Indigenous feature film production in Canada

The goal of this research is to examine Aboriginal feature film production in Canada, specifically within the genre of drama. This report documents the rise of Indigenous cinema worldwide and examines Canada's public funding landscape including funding allocations to Aboriginal feature film production from Canada's public funders of film over a five-year period from 2007 to 2012. This report also examines the barriers to feature film production for Aboriginal content creators in Canada, and suggests areas of opportunity that can be targeted in order to boost production in this sector. Aboriginal film production is a relatively young sector, with scarce research existing on the industry. To address this gap in the available information on the sector, the researchers expanded the scope of the study beyond public funding agencies in Canada to include data from public funding agencies in Australia and New Zealand. Aboriginal feature film production in Canada is situated within a global Indigenous cinema context. Australia and New Zealand, in particular, are two pillars of global Indigenous film that offer a realistic point from which to compare Canada's progress. As a result, data from Australia and New Zealand are included in the study, as well as one model in the United States.