BOARD OF DIRECTORS
KIM O’BOMSAWIN
President, film director & executive producer
Kim O’Bomsawin completed a Master’s degree in sociology before embarking on her documentary filmmaking career. From the Abenaki Nation, informing the public on First Peoples issues motivates her approach.
In 2018, she wrote and directed feature documentary Quiet Killing about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which won the Donald Brittain Award for Best Political and Social Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.
For Terre Innue, Kim directed the documentary Teweikan Revived, which shows three musicians going back to their land and first inspirations (the film won a 2019 Gemini Award), as well as the feature length documentary Call Me Human (2020) which won 4 prizes at the 2021 Prix Gémeaux.
Since 2018, she has worked as a content producer and director for the development of the transmedia project Telling Our Story (Terre Innue), whose objective is to offer a decolonized vision of the History of the 11 First Peoples of Quebec.
Kim also gives lectures in schools and institutions on the issues that affect First Peoples. She is the president of Terre Innue and Productions Innu Assi.
FLORENT VOLLANT
Vice-president & executive producer
Innu author, composer and performer, Florent Vollant was born in Labrador and grew up in Maliotenam, an Innu community near Sept-Îles on the North Shore. He is the co-founder of the legendary group Kashtin with Claude McKenzie (winners of four Félix Awards) and co-founder of festival Innu Nikamu.
A testimony to his tireless commitment to youth, Florent set up Makusham Studio, a professional studio and a training centre for young Indigenous musicians. He has released five solo albums since 1999, including the most recent, Mishta Meshkenu (2018). Florent joined Terre Innue in 2018 after the tragic death of his brother Reginald Vollant, co-founder of the company. Since then, he has been an active board member and executive producer on Terre Innue’s projects.
Through his creativity, his determination, and his commitment, Florent Vollant has been repeatedly praised and awarded for his work, and has asserted himself as a true artisan of hope and reconciliation..
ALEXANDRE BACON
Vice-president, treasurer & executive producer
Alexandre Bacon, from Mashteuiatsh, has been involved in multiple fields throughout his career. He has worked on building spaces for Indigenous people in academia, as well as contribute to the development of self-government for First Peoples. Alexandre is the founder of Cercle Kisis, dedicated to promoting indigenous cultures and bringing nations together. Often involved in community organisations, he acts as administrator for several NPOs serving First Nations and Inuit. A recognized communicator, he regularly gives training and conferences on the social, historical and cultural realities of Indigenous peoples.
In 2019, Alexandre co-wrote the television series Telling Our Story (currently in production for Radio-Canada/CBC) about the story of the First Peoples of Quebec (and Labrador), from the point of view of the First Peoples. He is currently developing his first fiction feature film.
Alexandre has been on the board of Terre Innue and Productions Innu Assi since October 2019. He is one of the executive producers of the documentary feature film Call Me Human (2020), as well as several projects in development within the company.
MÉLANIE O’BOMSAWIN
Administrator
First and foremost a mother, Mélanie O'Bomsawin is also an editor, a new media artist, a tinkerer, a geek and a videographer. She works with video in all its forms. Through installations, screenings and documentaries, she explores her connections with those who were there before her and those who will follow. The questions around identity, memory and transmission of knowledge are central to her practice. Mélanie is a member of the Abenaki community of Odanak, and currently lives in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyaang/Montreal. She creates for past and future generations. Mélanie joined Terre Innue’s board of directors in April 2022.
TEAM
MÉLANIE LAMOTHE
General Manager
Mélanie Lamothe has 25 years of experience as a producer, in both fiction and documentary. Producer and executive producer of several landmark series such as 19-2, Toute la vérité, Rumeurs and Les hauts et les bas by Sophie Paquin, Mélanie also held the role of general manager at Sphère Média plus for 13 years, where she participated in the company's spectacular growth to become one of Canada's leading production companies.
In 2013, she founded her own production company, Mistral média. During this period, she produced youth fiction series as well as documentaries and web series. In 2017, Mélanie joined the KOTV team as Producer and Head of Fiction Development, a position she held for 3 years.
In 2020, she joined Terre Innue, an indigenous production company, first as a consultant, then as general manager. She supports the producers in their role, as well as managing the company in terms of operations, finance and human resources. She also plays an active role in project development and in setting the vision and strategy for this fast-growing company.
