It's about Indian time
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Ernest Webb and Neil Diamond launch native film company Rezolution Pictures
by MATTHEW HAYS
Neil Diamond says part of the reason for the birth of Rezolution Pictures stemmed from the seven-year itch. It had been that long since he and a team that included Ernest Webb launched The Nation, an award-winning news and culture magazine aimed at aboriginal readers.
"I think we got a bit bored only doing print," explains Diamond, a photographer and writer. "So we decided we wanted to do films as well."
The result is Rezolution Pictures, the freshly minted production company (they held their launch party in late November) that consists of Diamond, Webb and producer Catherine Bainbridge. The company already has a number of projects on the go, including Cree Spoken Here, their excellent documentary on the reemergence of the Cree language in native communities, as well as series like The History of Kanada (each episode will tell one of six defining moments in aboriginal history), Journey to Sovereignty (an examination of what the consequences of native sovereignty in Quebec might be) and the comedic Indian Time (described as a Michael-Moore-like take on native life).
The mandate of Rezolution Pictures is ambitious. Airing many of their finished films on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, the founders of Rez hope to jump-start production for aspiring aboriginal filmmakers.
"Better access and understanding for native filmmakers--that would definitely be one of our goals," says Diamond. "But we're going to tackle all sorts of issues, not just ones directly related to aboriginal communities."
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