Winnipeg-based Cree filmmaker Desiree Brightnose has been named as the inaugural recipient of the RBC Emerging Indigenous Filmmaker Award.

The National Screen Institute (NSI) and the RBC Foundation, with support through RBC’s Emerging Artists initiative, have awarded Brightnose (pictured) $7,500 and mentorship from Winnipeg-based Swampy Cree filmmaker and award advisor Sonya Ballantyne.

The cash prize is provided by Emerging Artists, which supports “arts organizations that provide the best opportunities for artists and creators to accelerate their career trajectory,” said Kim Ulmer, RBC regional president for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and Western Ontario, in a statement.

The award, which launched in August 2022, received more than 30 applications from emerging Indigenous creators from across the country, according to a news release.

Brightnose, owner of Tilted Teepee Productions, is a 2021 CBC New Indigenous Voices program alum. She studied media production at Assiniboine Community College in 2018 and creates projects that focus on “Indigenous language revitalization with the goal of providing a learning platform for those looking to delve deeper into their culture,” said the release. She was also selected for the Women in Film and Television Vancouver’s Tricksters and Writers Screenwriting Program in June 2022.

The monetary prize will go toward upgraded information technology, equipment, branding and marketing materials to further support her prodco and career.

Ulmer said that RBC’s partnership with the NSI “enables resources and mentorship access for underrepresented and diverse creators to get to the next level.”

Image courtesy of National Screen Institute