AUDREY-LISE ROCK-HERVIEUX
Coordinator and assistant director
Audrey-Lise Rock-Hervieux, Maman Autochtone blogger, is an Innu mother of 2 from the Pessamit Indigenous community. She worked in education for 6 years before completely reorienting her career. She now focuses on the issues and realities of Indigenous peoples.
On her blog, she shares her writings, her thoughts, her past, her experiences, her vision, her questions and more. Her blog is rich with reflections, filled with humility, love, hope and courage. She is currently a student in Indigenous Governance and working towards her Bachelor of Arts degree. She is also an ambassador and employee of Dr. Stanley Vollant's Puamun Meshkenu organization. Audrey-Lise regularly works in the field for Terre Innue in the roles of researcher, production coordinator, assistant director and even caterer on our shoots.
FRÉDÉRIQUE ALAIN
Assistant General Manager
Producer
Frédérique Alain is a young audiovisual production professional distinguished by her social commitment and unfailing sense of wonder. A 2019 graduate of UQAM's Cultural and Media Production Strategies program, Frédérique worked for 2 years as a fundraising officer for Wapikoni mobile, where she developed extensive knowledge of the Indigenous funding landscape in Canada.
She also collaborated with Lauretta Productions, as production coordinator for a feature-length documentary and an experimental short, and with the Pas de Panique theater company, as a communications and project coordination consultant. She also produces short fiction films independently. In 2020, she co-founded Productions Disamare, which specializes in music videos and short films. One of her projects, Mona Lise (Calamine, Audrey Nantel), placed second at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma 2021 Music Video Tournament.
Since May 2021, Frédérique has joined the ranks of the Terre Innue team, first as production coordinator on the Dans un territoire près de chez vous series, then as production director on the same project. She is now a producer and the assistant general manager.
FRANCINE ALLAIRE
Executive Producer
Francine Allaire has worked in television, film, digital media and culture for four decades. At Radio-Canada from 2007 to 2018, she was in turn Senior Director of Dramatic Series, Feature Films, Fiction and Documentaries, Culture, Variety and Society, and Cultural Strategy.
In 2018, at the request of the late Réginald Vollant, she became involved in the multi-platform project Laissez-nous raconter/Telling our Story. She is the executive producer and producer of its various offshoots, including: - the podcast series Laissez-nous raconter l'histoire crochie hosted by Marie-Andrée Gill, directed by Brad Gros-Louis and Karine Lanoie-Brien, and Telling Our Twisted Histories hosted by Kaniehtiio Horn, directed by Ossie Michelin, which have won numerous awards and nominations at home and abroad. -The exposition of this podcast’s universe at the McCord museum - A fulldome immersive experience for Montreal's Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, currently in production, entitled Laissez-nous raconter notre lien au territoire, aux rêves et aux astres.
Recipient of numerous Gémeaux, Jutra and Gemini awards, Francine Allaire was executive producer and producer at Galafilm and Motion International (aka Coscient and SDA), where she directed several international co-productions and numerous fiction and documentary films and series in French and English.
DOLORÈS ANDRÉ
Project Manager
An Innu member of the Matimekush-Lac John community in northern Quebec, Dolorès has over 27 years of experience in implementing community development projects for Indigenous people in Montreal and for the Innu nation. She has sat on various working committees for the Indigenous cause, and was an active founding member of the NETWORK of Urban Strategy for the Indigenous Community in Montreal and of the UAPASHKUSS organization, whose mission is to identify, promote and gain recognition for Innu sacred sites and the transmission of Innu knowledge. Dolorès works with Productions Innu Assi as project manager for the Josephine Bacon Fund and collaborates on other Terre Innue film projects, such as documentaries on the Magpie River and the Nitassinan.
VANESSA LOUBINEAU
Vanessa Loubineau has worked on numerous productions of all kinds for companies such as Galafilm, Virage, Spectra and Pixcom. Among other things, she has overseen the legal and administrative production of several one-off documentaries and documentary series from low to high budget for broadcasters such as Discovery, History, CBC, SRC, Canal D, TV5, Arte, ZDF and many others.
Since 2014, she has been working on her own behalf for producers and artisans in the TV and film industry, with a particular focus on documentaries.
