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F1RST
July 17 - 19, 2026
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Sherman Alexie | Writer / Director
Sherman Alexie is a poet, novelist, essayist and filmmaker. He’s the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a novel with over 3 million copies sold,and You Don’t Have to Say You Love, a memoir. He’s the writer and co-producer of the beloved classic, Smoke Signals, and the writer and director of The Business of Fancydancing. He’s an enrolled member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and lives with his wife and sons in Seattle.
Evan Adams | Actor / Director
Physician and actor, Evan Adams is widely known for Smoke Signals, Reservation Dogs, and Bones of Crows. He currently serves with the First Nations Health Authority and the National Circle for Indigenous Medical. Evan previously co-directed the documentary Kla Ah Men: As Far Back as the Story Goes about the Tla’amin Treaty process. In Namesake, he helps guide viewers through history, memory, and present-day conversation.
Barbara Todd Hager | Director / Producer
Barbara Todd Hager (Métis/Cree) is a documentary producer, director and writer. She is the creator of six feature documentaries (Tomson Highway: Permanent Astonishment, Forbidden Music, Motown High, Leaving Beringia, Bella Coola to Berlin and Truth Dance & Reconciliation), and four television series including 1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Down2Earth, and All Our Relations II that represent more than 150 episodes. Barbara is a mentor for TELUS STORYHIVE and the Whistler Film Festival’s Indigenous Film Fellowship program. She has served on the board of directors for the Whistler Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival, DOC Canada, and the Alliance of Aboriginal Media Professionals.
Shane Belcourt | Director
Shane Belcourt is a Métis filmmaker whose debut feature film, Tkaronto (the original Kanien’kéhaka/Mohawk term for Toronto), debuted at the imagineNative festival in 2007. His work frequently addresses Indigenous themes and his director credits include multiple episodes of the TV series Urban Native Girl; the feature film Red Rover; and the documentary Kaha:wi: The Cycle of Life, featuring Mohawk performer Tekaronhiáhkhwa Santee Smith. Belcourt was a TIFF Talent Lab participant, an IFC Mentorship Award recipient, and a Filmmaker in Residence at the Winnipeg Film Group. His father, Tony Belcourt, was the founding President of the Métis Nation of Ontario.
Tanner Zurkoski | Director / Producer
A third-generation Indigenous media maker from Prince Rupert, Tanner grew up immersed in storytelling through his mother, documentary filmmaker Nitanis Desjarlais, and his kokum Cleo Reece, a founder of one of Canada’s first Indigenous film festivals. Tanner studied film at York University and went on to write, direct, and produce the award-winning comedy series The Village Green for Canal+. His Crave short film Whale, supported by the Harold Greenberg Fund, Bell Media, and Netflix through the CFC, focuses on language revitalization and cultural resurgence. Tanner continues to champion authentic Indigenous storytelling through projects like his current hybrid animated documentary on Nuu-Chah-Nulth history.
Eileen Francis | Director
Eileen Francis is the filmmaker and IT technician for the Tla’amin Nation, documenting stories for future generations. A graduate of Capilano University’s Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking program and the Powell River Digital Film School, she has worked with APTN and served as cultural consultant on Bones of Crows. Her short film tiskʷat screened at the 2024 qathet International Film Festival. Eileen’s work is guided by a lifelong commitment to carrying forward the storytelling traditions of her family’s matriarchs.
Tristin Greyeyes | Director
Tristin Greyeyes is a Two-Spirit nēhiyaw, ojibway proud mom of two. She’s a registered member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. A film curator and a visual storyteller, Tristin has produced several short films while receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Motion Picture Arts, 2021. She has very recently completed her first feature documentary, A Cree Approach, 2025. Tristin also founded, Ācimowin Film Festival; it currently stands as the only Indigenous film festival in Saskatchewan. Tristin is determined to empower Indigenous voices across Turtle Island through the art of film but especially on Treaty 6 Territory, her homelands.
Akira Lahtail | Programmer
Akira Iahtail is a film programmer from amiskwaciwâskahikan, also known as Edmonton, Alberta. On her mother’s side, she is nêhiyaw and Métis, from Bigstone Cree Nation. On her father’s side, she is Swiss-German and mushkegowuk, and a member of Attawapiskat First Nation located in Treaty 9 territory. She recently finished her Bachelor’s of Art in Indigenous Studies at Simon Fraser Univeristy, where she began her Indigenous film programming journey with the Skoden Indigenous Film Festival and the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Now, she is a curator at The Cinematheque for ‘Our Stories to Tell’, a monthly series dedicated to the new wave of Indigenous storytelling, prioritizing visual sovereignty in cinema.
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