New college course teaches TV and film production skills to Indigenous students on Vancouver Island
Eight students are the first to graduate from a new Vancouver Island program that helps give Indigenous students the skills they need to enter the booming film and TV industry.
The students graduated from the inaugural year of the "Indigenous Production Assistant" course at North Island College, in partnership with the North Island Film Commission and Mid-Island Metis Association.
"I'm pretty eager. I live in Victoria, B.C., and there's like 15 Hallmark [movies] filmed there a year, which is pretty good if I want to be a P.A. (production assistant)," said graduate Castor Angus.
The course spanned 12 weeks and covered everything from traffic control to food safety.
"I really discovered a lot of the behind the scenes of film, and I think it made me appreciate the end credits of movies more, knowing what each of these parts of a film crew do," said graduate Talela Manson.
North Island College and the North Island Film Commission have been working together on developing motion picture skills training for the past five years.
"There's so much interest now from the motion picture industry into diversifying our crew base," said Joan Miller, North Island Film commissioner.
"It's a big push in many industries right now, but it's really key in British Columbia right now, so there was a lot of excitement from our producers, from the unions, they're watching this program really closely," she said.
Course coordinator Aimee Chalifoux believes the employment prospects for program graduates are high.
"Oh, [the industry] is huge on Vancouver Island and B.C., and now with COVID being gone I think it's going to go pretty quick," she said.
The next Indigenous Production Assistant course at North Island College is set to begin in October.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.