Sej is an ethnographic and fine art photographer who has spent the last several years documenting indigenous cultures around the world. She graduated with an MFA from the University of Southern California in 2009, and has since traveled to the deep interiors of Asia and the Americas, capturing portraits that tell stories of remote cultures.

Her photographic work has taken her to some of the most remote corners of this planet, putting her in contact with profound treasures—from the tattooed headhunters of hidden India to the medicine women of British Columbia; from the shamans of the Venezuelan Amazonas to such globally revered leaders and humanitarians as Their Holinesses the Dalai Lama and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; from the stunning landscapes of the United States to Vedic scientists and global healers; all with the broader vision of preserving our world’s cultures and lands.

D'Pharaoh, is best known for his role as Bear Smallhill in the FX on Hulu comedy-drama series Reservation Dogs.

Woon-A-Tai began his career with a recurring role as Chase Whaley in season 1 of the 2018 Family Channel series Holly Hobbie. In 2019, Woon-A-Tai played Tom Longboat in a two-episode arc of Murdoch Mysteries season 12. He made guest appearances as Lucky in Creeped Out and Mikey in Tribal. Woon-A-Tai made his feature film debut as Hank in the film Beans directed by Tracey Deer, which became an official TIFF 2020 selection and won Best Motion Picture at the Canadian Screen Awards.

In December 2020, it was announced Woon-A-Tai would star as Bear Smallhill in the 2021 FX on Hulu comedy-drama Reservation Dogs, "a slice-of-life triumph" from Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi. Set and filmed in rural Oklahoma, Reservation Dogs is a coming-of-age story that follows the antics of rebellious teenagers living on tribal land. The series' cast and crew are made up entirely of Indigenous people. The Denver Gazette described Bear as "played spectacularly by D’Pharaoh, this series' breakout star."

Chumash, is CEO at Relatives, Professional Water Protector at Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Reservation and Graphic Art Designer at Become Star Wars.

www.garifunafilmfestival.com The GIIFF was founded in 2012 with a mission to preserve the values and aspirations of all indigenous people and Garifuna cultures. Founded by Freda Sideroff an indigene of the Garifuna, the GIFF’s mission is to specifically support the preservation of all indigenous cultures in the world through art and film.

An annual event where leaders and members of the community are recognized for their contributions to the betterment and elevation of the dignity of humanity, GIIFF showcases a variety of films and documentaries created by Garifuna filmmakers as well as by many other indigenous people including feature films & short films as well as panel discussions, workshops and cultural presentations. It is equally an annual venue that reconciles, entertains and portrays the very diverse and brilliant cultures to participants of the festival.

At a time when Western civilization is struggling with global problems, the GIIFF showcases important lessons to be learned from indigenous cultures such as interconnectedness, wisdom of our elders, sustainable living and how to live in harmony with nature.

Paul is an award winning documentary filmmaker whose work has involved directing, filming and editing a variety of films on a range of issues including the trade in tiger parts, whale and dolphin trade, illegal logging and the ivory trade. His work has involved extensive travel in hazardous environments as a small crew using both open and covert filming techniques. His footage has been used in news features and for programming on BBC, Sky, CNN and a number of other major broadcasters. He has also trained activists media-based campaigning techniques in Indonesia, Papua, India and Tanzania as part of extensive UK Government funded training programs. His directing work with Handcrafted Films has produced a number of award-winning films for major development funders (UK DFID, European Forestry Institute, Ford Foundation, CLUA) and non-governmental organisations (Amnesty, WSPA, EIA, Eco Storm). He has been nominated three times for the Filmakers for Conservation, ‘Filmmaker of the year award’ and is currently Project Director for ‘If Not Us Then Who?’

Izzy is an athletic skateboarder who loves film. Izzy has been writing for about a year now and has written small stories and worked with different film crews for different projects. Izzy is an all around board sport enthusiast and athlete. Izzy is Lakota from South Dakota and Han Gwich’in from Eagle village, Alaska. Born in Anchorage but raised in many different areas such as Mongolia, and many of the states in the U.S. Izzy is still currently in school going to the Institute of American Indian Arts. Izzy’s goal in life is to help inspire native youth everything to get out and follow their dreams, especially when it comes to film.