ANDRÉE-ANNE FRENETTE
Producer
Andrée-Anne has been a producer at Terre Innue since 2015. She held the position of interim general manager of the company in 2020. With degrees in film and journalism, the projects she pursues raise awareness of Indigenous issues from an Indigenous perspective. In addition to the feature documentary Je m'appelle humain (2020 - Radio-Canada / ARTV, Best Canadian Documentary at VIFF & CIFF, 4 wins at Prix Gémeaux 2021), she has produced two other successful documentaries and the TV series Dans un territoire près de chez vous. She is currently developing two documentaries and a feature film.
In addition to her work as a producer, Andrée-Anne launched Tipatshimun, a podcast workshop for emerging Indigenous artists, and co-founded the Josephine Bacon Fund, which helps young Innu adults reconnect with their culture by traveling the nutshimit with elders.
ELODIE POLLET
Producer
Beginning her career in the post-production industry, Elodie Pollet has been involved in the production of various cinematographic forms, from auteur films to animated features and one-off documentaries, alongside directors such as Sergey Loznitsa, Benedikt Erlingsson, Jean-Jacques Beineix, Mark Osborne, Radu Mihaileanu, Jacques Audiard and others.
Today, after two years shooting European co-productions such as A Woman at War and Une Femme douce, she joins Terre Innue to devote herself entirely to the exploration and production of singular cinematographic works, as well as to the emancipation of young Indigenous creators.
COLLABORATORS
JOSÉPHINE BACON
Joséphine Bacon is an Innu poet and filmmaker from Pessamit, born in 1947. A director and lyricist, she is considered one of Quebec's leading authors. She has worked as a translator-interpreter with elders, the holders of traditional knowledge, and has wisely learned to listen to their words.
Her books include Bâtons à message/Tshissinuashitakana (2009), Nous sommes tous des sauvages (2011) and, in 2013, Un thé dans la toundra/Nipishapui nete mushuat. Her most recent collection is called Uiesh/ Quelque part(2018). Joséphine's film credits include Tshishe Mishtikuashisht - Le petit grand européen (Johan Beetz, 1997) and Ameshkuatan - Les sorties du castor (1978). Joséphine Bacon also participated in the thirteen programs of the television series Mupu (2002), the series Carcajou Mikun, Finding our talk, with Mushkeg Nutaq Productions, and Innu-Assi - with Manitu Productions.
SAIGE MUKASH
Saige Mukash, whose artist name is Nalakwsis, is a non-binary artist from the Cree and Abenaki nations. Grandchild of former Cree Nation Grand Chief Matthew Mukash, Nalakwsis lives in Whapmagoostui, a Cree community on Hudson Bay of around 900 souls.
Nalakwsis expresses themself as much through photography, comics and illustration as through traditional crafts. Their family is responsible for the spiritual ceremonies in Whapmagoostui, and their drawings often convey a supernatural force, a parallel world we share. The art created by Nalakwsis is resolutely rooted in the land, in its northern character, and is imbued with its culture, dreams and Cree legends.
JEAN-LUC KANAPÉ
Jean-Luc Kanapé is from Pessamit. He works full-time in land conservation, while offering educational stays to young people in his community. He is also a singer (formerly with the group Petapan) and actor, notably in the feature film Nouveau-Québec (Sarah Fortin, 2021). His unique way of being and telling stories will take us on a journey down the Manikuakanishtuk River, as well as deep into the hearts of the people and elders he meets, as he co-writes, directs and hosts a podcast being produced by Productions Innu Assi, a sister company of Terre Innue. Jean-Luc Kanapé is increasingly present in the media, and his positive influence continues to grow in Indigenous communities, particularly when it comes to the environment and land preservation.
MATHIEU MCKENZIE
Director, Productions Innu Assi
Mathieu Mckenzie is from the Innu community of Uashatmak Mani-Utenam. He has been co-owner of Studio Makusham with Florent Vollant since 1997. He has directed the studio's operations since its creation. He has developed the studio's various fields of expertise, including event management.
He has been a founding member of the Maten Group since 1998. He has a vast background in the music industry. He has developed an extensive network of contacts throughout Quebec's Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
With his partners Florent Vollant, Kim Fontaine and Nelly Jourdain, he launched Makusham Musique Inc. in 2021, where he works as director of public relations and show agent as well as artist manager. He is a board member of the non-profit organization Productions Innu Assi.
MARIE-ANDRÉE GILL
Marie-Andrée Gill is an author, poet, screenwriter and host of decolonizing podcasts ( Laisser nous raconter : l'histoire crochie, Les mots de Joséphine ) from the Pekuakamiulnuatsh community. She also holds a master's degree in literature from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Her work and artistic posture earned her the title of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Artist of the Year in 2020.
