We got lucky and learned about Kayla Briët, a very inspired 19 year old story teller, historian, film maker and composer/arranger/musician when she was featured on the cover of the LA Weekly, in Los Angeles, California.She was part of a feature story by writer Dina Gilio-Whitaker that was titled "NATIVE ANGELENOS - L.A.'S INDIGENOUS CULTURES WERE ALMOST ERASED - NOW THEY'RE FIGHTING TO BE SEEN"
It led us to a short 13 minute cinematic piece Kayla directed, edited and scored original music to. The film is titled Smoke That Travels. It features her father, Gary Wiskigeamatyuk.
Her YouTube page said the following about the film:
"Smoke That Travels" is a personal documentary by Kayla Briët that explores preservation and loss of culture and her own identity as Prairie Band Potawatomi.We really hope you are inspired by Kayla Briët's work as a director/documentarian. As mentioned above, she wrote and performed the music for this film too. She has a musical body of work that is growing and we will be featuring more of that in future posts on this network.
What happens when a story is forgotten?
What a long journey it's been. This film was originally intended to be a small time capsule of my thoughts, feelings, and fears of stories being lost in time. It’s a piece dedicated to my little (currently 3 year old) brother, Senachwine, and a reminder for myself to look back on in the future. I started this last summer at 18, and little did I know that this film would take me on a journey and bring me closer to so many people around the world. Over 30 festivals and screenings from the Americas and Europe to Africa and Australia. I feel so lucky being able to meet new artists, family, and friends and experience treasured moments, big and small — it feels like a dream. Releasing this out into the world is a moment I will never forget, so here goes. Thank you so much to all who have supported this film so far.
with love x
Miigwech,
Kayla
Smoke That Travels - Produced by Kayla Briët
Connect direct with Kayla Briët at KaylaBriet.Com, Facebook.com/kaylabriet, Instagram.com/kaylabriet, and on Twitter.com/kaylabriet
"Smoke That Travels" Original Music here: https://soundcloud.com/kaylabriet/sets/smoke-that-travels-the-original-music-2016
Awards
2016 YoungArts (Los Angeles) - Winner in Cinematic Arts
2016 National Film Festival for Talented Youth NFFTY (Seattle) - Audience Award "Around the World in 10 Films"
2016 National Film Festival for Talented Youth NFFTY (Seattle) - Best Emerging Female Filmmaker
2016 Chicago CineYouth Festival (Chicago) - Best Documentary Senior Division
2016 New Renaissance Film Festival (London) - Best Young Talent (Documentary)
2016 Bushwick Film Festival (New York) - Best Short Film
2016 ImagineNATIVE (Canada) - Best Youth Work
2016 Seattle International Film Festival SIFF (Seattle) - Official Selection, Best of NFFTY
2016 Chicago International Film Festival (Chicago) - Official Selection, Best of CineYouth
2016 Rockland Youth Film Festival (New York) - Director of the Year
2016 Kleinkaap Short Film Festival (South Africa) - Best Documentary
Official Selection
2016 DocumentaQro (DOQU) Festival (Mexico) - Official Selection
2016 Miami Independent Film Festival (Florida) - Official Selection
2016 Largo Film Awards (Switzerland) - Official Selection
2016 Move Me Productions Festival (Belgium) - Official Selection
2016 Kleinkaap Short Film Festival (South Africa) - Official Selection, Cinematography Nominee
2016 VisionFest 3.0 (Los Angeles) - Official Selection Director's List
2016 CUCALORUS Film Festival (North Carolina) - Official Selection
2016 Guam International Film Festival (Guam) - Official Selection
2016 Broke Student Film Festival (Michigan) - Official Selection
2016 Tribal Film Festival (Oklahoma) - Official Selection
2016 Orlando Edge Film Festival (Florida) - Official Selection
2016 IndieWise Virtual Festival (Online) - Official Selection
2016 RAW Film Festival (Los Angeles) - Official Selection
2016 Buffer Festival (Canada) - Official Selection
2016 Winda Film Festival (Australia) - Official Selection
2016 Ethiopia International Film Festival (Ethiopia) - Official Selection
2016 Citizen Jane Film Festival (Missouri) - Official Selection
2016 Big Water Film Festival (Wisconsin) - Official Selection
2016 Vidcon (California) - Official Selection, Intermix
2016 One Flaming Arrow Festival (Oregon) - Official Selection
Excerpt
Awards, Screening, and Official Selection
2015 Summer in the City (London, UK) - Official Selection INTERMIX
2015 Buffer Festival (Canada) - Women of Youtube Award
2016 Sundance Film Festival Ignite Fellowship
2016 YoungArts (Florida) - Cinematic Arts Winner
2016 SundanceTV, nofilmschool.com, Adobe Project1324 (Online)
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This post was originally created on February 2, 2017, with subsequent edits and updates by The Indies Network at TheIndiesNetworkCom, Facebook.Com/TheIndiesNetwork and https://www.twitter.Com/indies
