Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

The imagineNATIVE Film Festival took place October 22- 26 in Toronto. Dozens of awards were given out and Akweasane's Katsitsionni Fox won Documentary Pitch Prize at the event. The documentary Katsitsionni pitched is called "Passages." It is a documentary about the Rites of Passage Ceremony here in Akwesasne.

Katsitsionni described the film and her reasons for choosing the topic.

"I have been documenting this for the past few years. I could see the change it was making in the youth and in the community. I feel this documentary will shine light on this very important time in our lives, the transition from adolescence to adulthood. There are so many communities, including our own, that struggle with issues of suicide, drug abuse and domestic violence amongst our youth. Acknowledging this passage rite makes a difference in the path that these youth take. I have witnessed this firsthand. This Rites of Passage Ceremony has come back to our community over the past ten years and continues to grow. There are key people like Louise, Vince, Daryl, Kenny, Jessica and DJ that guide the process. This ceremony is for the youth, but it also teaches the auntie, uncles and community about our teachings and how to care for each other. This year it is now expanding to the Six Nations community. Our young people travelled there in the spring. I was so proud to see them stand up and share their experiences and what this ceremony has brought to their lives."

Katsitsionni Fox was one of four chosen to compete in the competition at the film festival. She was required to attend a day-long workshop in Toronto on how to pitch a movie. Pitches are verbal presentations towards a panel of 4-5 industry representatives. It was mediated by Deborah Day. Prior to the pitches, each Jury member had five minutes to speak to their expertise to inform the audience. They were given 5 minutes (timed) to present their pitch, and up to 10 minutes of feedback and suggestions from the panel. Pitches were presented at the front of an 80-person theatre at a lectern.

Katsitsionni said, "We learned so much from Deborah and I met many talented filmmakers, who have become friends. The workshop had sharpened our skills, and I was so proud of all my fellow filmmakers who pitched on Thursday. Their ideas were all so interesting and I hope their films all become reality."

At the awards show, about Katsitsionni's pitch, the judges said, "The pitch that won us over was one we felt that had a message for all communities that struggle with identity. It focuses on a Mohawk Reserve and their Rite of Passage. It connects young people to their heritage and culture. It explores what it means to become an adult and the importance of transitioning boys and girls into men and women."

Katsitsionni said there were Akwesasronon in the audience cheering that had come up on a bus that morning to attend imagineNATIVE. She said imagineNATIVE was very generous, supplying buses for the community to attend, as well as her students who attended on Wednesday. They also provided a digital film workshop for her students where they created 1-2 minute shorts where they told a story about a single image.

"Their films were amazing, very heartfelt. They enjoyed several film screenings from indigenous filmmakers from around the world while we were there. I would like to thank Jessica Danforth, from the Native Youth Sexual Health Network for meeting us there and for feeding my film students. Niawen to Jess and Tsiehente for cheering me on at the competition!"

Along with the award, Katsitsionni received $2,000 cash from Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and over $3,000 in-kind production and networking prizes.

She said, "It was a great learning experience for me as a filmmaker and I was blown away that I won the competition! I will have a lot of support to assist me in making this documentary a reality. When I accepted the award I thanked imagineNATIVE for the opportunity and the judges as well. I am dedicating this film to the youth. My uncle Tommy (Porter) says this generation of youth will be seven times stronger."