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Danis Goulet

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Danis Goulet
Born1977 (age 46–47)
La Ronge, Saskatchewan
Occupation(s)Director and screenwriter
Notable workNight Raiders
FatherKeith Goulet

Danis Goulet (born 1977) is a First Nations (Cree-Métis) film director and screenwriter from Canada,[1] whose debut feature film Night Raiders premiered in 2021.[2]

Early life

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Goulet is originally from La Ronge, Saskatchewan.[3] Her non-Indigenous mother worked in the education department of First Nations University. Her Nehinuw (Cree) father, Keith, was an MLA,[4] and is a fluent Nehinuwehin (Cree) speaker who grew up living a trapping, hunting, fishing and gathering lifestyle in the Cree community of Cumberland House.[5]

After graduating high school, Goulet backpacked abroad. She returned to Regina in 1998.[4]

Career

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Goulet's first experience in the film industry was in 1998. She was assistant to the casting director for a CBC miniseries about the life of Chief Big Bear that was filming in Regina, a job she got when her mother was asked for help finding extras for the film. She worked in the film industry in Saskatchewan and Alberta for the next two years.[4]

Goulet moved to Toronto in the early 2000s to study at the Canadian Film Centre.[4] After being asked to cast a "Pocahontas type" for an American television pilot, convincing her that Indigenous people needed more creative control over their own stories,[1] Goulet began to realize the importance of Indigenous people taking key creative roles in film and changing narratives about Indigenous people. She attended a filmmaking workshop in New York, which led to her creating her first short film.[4] She has since directed a number of films, including Spin (2004),[6] Divided by Zero (2006), Wapawekka (2010),[3] Barefoot (2012),[7] Wakening (2013),[8] and Night Raiders (2021).[9]

In 2013, Goulet co-authored a report for Telefilm Canada about the lack of Indigenous feature film production in the country.[4] She served for a number of years as artistic director of the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.[10][11] She was also a consulting producer on the 2020 television series Trickster, but resigned from the show after the emergence of allegations that series creator Michelle Latimer had misrepresented her Indigenous identity.[12]

Goulet began writing Night Raiders in 2013 after her science-fiction short Wakening inspired her to experiment more with the genre. She shot the film in 2019 in Ontario.[5] Post-production was completed in New Zealand.[4] Night Raiders had the largest production budget of any Indigenous-led Canadian film. The record was previously held by Jeff Barnaby’s Blood Quantum.[13] Goulet stated that the film was inspired in large part by Indigenous resistance movements.[9]

Night Raiders, directed by Goulet, was produced by New Zealand film director Taika Waititi. It premiered at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival in March 2021,[14] though Goulet was unable to attend the premiere.[15] Night Raiders was one of the first 13 films announced for the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.[16] She was also announced as the 2021 recipient of TIFF's Emerging Talent Award.[17] The film was nominated for 11 awards at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards, tied with Scarborough for the most nominations for one film that year.[18] Goulet was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, winning Best Original Screenplay.[19] The film was also a nominee for both Best Picture and the John Dunning Best First Feature Award.[20]

In its year-end review of Canadian film and television in 2021, the trade magazine Playback named Goulet the Director of the Year.[21] Goulet directed the fourth episode of the second season of Reservation Dogs.[22]

In the same year Goulet was announced as the director of Ivy, an upcoming Netflix thriller film slated to star Brazilian actress Alice Braga.[23]

Personal life

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Goulet is married to Tony Elliott.[4] She has a son and a daughter.[24]

