WAPIKONI MOBILE HIT THE ROAD TO FIRST NATION COMMUNITIES

Montreal, May 9, 2016 – Wapikoni Mobile's traveling audiovisual and musical training and creation studios have taken back the road to Indigenous communities yesterday morning. A total of 11 communities in will host these workshops reaching an average of 300 youths per year. A stopover in Panama among the Kuna and Embera nations will also take place from June 20 to July 4 in partnership with the Unesco-McGill Chair for Dialogues on Sustainability. Accompanied by two filmmaker-mentors, a First Nations junior filmmaker, a youth outreach worker and a coordinator from the community, the participants are trained in screenwriting, directing and in the numerous technical aspects of filmmaking (camera, sound recording and editing) with cutting edge equipment and material. Each participant benefits from mentoring adapted to his or her experience and learning pace. Two mobile studios allow Indigenous youth to direct their short films from their own idea and to record original music pieces. These works, which reflect their realities, their concerns, their humor and the enormous cultural wealth of these nations will be presented proudly to their community during the screening that will end each stopover. Translated into several languages, some of these films will later join many audiences around the world like lately at the World Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, and whose theme was "Living Together In Inclusive Societies: A Challenge and A Goal." Check the stopovers' calendar in Wapikoni's website for the communities workshops' dates: http://www.wapikoni.ca/workshops/workshop-list

About Wapikoni Wapikoni Mobile is a traveling mediation, training and audiovisual/musical creation studio devoted to First Nations youth. Since 2004, more than 3900 participants from 20 nations and 58 communities in and South America have collaborated on 900 short films translated into several languages and recipients of 120 awards and mentions in prestigious festivals worldwide . For more information, visit www.wapikoni.ca. -30- Contact : Virginie Michel, [email protected], O : 514 276 9274 # 229, C : 514 922 2315