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Meet the Inaugural Cinema Ascent Cohort!
Learn what these Producers, Directors, and Writers have in store for Canadian Film and TV.
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We're excited to announce ten (10) filmmakers were selected to participate in the first edition of Cinema Ascent - a Canada Media Fund (CMF) supported mentorship and export preparedness-based professional development program designed to support the career development of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis artists.
With roots in - or sights on - Northern Ontario's growing film and television production industry, these talented storytellers and artists are shaping the next wave of Indigenous-led motion picture production in Canada.
Bradley Paul is a First Nations’ filmmaker currently based in Northern Ontario, Canada. He’s a graduate of Canadore College’s Digital Cinematography program and founded “Brad’s Atomic Digital Arts & Media” to continue his filmmaking work. He’s written, produced, and directed short films like Changing Centre, Of Root & Tree, A Cold December, A Spring for Maple, and Wiizniin! as well as feature-length documentaries for Temagami First Nation’s Roots & Wings. In 2022, his LGBTQ+ Vampire web series Northern Blood was accepted into the Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative and the first Indigenous Screen Summit – the latter of which having also provided development funding.
He trained and worked with the RAW Actor Studio, which was funded by the Ontario Arts Council and InPath. Currently part of CION’s Cinema Ascent Program, he continues developing and producing original projects in film and television under InfiniFox Digital Film and Media Limited.
Bruce Thomas Miller is Anishinaabe, a status member of Matachewan First Nations, located in Treaty 9, but was raised off-reserve and is now based out of Calgary, Alberta. Bruce's short films (including Conviction) have gone to screen nationally and internationally. He has also established his production, First Nation Creations Productions Inc., a company that produces works of fiction, non-fiction, animation and XRVR.
Bruce aims to create more diversity in the entertainment industry and use his skills as an artist to create meaningful content. Bruce is also prepping for his first feature documentary, which will be shot later this year.
Mr. Chelsey Mark is a Canadian actor, writer and filmmaker. As a film actor, some of his roles have been in Syfy’s Chucky Season 3 (2023) Tubi’s First Person Shooter (2022) and Hallmark’s A Kiss Before Christmas (2021). He won an ACTRA Award (2022) for Outstanding Performance in a Feature. Chelsey was selected for the Whistler Indigenous Fellowship at the Whistler Film Festival (2019) for his short The Callback.
His short Vengeance (2020) Won Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor in the Winnipeg Film Group 48-hour film competition. Chelsey’s filmmaking career continues as he was chosen for the Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices (2021) and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s Write Over Here: Screenwriting Residency (2022). In 2024 he wrote a new feature film Uncle Hockey and continues to polish his first feature film, Skate Like a Girl.
Cole Forrest is an Anishinaabe filmmaker from Nipissing First Nation. They have written and directed films that have been screened festivals including imagineNATIVE, TQFF, TIFF Next Wave, and the Vancouver International Film Festival. Cole has created films through imagineNATIVE, National Film Board, and Canada Council for The Arts. They are the 2019 recipient of the imagineNATIVE + LIFT Film Mentorship and a 2020 Artist in Residence as a part of the Sundance Native Filmmakers Lab. Cole is a 2023 participant of the Reelworld E20 Program and the 2024 emerging curator-in-residence at Images Festival. Cole is a 2024 recipient of the MoabARTS Re-use residency.
Cole has supported programming at festivals in both Canada and the USA; including TIFF, imagineNATIVE, VIFF, Santa Fe International Film Festival, and Pathways Indigenous Film Festival. Cole has worked for almost a decade in the arts sector in supporting Indigenous arts and Indigenous community. They are grateful to represent their community in all artistic pursuits.
Evelyn Pakinewatik (Nbisiing Anishnaabe/Irish, Nipissing First Nation) is a filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist. Evelyn’s work explores the intersection of dreams and memory and the societal distortions of interiority, relationality, and animacy.
An artist raised by artists, Evelyn began working alongside their parents from a very young age to preserve and disseminate traditional textile and nature arts in Indigenous communities across Ontario and Québec. Interconnectivity and reciprocity continue to motivate Evelyn’s creative process as they seek to practice anti-colonial survivance through an inclusive lens.
