Cherokee Nation’s Jennifer Loren Speaks At ImagineNATIVE

Cherokee Nation’s Jennifer Loren speaks at imagineNATIVE

Indigenous-made festival focuses on film, video, radio and new media

TORONTO – Jennifer Loren, Emmy-award winning filmmaker and director of the Cherokee Nation Film and Original Content, recently presented as an industry leader at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto.

The festival continues online through Oct. 30.

As the largest annual Indigenous media arts event in the world, the festival showcases film, video and audio, as well as digital and interactive media created by Indigenous artists. It presents compelling and distinctive works from around the globe, reflecting the diversity of Indigenous nations by featuring arts, perspectives and cultures in contemporary media.

“I am thrilled to be asked to participate in the phenomenal programming hosted by imagineNATIVE,” said Loren. “It is an incredible honor to partner with an organization that is recognized as the global center for Indigenous media arts and to share in its commitment to creating a greater understanding of Indigenous people and cultures by supporting the diverse work of Indigenous content creators.”

Loren, a Cherokee Nation citizen, participated as part of the festival’s Industry Days, which included panels, workshops and networking opportunities focusing on themes of pitching and access to stories, space, music and funding. Loren answered questions in the festival’s “Access to Funding” panel, where she spoke about the Cherokee Nation film incentive and other CNFO initiatives focused on helping #morenatives get access to the industry.

This year’s 23rd annual festival highlighted more than 147 works from 16 countries in over 55 Indigenous languages and will include 19 feature films, 13 thematic shorts programs, nine digital and interactive works, nine audio works, six exhibitions, five music videos, and an artist spotlight on Mohawk filmmaker and visual artist Shelley Niro.

Loren has been in the television and film industries since 2001, working as a journalist, documentarian, executive producer and on-camera host. In 2019 she began leading the Cherokee Nation’s film office and recently, she was named an Oklahoma Film ICON by deadCenter Film, as well as Woman of the Year by Tulsa YWCA and the Tulsa Mayor’s Office, as well as a Great Plains Distinguished Lecturer by Tulsa Press Club.