Thunderstone Pictures is looking for motivated and resilient youth who have stories to tell the world.

The Telling our Stories Project is a part-time, 14-week program designed to train and mentor four young aspiring First Nations filmmakers through the entire process of making their first short documentary. From the pen to the big-screen, this program is designed to train urban youth who wouldn’t necessarily be able to attain access to other filmmaking training programs.

It’s hands-on, real world training in writing, directing, filming and editing documentary taught by professional filmmakers. It’s also completely free to the successful applicant.

We are seeking applications from First Nations youth who are living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, between the ages of 17 and 24.

Participants will be selected based on:

- An interest in storytelling
- An interest in the filmmaking process, both technical and human
- A desire to have their voices heard
- Creativity, energy, trustworthiness, courage
- A willingness to learn
- Must be able to articulate ideas
- Must be dedicated and committed to completing the program

We recognize that for many First Nations youth there exist barriers to academic success. While we value academic achievement, this is not a factor in selecting participants. Applicants can be, but do not have to be, going to school. Unfortunately, transportation cannot be provided, so you must be able to make it to downtown Port Arthur at least twice per week.

This program is not for the weak of heart. It will be a lot of work, but it will be satisfying work. There will be no evaluation, no marks, just filmmaking. At the end of the program, we’ll screen all four films to the community on the big screen.

Download the Application Here (MS Word Format) or here (Adobe .pdf format)

Fill it out and email it back to info@thunderstonepictures.com. You can also join the Telling Our Stories facebook group here