Amanda Strong is a

Michif Michif (also Mitchif, Mechif, Michif-Cree, Métif, Métchif, French Cree) is one of the languages of the Métis people of Canada and the United States, who are the descendants of First Nations (mainly Cree, Nakota, and Ojibwe) and fur trade work ...

Indigenous filmmaker, media artist and stop-motion director based out of the unceded

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...

territory in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. She has exhibited work and her films have been screened at festivals worldwide, including

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

, and the

Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...

Film career

Strong's films tell Indigenous stories through a style she calls "hybrid documentary" as she combines stop-motion animation with new media technology. Strong's style merges genres such as documentary, animation and more traditional narrative driven storytelling. Her background is in photography, illustration, and media. She often works collaboratively, such as in her films ''Indigo'' and ''Mia.'' The themes of reclamation of Indigenous histories, lineages, languages and cultures often appear in her works. Strong is the founder of Spotted Fawn Productions, a production studio that provides mentorship and training opportunities for emerging and diverse artists. Strong engages with communities by curating, facilitating, programming, and teaching youth across Canada.

Personal life and education

She is from Vancouver, British Columbia, but grew up in Mississauga,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and has lived in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Strong studied illustration, media, and photography at Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. At its 2021 census population of 213,759, it is Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of the ...

Awards and grants

Strong has received grants from the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

and the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

. In 2009, Strong was the recipient of the ImagineNATIVE/LIFT mentorship. In 2013, Strong was awarded the K.M. Hunter Artist Award for Film and Video. In 2015, she was awarded the Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award for Emerging Media Artist. In 2016, she was selected by

Alanis Obomsawin Alanis Obomsawin, (born August 31, 1932) is an Abenaki American Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films. Born in New Hampshire, United States and raised primarily in Quebec, Canada, she has wri ...

to receive $50,000 in services from

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

as part of Obomsawin's

Clyde Gilmour Clyde Gilmour, (8 June 1912 in Calgary – 7 November 1997 in Toronto) was a Canadian broadcaster and print journalist, mostly known for his half-century career with CBC Radio. Early life and education Gilmour was raised in Medicine Hat, ...

Technicolor Award at the 2016 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards. The film ''Mia'' that Strong co-directed with Bracken Hanuse Corlett won the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Aboriginal at the 2016

Yorkton Film Festival Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

. In 2018, she was awarded best script as well as Special Mention for her short film '' Biidaaban'' at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Biidaaban is also a nominee for best animated short in the 2019

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

Filmography

References

External links

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Amanda Strong on Vimeo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Amanda Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Canadian women activists Canadian people of Métis descent Canadian people of Cree descent Canadian people of French descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian animated film directors Canadian animated film producers Canadian women film directors Canadian women film producers Canadian women animators Métis filmmakers Sheridan College alumni Stop motion animators Artists from Vancouver Film directors from Vancouver Year of birth missing (living people)