She has published three collections with éditions La Peuplade and in numerous collectives. Her writing explores the intimate, the relationship with the elements and everyday life as healing, as well as the compassionate connection between nations. She is also the initiator of artist residencies working towards decolonization on the tundra and in a former presbytery.
BRAD GROS-LOUIS
Brad Gros-Louis, born in Wendake, is an animator, actor and director working mainly on projects related to the Indigenous cause. His film and television credits include Y'est où le paradis (2017) and Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2 (2017), as well as the series Pour Sarah and L'heure bleue. For four seasons, he hosted the youth series Méchant Trip (APTN). His video production company, Productions BGL, has some 250 projects to its credit, including 30 music videos.
With Terre Innue, Brad collaborated as director on the podcast Laissez-nous raconter: L'Histoire crochie (winner of best francophone podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2020), for which he travels to 25 Indigenous communities and collects nearly 100 hours of testimonials. He also co-hosts and directs two episodes of the documentary series Dans un territoire près de chez vous, broadcast on Unis TV and APTN in 2022.
OLIVIA IKEY
Olivia Ikey is an Inuk from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. She currently lives and studies in Montreal. Olivia has been an advocate for Inuit interests for over 10 years, and has recently turned her attention to the arts. As a new arts student, Olivia is studying filmmaking, journalism and digital media at John Abbott College in Montreal. She wishes to become an author and has written and performed trilingual spoken word pieces, also winning a writing competition for her poems entitled "Nuna Poems". Olivia is mentored by Kim O'Bomsawin.
Olivia has worked as a coordinator for Carrefour Jeunesse-Emploi (CJE) Nunavik and for the Nunavik Sivunitsavut Post-Secondary Program. She was vice-president of the Qarjuit Regional Youth Council, youth representative on the Makiviks Task Force on Self-Determination and board member of the Southern Quebec Inuit Association.
QUENTIN CONDO
Quentin Condo, also known as Q052, is first and foremost a father of six. As a community leader, grassroots warrior and musician, he works towards the same goal: a better future for the next generation. Quentin served two terms as Chief Councillor of Gesgapegiag before deciding to leave politics and concentrate on music.
The music of Q052 (for Quentin and his community's official ID number) combines jazz, soul and R&B vibes with old-school hip-hop songs that dare to face the truth, loud and clear like a punch in the face. His lyrics challenge the many layers of Canadian genocide. A strong advocate for Indigenous youth and women, fighting alongside his brothers and sisters, Quentin began writing in the hope that his truthful music would inspire systemic change.
Quentin is also a member of the Council of Elders of the UNESCO Chair, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Musée de la civilisation de Québec and collaborates with various media.
WIDIA LARIVIÈRE
Widia Larivière was born of an Anishinabekwe mother, a member of the Timiskaming First Nation, and a Québécois father. She has worked for many years to defend the rights of Indigenous peoples and build bridges between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. She is the co-founder and executive director of Mikana, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of the realities of Indigenous peoples. A filmmaker and author in her spare time, she has co-directed two short documentaries with Wapikoni Mobile and contributed to several books. She collaborates on various film projects and podcasts featuring the voices of First Peoples.
Previously, she worked for Femmes Autochtones du Québec and the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. She also co-initiated the Quebec branch of the Idle No More movement in 2012. Her commitment has earned her a number of awards and distinctions, including a co-recipient of the Hommage award for the 40th anniversary of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (2015) and Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience award (2017). Her greatest pride is her daughter Maélie.
KARINE LANOIE-BRIEN
Karine Lanoie-Brien is a multidisciplinary artist who has been working in the fields of visual arts and communication since 1998: installations, exhibitions, performances, shows, television programs and podcasts. Writer, designer and director, her projects focus on the relationship between humans and their natural and cultural environment.
For Terre Innue, she conceived the podcast series Laissez-nous raconter: L'Histoire crochie, which she co-directed with Brad Gros-Louis. Also as part of the transmedia project Laissez-nous raconter, Karine scripted her first immersive film Full Dôme with Innu poet Marie-Andrée Gill. Karine regularly advises new talent on Terre Innue projects.
