Biographies
Gisèle Gordon is a director/producer whose most recent work is The Tunguska Project, a documentary about Cree theatre director Floyd Favel’s journey from Canada to the site of a mysterious explosion in Siberia. In 1996, she formed the production company Urban Nation with Cree filmmaker and visual artist Kent Monkman. Together they have made two award-winning short films, Blood River and A Nation Is Coming and are in post-production on Group of Seven Inches. Gisèle currently serves on the Board of Directors for both the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the Images Festival in Toronto. She recently curated a programme of Canadian films for the Salekhard Northern Nomadic Film Festival, Russia. http://urbannation.com/
Kent Monkman is a filmmaker and visual artist who began his exploration in the arts as a painter: his paintings have been displayed in galleries across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. His strong visual background is visible in the award winning experimental dance video he directed, A Nation Is Coming, featuring dancer/choreographer Michael Greyeyes. Kent is Swampy Cree (Canadian) and English/Irish. He is a member of the Fisher River Band in northern Manitoba. http://urbannation.com/
Kerry Swanson is the Director of Development for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto, where she is responsible for promotion, fundraising, educational development and international development. Additionally, she is working on a Masters in Communication and Culture at York University with a focus on Aboriginal film. Kerry is Cree/Ojibway and Irish/French and is a member of the Michipicoten First Nation in northern Ontario.