As an Indigenous woman, breaking into the film industry wasn\u2019t easy for Brock University Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo. But through the Weengushk Film Institute she started on Manitoulin Island, that path to success for Indigenous filmmakers has become easier.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, June 11, four Weengushk students \u2014 three in Film Production and one in Television Production \u2014 received their certificates during the Brock University Faculty of Social Sciences Convocation ceremony.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the third year Weengushk students have crossed the stage during the University\u2019s Spring Convocation event following a 2016 agreement that saw the Film Institute accredited by Brock. It was the first program of its kind to be accredited by a Canadian university with students who complete either the Film Production or Television Production programs earning five university credits toward further studies.<\/p>\n
Making this year\u2019s Weengushk graduating class even more special for Cheechoo was the fact all four students were female \u2014 a rarity in the male-dominated film industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no words to describe it. Seeing them on stage means a lot to me because I\u2019m also a filmmaker,\u201d said Cheechoo. \u201cWe don\u2019t really hear Indigenous women\u2019s voices, so it means a great deal to have four new voices coming to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily Savage, who received her certificate in Film Production Tuesday, called Cheechoo an inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here without Shirley. She\u2019s the main reason why all of this is happening and it was very important for her to be there on stage. It makes you feel proud,\u201d said Savage, who hopes to open her own film production company with a home base on Manitoulin Island.<\/p>\n
Classmate Kaylee LeBreton agreed about the role the Brock Chancellor played in her education.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past year I\u2019ve been at Weengushk, I\u2019ve been able to connect with Shirley on a personal level, so being able to go up there and connect with her on stage was very special to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Also receiving her Film Production certificate was Tabitha Manitowabi, while the one student receiving the Television Production certificate was Una Cheechoo, Shirley\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels really special because she\u2019s my sister. I\u2019m so proud of her and I\u2019m proud of myself. Without her, I wouldn\u2019t be here,\u201d said Una, who is currently working on a pilot episode for a television show that will focus on an Indigenous elder and the role she plays in her community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As an Indigenous woman, breaking into the film industry wasn\u2019t easy for Brock University Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo. But through the Weengushk Film Institute she started on Manitoulin Island, that path to success for Indigenous filmmakers has become easier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":58547,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,7,3319,4052,1,4,38],"tags":[7990,7991,156,7488,3262,1759,3918],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58554"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58558,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58554\/revisions\/58558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}