The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has selected 13 participants for this year’s Indigenous Screen Summit (ISS) Pitch Forum.

The participants will present their projects to a panel of media funders, collaborators and industry delegates on June 10 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. The Pitch Forum is supported by the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), Canada Media Fund, APTN and Rogers.

The ISS is a half-day program running adjunct to BANFF, and includes documentary/unscripted, drama and comedy genres. Applicants are drawn from the Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices initiative, the CBC-APTN Early Stage Scripted Development Program for Indigenous creators in association with the ISO and an open call.

The participants include creator, writer, director and producer Lewis Cardinal (Red Earth Blue Sky Productions); creator Dr. Lolly de Jonge (IndigeKin Productions); director Damien Eagle Bear (Eagle Bear Films); creator, writer and producer Mike Gosselin (Really Good Stories); and director and producer Barbara Hager (Acimow Media).

Producer, writer and director Alexander Lasheras (Soler Pictures); creator, writer and director Shelby Mitchell-Adams (Dreamcatcher Studio); producer Denis Paquette (RealWorld Media); and writer, director and producer Tim Riedel (Michif Koonteur) are also participating.

Rounding out the participants is co-writer and associate producer Claudia Skunk (Makwa Creative); creator Darcy Waite (Turtle Mountain Media); creator and producer Christopher White (Otipemisiwak Productions); and writer, director and producer Roxann Whitebean (Whitebean Media Arts).

“This event continues to play a transformative role in the careers of Indigenous storytellers and serves as a key destination for industry leaders seeking bold, original stories,” said Kerry Swanson, ISO CEO, in a statement.

This year, the ISS is produced by Candace Scott-Moore. The Anishinaabe-Ojibwe Potawatomi producer has more than 20 years of experience in production and stage management and has worked with festivals and organizations such as TKMF Productions, Tkaronto Music Festival, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival, the Juno Awards and more.

“The ISS-Pitch Forum is one of the world’s largest and most important events for the presentation and advancement of First Nation, Métis and Inuit film and television storytelling,” said Jenn Kuzymk, BANFF’s executive director and Playback publisher. “The high calibre of projects that are presented each year not only represent the incredible creative force within this community, but also the vast commercial and global appeal of Indigenous content.”

The 46th annual festival runs from June 8 to 11 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alta.

Image courtesy of the Banff World Media Festival. Pictured top (L-R): Alexander Lasheras, Lewis Cardinal, Lolly de Jonge and Damien Eagle Bear. Middle (L-R): Mike Gosselin, Barbara Hager, Shelby Mitchell-Adams, Denis Paquette and Tim Riedel. Bottom (L-R): Claudia Skunk, Darcy Waite, Christopher White and Roxann Whitebean.