The Gulf Islands Film and Television School (GIFTS) has garnered a reputation for delivering excellent film production education, especially for youth, since its inception in 1995. Through intensive courses that often run weeks at a time, students are taught the necessary skills for developing and producing film projects surrounded by the natural beauty of the Gulf Islands in British Columbia.

In researching for this blog, I came across an article in the Georgia Straight from 2009 highlighting a new program aimed directly at aspiring First Nations filmmakers from across BC. Through a special grant, the school was able to invite students from nine First Nations across the province, and equip them with cameras and computers that they were able to take with them upon returning to their communities. The program also placed an emphasis on training students on how to use the internet and social media to promote their work and connect with other First Nations artists across the country.

What I found unique and refreshing about the program was that it placed an emphasis on creating content by First Nations for First Nations. The instructors were primarily of aboriginal descent, and the school hoped that in years to come that current students would return to serve as mentors to new students going through the program. The students also came together to create a kind of artist collective called REZolutions Media, which served to advance their online presence and build a community of aboriginal media artists from a variety of backgrounds.

The article is a few years old, however, upon checking the GIFTS website, it appears as if the program is still being offered. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely clear of REZolutions Media continues to function, or whether it has any connection with Rezolution Pictures, a mostly First Nations-run production company, whose films, documentaries and TV series focus on contemporary First Nations issues (the trailer for Mohawk Girls is certainly worth a look).