Evelyn is a 2018 Reelworld E20 Fellow, 2019 4th World Media Lab Fellow, a 2020 HotDocs Doc Accelerator Fellow, and a 2021 EFM Doc Salon Fellow. Evelyn’s films have been screened at various festivals including the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, LA Skins Fest, St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, Māoriland Film Festival, Festival Présence Autochtone, and the Toronto Queer Film Festival. Their work has been exhibited at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, Toronto City Hall, and the Bentway at Fort York. Evelyn has been invited to speak at higher learning institutions such as the Ontario College of Art and Design University and Cornell University. They have received generous support from the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Indigenous Screen Office.
Evelyn’s recent projects include Nooj Goji/Anywhere (2024), a short film which explores immunocompromised identity within an Anishinaabe context, and Abiinoojiikaasmin (2025), a short film centering the voices and futures of Indigenous children. Upcoming projects include a documentary series with the National Film Board of Canada.
Julianna Maggrah is a 2 Spirit, neurodivergent, Indigenous woman who was born in northern Saskatchewan. Her family were trappers and hunters and loved to live off of the land, and so Julianna was born with a connection to the land. Although she can’t stand the idea of setting traps or hunting, she connects to the land by picking medicines and taking her dog out to roam the forest.
As an Indigenous person, she grew up experiencing the effects of generational trauma, which lead her to discovery the importance of mental health and understanding one’s mind and experiences. Over the years, she has become an advocate for mental health and has made a short documentary about her own struggles with depression and anxiety, as well as creating a few episodes of a podcast also about mental health.
Julianna studied media arts production at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and then interned at MBC radio, shortly after finishing school, she got a job as a video journalist at CTV.
Julianna realized she could combine her desire to help people with her love for creativity and art, and so she creates content about mental health and how our minds work.
Keenan Grom is a filmmaker from Moose Cree First Nation, ON. Previously working as an actor, stunt performer, and assistant director, Keenan has amassed a library of screenplays, with short film Through Brown Glass being his first execution as Writer/Director. Through Brown Glass screened at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and received 2 nominations at the 2024 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards (NOMFA).
Keenan is currently developing a slate of projects including a mystery/historical feature and a black comedy anthology series. His credits both behind and in front of the camera include Shoresy, The Lake, IT: Welcome to Derry, and Through Black Spruce.
From Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation Treaty 3, Kimothy Watts (they/them) is an emerging production crew member and writer with experience in sound recording and the art department on a variety of short films in Northern Ontario. They graduated from Confederation College's Film Production Program, where they played key behind-the-scenes roles on student projects along with the next generation of talent from the North.
Kimothy is writing a feature film, an anthology web series, and a short film -- the last of which is set to go to camera in the Summer of 2025.
Oaklee Dumont (they/them) is an emerging Métis producer based in Northern Ontario. With a background in Digital Cinematography from Canadore College and further knowledge from the Business of Television and Film program at Centennial College, Oaklee is committed to developing stories with a focus on amplifying underrepresented voices and that offers a wide range of perspectives. Oaklee’s most recent work includes being the Producer Mentee on Gail Maurice's Blood Lines.
Oaklee's growing list of feature film production credits in the assistant directors department include the North Bay-based Nobel & the Kid and Driven.
Theola Ross is originally from Pimicikamak Cree Nation, embodying the role of a 2Spirit Cree Language Carrier. A scholar with degrees from Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Manitoba, her journey in filmmaking has been marked by accolades. Works like êmîcêtôsêt: Many Bloodlines have resonated on both national and international stages.
Theola has a strong connection to the diverse fabric of her community. Raised within her First Nation community, she has long embraced storytelling to shine light on narratives integral to her people and deeply intertwined with Cree culture. Her diverse familial heritage includes hunters, trappers, educators, Chiefs, firefighters, forestry workers, social workers, and conservationists, all of which contribute to her distinct perspective and dedication to her work.
Her vision and storytelling skills, refined by the Cree way of using stories to transmit knowledge and wisdom, have been influenced by these roles.
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CINEMA ASCENT IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE CANADA MEDIA FUND’S SECTOR DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS INITIATIVES AIMED AT ADVANCING CANADA’S AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR.