Jeff Barnaby (1976 – 13 October 2022) was a Canadian film director, writer, composer, and film editor. He is known for his horror films ''

Rhymes for Young Ghouls ''Rhymes for Young Ghouls'' is a 2013 Canadian independent drama film and the feature-film debut of writer-director Jeff Barnaby. Set in 1976 on the fictional Red Crow Mi'kmaq reservation, it takes place in the context of the Canadian residenti ...

'' and ''

Blood Quantum Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in the United States that define Native American status by fractions of Native American ancestry. These laws were enacted by the federal government and state governments as a way to establ ...

''.

Early life

Barnaby was born on a Mi'kmaq reserve in Listuguj, Quebec, in 1976. He graduated from both the

Dawson College Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 acre ...

and

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

film programs.

Career

Barnaby began his career directing

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

. Barnaby's short film ''From Cherry English'' won two

Golden Sheaf Awards 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 ...

: Best Aboriginal and Best Videography in the 2004

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 ...

. His 2010 short film '' File Under Miscellaneous'' was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama. ''

'' marked Barnaby's feature film debut. The film premiered in the Discovery section of the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films were ...

. It was given an independent release in Canada by its production company, Prospector Films in 2014. In July 2014, Monterrey Media acquired the film for U.S. distribution. For his direction Barnaby was named Best Director of a Canadian Film by the

Vancouver Film Critics Circle The Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) was founded in 2000 by David Spaner and Ian Caddell, in order to help promote Canadian films and the British Columbia Film and Television Industry. Its membership includes print, radio, on-line, and telev ...

. In 2015, Barnaby was invited by 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 ...

to participate in ''Souvenir'', a collective made up of four First Nations filmmakers invited to use their archival material in order to create a short documentary. Barnaby's contribution was the short film ''Etlinisigu'niet (Bleed Down)''. Barnaby premiered his sophomore feature ''

'' at the

2019 Toronto International Film Festival The 44th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 September 2019. The opening gala was the documentary film '' Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band'', directed by Daniel Roher, and the festival closed with a ...

, as the opener for the festival's Midnight Madness section. The film was named the second runner-up for the festival's Grolsch People's Choice Midnight Madness Award. The film has been acquired for U.S. and international distribution on the

Shudder Shudder may refer to: *Shivering * ''Shudder'' (album), a 2008 album by American band Bayside *Shudder (streaming service) Shudder is an American over-the-top subscription video on demand service featuring horror, thriller and supernatural fic ...

streaming service, with Canadian streaming rights to be held by Crave. At the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held in the week of May 17 to 20, 2021, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020.Barry Hertz, "How one Canadian arts institution is rebuilding amid the p ...

in 2021, Barnaby was nominated for

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

, and won the award for Best Editing, for ''Blood Quantum''.

Personal life

Barnaby was

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

. He was married to

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

filmmaker Sarah Del Seronde and had one son. Barnaby died in Montreal after a year of battling cancer on 13 October 2022. Following his death, the

imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto in the month of October. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Abori ...

and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

launched the Jeff Barnaby Grant, a program to support new works by emerging indigenous filmmakers.

Filmography

*''From Cherry English'' (2004) *'' The Colony'' (2007) *'' File Under Miscellaneous'' (2010) *''

'' (2013) *''Etlinisigu'niet (Bleed Down)'' (2015) *''

'' (2019)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnaby, Jeff 1976 births 2022 deaths 21st-century First Nations people Artists from Quebec Canadian documentary film directors Canadian Film Centre alumni Film directors from Quebec First Nations filmmakers First Nations screenwriters Mi'kmaq people Best Editing Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male screenwriters Deaths from cancer in Quebec