Among her most notable works: expo67 live, an immersive experience on giant screens, created entirely from archives, presented during the celebrations of Montreal's 375th anniversary in 2017; 33 petites histoires sur Montréal et sur nous, a narrative based on archival photos and films, the transformation of Montreal's identity and its Montrealers during the Quiet Revolution. deployed over the four floors, 33 rooms, of the Uville Hotel located in Montreal's Old Port.
More recently, as part of Montréal en Lumière, Karine conceived and produced a film installation that unfolds simultaneously on the façades of UQAM's Wilder and Président Kennedy buildings. This two-screen film, based exclusively on NFB archives, recounts our love of skating and winter in Montreal between 1908 and 1964.
SÉBASTIEN AUBIN
With a Bachelor of Arts from the Université du Québec en Outaouais, Sébastien Aubin worked for some of Canada's most prestigious graphic design studios before embarking on a freelance career.
He has designed publications for numerous artists, organizations and art galleries. He is a founding member of the ITWÉ collective, dedicated to research, creation, production and education in the field of Indigenous digital culture. He is also a member of the AM collective, which creates imaginative works that provoke dialogue on themes linked to everyday life and the emotions that inhabit it. He lives in Montreal and is a proud member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba.
ERUOMA AWASHISH
Eruoma Awashish is an interdisciplinary artist interested in many medias, including painting, installation, video, sound art, silkscreen, digital art and traditional dance. She holds a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary arts from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and is currently completing a master's degree in art, research and creation. Her artistic approach aims to create spaces for dialogue, thereby facilitating understanding of First Nations cultures. The decolonization of the Sacred is at the heart of her research. Among other things, she participated in the 4th edition of the Biennale d'art contemporain autochtone (BACA) in 2018.
She was born to a Québécoise mother and an Atikamekw nehirowisiw father. Her origins enable her to better grasp the differences that distinguish these two peoples, and thus create works aimed at a better understanding of the reality of the First Nations. She grew up in her home community of Opitciwan, lived in Wemotaci and now has her studio in Pekuakami (Lac-Saint-Jean), in the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh.
GENEVIÈVE ALBERT
Director and screenwriter Geneviève Albert studied cinema at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She has a parallel film career focused on fiction and a television career focused on documentary. A close collaborator of Kim O'Bomsawin, she has taken part in several documentary projects that shed light on the diverse realities of First Peoples, a key subject for Geneviève.
Her first feature-length fiction film, Noémie dit oui (2022), tells the story of a teenage girl's descent into prostitution after being rejected by her mother. The film opened the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma 2022 and won 2 awards at the Festival du film francophone d'Angoulême 2022.
KIM FONTAINE
A Musitechnic graduate, bassist and multi-instrumentalist, Kim Fontaine is well known in the Indigenous music community, where he has accompanied numerous First Nations musicians and groups on stage for over twenty years, including Florent Vollant, Maten and Zachary Richard.
Sound designer, sound engineer and manager of Studio Makusham, his sound recording and mixing work on Florent Vollant's album Puamuna earned him a nomination at the ADISQ Gala in 2016. Following his 5 years of experience as coordinator of the Festival Innu Nikamu, Kim now acts as festival director and director of radio CKAU Uashat mak Mani-Utenam.
OSSIE MICHELIN
Ossie Michelin is an award-winning Inuk journalist, filmmaker and storyteller from the North West River community. Ossie comes from a large family and a long line of storytellers. He loves to share the stories of the Indigenous world and the North, with a capital N. His photographs, documenting Indigenous resistance, have received international acclaim and have become a symbol of the strength of Indigenous women.
His work can be found in a variety of media, from film and photography to print, podcast and television news. He is involved in a number of projects at Terre Innue, including producing the English version of the award-winning podcast Telling our Twisted Histories, and researching and writing for several documentaries in development. Ossie now divides his time between Montreal and his home community in Labrador.
Réginald Vollant
IN MEMORIAM
Réginald Vollant is the co-founder of Terre Innue. He passed away on August 6, 2018.
A truly positive force, Réginald had an immense talent for bringing people together and forging links between Peoples, which he did until his last moment.
A keenly enthusiastic man with a passion for territory, language and culture, Réginald was a strong advocate for openness between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people living on the same territory. His life has been marked by active involvement in a wide range of socio-cultural and artistic activities and organizations (Director of CKAU radio station and Innu Nikamu Festival, producer at Terre Innue, and many others).
Réginald always pursued his projects at Terre Innue with an immense love of life, love of his people and his community, and set the standard for the company’s future activities.