Creation of the Haida Gwaii Media Collective builds off of the youth-focused film projects led by Patrick Shannon through his film production company Innonative, and the youth/community empowerment work facilitated by Julia Weder at Hiit’aGan.iina Kuuyas Naay Skidegate Youth Centre. Patrick’s experiences with youth mentorship in film helped identify the greatest challenges in creating a local film industry: a lack of access to space, equipment, skill-building, and opportunities to build experience without leaving the islands. This initiative was envisioned to address all of these areas.
The Collective was envisioned and funded in Spring 2021 as a 2-year pilot project. It is a social enterprise administered by the Skidegate Health Centre. The Collective is funded by Grand Challenges Canada through their Indigenous Innovation Initiative (I3) program, which primarily aims to address systemic barriers faced by Indigenous women and 2SLGBTTQQIA+ people. A public launch is planned for October 2021.