. It is slated to premiere on APTN lumi in 2023.

Each episode features an adaptation of popular Blackfoot traditional tales and urban legends, with an elder introducing each story. The first season is set in the Blackfoot confederacy’s traditional territories, also known as Southern Alberta, Treaty 7. According to a news release, any subsequent seasons will be set in other Indigenous communities around the globe.

The series stars Eugene Brave Rock (Wonder Woman), Shane Ghostkeeper (Parallel Minds), Shayla Stonechild (Siren), Michelle Thrush (Prey), Joel Oulette (Trickster), Nathan Alexis (Trickster), Cody Lightning (Echo, Four Sheets to the Wind) and Charles Duck Chief.

In 2019, Tales from the Rez was selected as a finalist for the APTN/imagineNATIVE Web Series Pitch Competition, which helps Indigenous filmmakers produce their projects with financial and in-kind support. The pitch competition and APTN’s annual web series RFP are lumi’s two main sources for original projects, Lisa Ducharme, director of online content, previously told Playback.

Image courtesy of Blackfoot Nation Films