Ajuawak Kapashesit
Press
December 7th, 2023
ComingSoon is pleased to present an exclusive track from Marlene Shigekawa’s short film The Blue Jay. A-frame Music Studios will release The Blue Jay score soundtrack digitally next week featuring music by Taisuke Kimura. Listen to the track titled “Toshi’s Farewell” below.
“In composing the score for ‘The Blue Jay,’ I aimed to encapsulate the profound narrative of Japanese Americans in Poston during WW2,” says Taisuke...
August 7th, 2022
Anishinaabe core values and stories drive Ajuawak Kapashesit as a storyteller, actor, writer and filmmaker.
Born and raised on the White Earth Ojibwe Nation, of Ashinaabe, Cree and Jewish descent, Kapashesit draws on that knowledge in his latest film, “Language Keepers,” a short documentary now in the works that is set to be released next year.
March 2nd, 2022
Firelight Media, PBS and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) today announced the filmmakers and projects selected for the new collection of digital short films HOMEGROWN: Future Visions. HOMEGROWN is a regional short film initiative with its first series “Future Visions” centering on filmmakers of color from the American Midwest and on narratives that illuminate the living histories, cultures, and future visions of the region. Firelight Media originally piloted this series in 2020 under the title HINDSIGHT.
November 3rd, 2021
Indigenous storytelling is vital to a deeper understanding of our world as well as to addressing the climate crisis, but how do we best support those storytellers? The 4th World Media Lab does just that, supporting early and mid-career Indigenous filmmakers from around the globe. In this episode, members of the 2021 cohort - Brit Hensel, Ajuawak Kapashesit, Jared Lank, Erin Lau, Lucía Ortega Toledo, and Theola Ross - share how Indigenous-focused spaces make room for growth, why Native filmmaking is in an interesting moment, and what they envision next for themselves and those following in their footsteps. We're also joined by the founder of the lab, Tracy Rector (Managing Director, Storytelling, Nia Tero and Executive Producer for Seedcast), who shares about the generative partnerships that keep the 4th World fellowship going and what inspired the name. Hosted by Jessica Ramirez; Produced by Felipe Contreras; Edited by Julie Keck.
August 18th, 2021
One of the first major in-person gatherings for the documentary industry is gearing up in Maine, where next month’s Camden International Film Festival’s Points North Institute has unveiled the doc makers and projects selected for its artist programs.
The programs include the Points North Fellowship, North Star Fellowship, 4th World Media Lab and LEF/CIFF Fellowship. Through private workshops, screenings and industry meetings taking place both in-person on the coast of Maine and online, the four programs will support 25 documentary projects in development.
April 6th, 2021
Learning to balance between following dreams and meeting family expectations is a challenge for many young people, especially Native/Indigenous women. These stories are all too familiar and emerging female directors, writers and actresses are determined to make these perspectives known and explored.
January 5th, 2021
Once Upon a River (2019), directed by Haroula Rose, is a film adaptation of Bonnie Jo Campbell’s 2011 novel of the same title. The movie, Rose’s debut feature, follows a Native American teenage girl through various trials and tribulations. Set in western Michigan in the 1970s, Once Upon a River recounts the adolescent’s supposed emotional education.