RNCI Native Indigenous Film Crew Program

Access to Creative Industry Employment (sponsored by Snap Foundation)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The issue that the RNCI Native Indigenous Film Crew Program seeks to address is that mainstream systems have long worked to silence the voices of Native Americans (who were not considered citizens of United States until 1924, and who could not vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965) and we have worked since our inception to diversify the voices represented in the media. RNCI requests support in order to realize our full capacity to serve as a vital and foundational support agency for Native and Indigenous community members to be trained and employed in the Los Angeles-area entertainment industry. RNCI needs support to train personnel with technical skills for writing, developing and producing new content for RNCI-sponsored programs (RNCI Film Festival, Red Nation Television Network, and special events). marketing and outreach targeted to our constituents, and funding to compensate artists for their time in contributing to online interviews and programming.

The RNCI Native Indigenous Film Crew program engages 50-100 Native American and Indigenous artists annually in a pathway program to learn the craft of filmmaking from behind the camera. The Program includes training, masterclasses and hands-on instruction. The RNCI Indigenous Film Crew Registry provides qualified Native and Indigenous candidates for behind the camera, below the line positions to help studios and producers who want to have more diverse and inclusive film crews for their productions. A cohesive strategic comprehensive database for the entertainment industry. We connect underrepresented Native and Indigenous crew members to hiring managers who practice inclusive outreach. “It’s our great pleasure to be partnering with RNCI. The Native Americans have been long overlooked and Crewvie is here to help the people of Red Nation be seen, found and hired! No more excuses. We are an ALL inclusive world wide productivity tool for the entertainment community which gives user accountability in their hiring practices. We look forward to growing our relationship and making a real impact for this community.” – Marcei Brown and Jeanette Volturno, Co-Founders of Crewvie

Red Nation Celebration Institute (RNCI) is the Authentic Voice for American Indian & Indigenous Nations, founded in 1995. The Creative Enterprise by Natives delivering to all people the stories that shape our world. RNCI is the longest standing Native Women-Led, Indigenous media, arts, and cultural pioneer nonprofit enterprise based in Los Angeles with offices in Santa Fe New Mexico, serving Indian Country & Entertainment Industry, representing over 570+ Native Nations and established a rich legacy of work by supporting more than 894 Native Indigenous filmmakers. As the first Native Indigenous non-profit funded by the City of Los Angeles, Red Nation Celebration Institute will continue to infuse a diversity of Native cultures into the fabric of Los Angeles County arts and entertainment offerings and opportunities. Our vision of a successful Program will include the gainful employment of 50-100 trained professionals within the Los Angeles entertainment industry.

RNCI defines and assesses the impact of our arts programming on the communities we serve by the following methods: 1)pre and post-surveys embedded online in digital formats for program participants to engage with, 2)measurement of levels of participation in all RNCI programs,3) anecdotal feedback from participants on employment, 4)online tracking of website engagement and 5)online tracking of streaming content downloads. Results will be quantified and assessed in order to inform the development of future RNCI films, educational programs and events. As an example of our evaluation methods, the RNCI Indigenous Film Crew Program participants will be monitored, and evaluated based on their levels of participation, pre and post-surveys, assessments, and analysis of script writing projects, films and mentor training, professional engagement and employment. These methods are applied to all RNCI programs and evaluation results are used to inform and revise all future programming.