Awards

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Year Award Category Work Result Notes Ref(s)
2021 DGC Discovery Awards n/a Night Raiders Won [25]
2021 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Director of a Canadian Film Won [26]
Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film Nominated [27]
2021 Toronto International Film Festival TIFF Emerging Talent Award Won [28]
2021 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Rogers Best Canadian Film Award Nominated [29]
2022 Canadian Screen Awards Best Picture Nominated for Tara Woodbury, Paul Barkin, Ainsley Gardiner, Georgina Conder, Danis Goulet [30][20]
Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Won
John Dunning Best First Feature Award Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b Chris Knight, "Danis Goulet's film a first for New Zealand-Canada Indigenous co-operation". National Post, June 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Barry Hertz, "Indigenous filmmaker Danis Goulet's Night Raiders pulls from Canada's past to create a terrifying future". The Globe and Mail, March 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cam Fuller, "'Wapawekka' in festival". Regina Leader-Post, December 18, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Levy, Bryn (2021-10-07). "Indigenous storyteller Danis Goulet drives change in Canada's film industry". Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  5. ^ a b Ahearn, Victoria (2021-10-08). "'Night Raiders' filmmaker Danis Goulet explores colonization through sci-fi lens". Global News. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  6. ^ Jim Holt, "Strong Canadian films screen at Sundance, including Seducing Doctor Lewis". Canadian Press, January 18, 2004.
  7. ^ Cam Fuller, "Goulet takes Barefoot to Toronto fest; Director's film debuts at TIFF". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, September 11, 2012.
  8. ^ Cassandra Szklarski, "Canuck filmmakers prepare to hustle at Sundance and Slamdance film fests"]. Canadian Press, January 14, 2014.
  9. ^ a b Crisolago, Mike (September 17, 2021). "Danis Goulet Talks Indigenous Sci-Fi and How Resistance Movements Inspired Her First Feature Film, Night Raiders". Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Cassandra Szklarski, "Aboriginal women take centre stage at indigenous film festival". The Daily Gleaner, October 18, 2008.
  11. ^ Karpati, Joshua (2022-02-22). "An Interview with Night Raiders Director Danis Goulet — Air Canada enRoute". EnRoute (Air Canada). Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  12. ^ Barry Hertz, "Latimer resigns from CBC's Trickster after questions about Indigenous ancestry". The Globe and Mail, December 22, 2020.
  13. ^ Ward, Dennis (2021-12-07). "Danis Goulet and the re-writing 100 years of Hollywood misconceptions". APTN News. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  14. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 11, 2021). "XYZ Boards World Sales On Sci-Fi 'Night Raiders', Berlin Fest Entry Exec-Produced By Taika Waititi — EFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  15. ^ Banning, Jolene (2021-12-14). "Director of the Year: Danis Goulet". Playback. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  16. ^ Eric Kohn and Kate Erbland, "TIFF 2021: ‘Dune’ and ‘Last Night in Soho’ Among First 12 Films Confirmed for Fall Festival". IndieWire, June 23, 2021.
  17. ^ Selome Hailu, "Dionne Warwick and Danis Goulet to Receive TIFF Tribute Awards". Variety, August 26, 2021.
  18. ^ Kennedy, Jill (2022-02-15). "Cree-Métis director, Danis Goulet's film Night Raiders recognized at Canadian Screen Awards". 95.7 ELMNT FM Ottawa. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  19. ^ "Night Raiders, Scarborough emerge victorious at 5th night of Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News, April 8, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
  21. ^ "Director of the Year: Danis Goulet". Playback, December 14, 2021.
  22. ^ Simonpillai, Radheyan (2022-08-16). "Reservation Dogs is made for community by community". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  23. ^ Rebecca Rubin, "‘Queen of the South’ Actor Alice Braga to Star in Netflix Thriller ‘Ivy’". Variety, June 17, 2021.
  24. ^ Simonpillai, Radheyan (2021-03-02). "Night Raiders and the future of Indigenous storytelling". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  25. ^ Nick Krewen, "Directors Guild of Canada reveals feature, doc and short film winners". Playback, October 25, 2021.
  26. ^ Dana Gee, "The Power of the Dog named year's best feature by Vancouver Film Critics Circle". Vancouver Sun, March 8, 2022.
  27. ^ Gee, Dana (2022-02-22). "The Power of the Dog, Night Raiders lead Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards nominations". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  28. ^ Grobar, Matt (2022-08-25). "'Women Talking' Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir & 'The Swimmers' Filmmaker Sally El Hosaini Set As 2022 TIFF Tribute Award Honorees". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  29. ^ Pat Mullen, "Drive My Car Leads TFCA Award Winners". That Shelf, January 16, 2022.
  30. ^ Adina Bresge, "'Scarborough' top film winner at Canadian Screen Awards". CP24, April 10, 2022.
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