4th World Media Lab Announces Sextet Of Indigenous Filmmakers Set For Prestigious Year-Long Fellowship

EXCLUSIVE: Six emerging and mid-career Indigenous filmmakers have been announced as recipients of the 4th World Media Lab fellowship, a year-long program “designed to uplift Indigenous filmmakers of various backgrounds and perspectives.”

The sextet represents the 10^th cohort of the fellowship, a unique partnership between 4^th World Media Lab (formerly called Indigenous Showcase) and three regional film festivals: Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana, Seattle International Film Festival, and Camden International Film Festival in Maine. The fellowship offers participants “opportunities to develop skills and networks in culturally centered spaces through festival participation, hands-on training, masterclasses, workshopping projects in development, pitch activities, and meetings with funders and other industry decision-makers,” according to a release.

The fellows (see names and biographies below) will convene in person at the Big Sky, Seattle, and Camden film festivals and learn from invited mentors who will assist them to shape their cinematic projects and personal goals as filmmakers and artists.

“This fellowship has opened doors for a generation of Indigenous artists and filmmakers through critical access, mentorship, and community building as they continue to advance their careers,” the release notes. “A concept shared by a Coast Salish elder, 4th World is the story of a time when the environment and the Earth are suffering from human impact, and Indigenous storytelling functions as a medicine to create healing.”

Since its launch in 2015, the fellowship has supported over 60 filmmakers across Turtle Island (an Indigenous name for North America and Central America) and Pasifika (the Indigenous name for the Pacific Islands). “The long-term goal of the 4th World fellowship is to build and nurture a growing network of Indigenous filmmakers and industry professionals whose collective body of work finds traction and resonance, from development to exhibition, in the documentary, narrative film and media industries.”

These are the six fellows named Monday:

● Jules Koostachin (Band member of Attawapiskat First Nation) (Canada) is an award-winning filmmaker, mother, writer, performance artist and academic. Jules honours her Cree-speaking grandparents who raised her, and her mother, a residential school Survivor/warrior. Graduating from Concordia University’s Theatre program, Jules went on to Ryerson University’s Documentary Media master’s program, receiving early recognition with an Award of Distinction and an Academic Gold Medal for her thesis documentary film, Remembering Inninimowin. Jules went on to do her Ph.D. in Indigenous documentary and protocols and processes at the University of British Columbia. Jules is represented by The Characters Talent (acting) and Lucas Talent (writing, directing).

● James Johnson III (Koyukon) (Alaska) is from Fairbanks, Alaska with roots in the Rampart and Kokrines villages. He is a filmmaker focused on telling narrative and documentary stories centered on climate justice, language, and traditional ways of life. He is a co-founder of the indigenous filmmaking company Deenaadai Productions LLC. He is a current participant in the Alaska Native Filmmakers Intensive, an ongoing project through Native Movement and UAF Film & Theatre. Over the past several years, James has served as a primary editor on Diiyeghan Naii Taii Tr’eedaa and as DP and editor on Gath & Kiyh, a short film featuring world renowned cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.

● Kekama Amona (Kanaka Maoli) (Hawaiian Kingdom) is an accomplished Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) director, producer, and writer, who transitioned from a career in education to storytelling. His work has garnered him notable accolades, including being a fellow at the Sundance Native Shorts Lab and the inaugural IllumiNative + Netflix Indigenous Producers Program. In 2024, he was honored as a NATIVe Stand recipient. Currently, Kekama is in script development for his first feature film, titled Keke, which he is co-writing with his partner. A lifelong surfer and passionate activist, he is based in Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.

● Katsitsionni Fox (Mohawk) (Haudenosaunee/First Nations) is an artist, filmmaker and educator from the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. Her films highlight Indigenous women who are stepping into their power. Her award-winning documentary films include: Ohero:kon – Under the Husk (2016) and Without a Whisper – Konnon:kwe (2020). Her most recent film is Kanenon:we – Original Seeds, a documentary following Indigenous women reclaiming their ancient role as seed keepers, regenerating, protecting and rematriating sacred and endangered heirloom seeds for the future generations.

● Steph Viera (Diné/Salvadoran) (Turtle Island) is Diné and Salvadorian born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Steph is a writer, organizer, and storyteller with a deep commitment to aid in the intentional storytelling of Indigenous people behind the camera, highlighting the reconnecting, multi-racial, queer, and urban Indigenous communities. In addition to their role at NDN Collective, they have completed several competitive programs and certificates dedicated to the growing need for Indigenous creatives and filmmakers. They hold a bachelor’s degree in Film, Television, and Media from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where they studied screenwriting, digital media production, and media representation.

● Tiare Ribeaux (Kanaka Maoli) (Hawaiian Kingdom) Tiare Ribeaux is a Kānaka ‘Ōiwi filmmaker, artist, and creative producer based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Her films disrupt conventional storytelling methods by employing magical realist explorations of spirituality, labor, and the environment to critique both social and ecological imbalances. Ribeaux’s work traverses between the mundane and dreamworlds – creating stories around transformation and how our bodies are inextricably linked to land and water systems. Tiare has received numerous awards and grants for her artistic leadership including the Creative Capital Award, the NDN Radical Imagination Grant, the Native Lab Fellowship and Indigenous Film Fund from Sundance, among many others.

Cass Gardiner, a 2024 fellow, commented, “The 4th World Fellowship was an amazing experience that I wish I could relive again and again. Participating in the fellowship helped me to advance my project by connecting me to industry professionals and securing meetings. It also gave me access to an incredible community of Indigenous film professionals that I feel I can ask for help at any stage of my project and life.”

Sisa Quispe, also a 2024 alum, said, “Attending the 4th World Fellowship as an Indigenous filmmaker provided me with a safe space to trust my ideas and develop them. It allowed me to build a strong foundation for my work and for that, I’m eternally grateful. Urpillay Sonqollay.”

Additional alums of the program include Ivan and Ivy MacDonald (Murder in the Big Horn, Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya, Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible), Asia Youngman (I’m Just Here for the Riot, N’XAXAITKW) Khalil Hudson (Navajo Police: Class 57), Razelle Benally (Dark Winds, Murder in the Big Horn), Alex Lazarowich (Fast Horse, Resident Alien), Shandiin Tome (Mud – Hashtł’ishnii, Long Line of Ladies), Paige Bethmann (Native America: Women Rule, Candace Parker: Unapologetic), and Loren Waters (Tiger, ᏗᏂᏠᎯ ᎤᏪᏯ -Meet Me at the Creek).