Jeff_Barnaby

Jeff Barnaby

Jeff Barnaby

Canadian Mi'kmaq filmmaker (1976–2022)

Jeff Barnaby (1976 – 13 October 2022) was a Mi'kmaq and Canadian film director, writer, composer, and film editor. He is known for his films Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life

Barnaby was born on a Mi'kmaq reserve in Listuguj, Quebec, in 1976.[1][2] He graduated from both the Dawson College and Concordia University film programs.[3]

Career

Barnaby began his career directing short films. Barnaby's short film From Cherry English won two Golden Sheaf Awards: Best Aboriginal and Best Videography in the 2004 Yorkton Film Festival.[4][5] His 2010 short film File Under Miscellaneous was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama.[6]

Rhymes for Young Ghouls marked Barnaby's feature film debut. The film premiered in the Discovery section of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. It was given an independent release in Canada by its production company, Prospector Films in 2014.[7] In July 2014, Monterey Media acquired the film for U.S. distribution.[8] For his direction Barnaby was named Best Director of a Canadian Film by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.[9]

In 2015, Barnaby was invited by the National Film Board of Canada 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).[10]

Barnaby premiered his sophomore feature Blood Quantum at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, as the opener for the festival's Midnight Madness section.[11] The film was named the second runner-up for the festival's Grolsch People's Choice Midnight Madness Award.[12] The film has been acquired for U.S. and international distribution on the Shudder streaming service, with Canadian streaming rights to be held by Crave.[13]

At the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, Barnaby was nominated for Best Original Screenplay,[14] and won the award for Best Editing, for Blood Quantum.[15]

Personal life

Barnaby was Mi'kmaq. He was married to Navajo filmmaker Sarah Del Seronde and had one son.[16] Barnaby died in Montreal after a year of battling cancer on 13 October 2022.[17][18]

Following his death, the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival and Netflix launched the Jeff Barnaby Grant, a program to support new works by emerging indigenous filmmakers.[19] He was also named as a posthumous recipient of the Board of Directors Tribute Award at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024.[20]

Filmography

References

  1. [1]
    "Blood Quantum". TIFF. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  2. [2]
    DaCosta, Jamaias (1 February 2014). "INTERVIEW WITH FILMMAKER JEFF BARNABY ON RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS". Muskrat Magazine. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. [3]
    "JEFF BARNABY". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  4. [4]
    "Canada's Golden Sheaf Award Winners 2004" (PDF). Yorkton Film Festival. Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  5. [5]
    Threlfall, John (22 September 2016). "Mi'gmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby kicks off Indigeneity & the Arts series". University of Victoria. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. [6]
    Brown, Todd. "Watch Jeff Barnaby's Award Winning FILE UNDER MISCELLANEOUS". Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  7. [7]
    "RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS OPENS ACROSS CANADA". Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  8. [8]
    Latham, Brandon (9 July 2014). "Monterey Media Picks Up Canadian Aboriginal Revenge Film 'Rhymes for Young Ghouls' for U.S. Distribution". IndieWire. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  9. [9]
    Vancouverfilm (8 January 2014). "And the Winners Are..." Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  10. [10]
    "Indigenous New Wave: NFB at the Pan Am Games". National Film Board of Canada. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  11. [11]
    Harvey, Dennis (9 September 2019). "Toronto Film Review: 'Blood Quantum'". Variety.
  12. [12]
    "Announcing the TIFF '19 Award Winners". TIFF. 15 September 2019.
  13. [13]
    Wiseman, Andreas (26 June 2019). "AMC Streamer Shudder Picks Up Zombie Thriller 'Blood Quantum' For US, UK & Australia; XYZ Strikes Int'l Pacts". Deadline.
  14. [14]
    Brent Furdyk, "Canadian Screen Awards Announces 2021 Film Nominations". ET Canada, 30 March 2021.
  15. [15]
    Naman Ramachandran, "'Schitt's Creek,' 'Blood Quantum' Triumph at Canadian Screen Awards". Variety, 21 May 2021.
  16. [16]
    DaCosta, Jamaias (February 2014). "INTERVIEW WITH FILMMAKER JEFF BARNABY ON RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS". Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  17. [17]
    "Acclaimed Mi'kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby dies at 46, representatives say". The Hamilton Spectator. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  18. [18]
    Vlessing, Etan (13 October 2022). "Jeff Barnaby, Canadian Indigenous Director of 'Rhymes for Young Ghouls', Dies at 46". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  19. [19]
    Noel Ransome, "New grant for Indigenous filmmakers launched in honour of Jeff Barnaby". Toronto Star, January 26, 2022.
  20. [20]
    Connie Thiessen, "Marilyn Denis, John Brunton among Canadian Academy ‘Special Award’ recipients". Broadcast Dialogue, March 19, 2024.
  21. [21]
    "Jeff Barnaby List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  22. [22]
    "Jeff Barnaby". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  23. [23]
    "Etlinisigu'niet (Bleed Down)". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
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