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Crave – HBO – Starz – Oxygen – USA Network
Principal Photography Begins on the Crave Original Series, LITTLE BIRD
– The series’ creative team features Jennifer Podemski, Hannah Moscovitch,
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Zoe Hopkins, and Jeremy Podeswa –
– Key cast members include Darla Contois, Ellyn Jade, Joshua Odjick,
Michelle Thrush, and Eric Schweig –
– Six, hour-long episodes are filming in and around Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 territory and the traditional territory of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene, and Métis people –
– Production begins with a newly developed training program that aims to build capacity and sustainability in the Indigenous screen sector –
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Zoe Hopkins, and Jeremy Podeswa –
– Key cast members include Darla Contois, Ellyn Jade, Joshua Odjick,
Michelle Thrush, and Eric Schweig –
– Six, hour-long episodes are filming in and around Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 territory and the traditional territory of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene, and Métis people –
– Production begins with a newly developed training program that aims to build capacity and sustainability in the Indigenous screen sector –
(TORONTO) April 18, 2022 – Crave announced today, in association with Rezolution Pictures, APTN, and OP Little Bird, that production is underway on the Crave Original drama series, LITTLE BIRD. Created by showrunner Jennifer Podemski (UNSETTLED) and head writer Hannah Moscovitch (X COMPANY), the six-part, one-hour limited series follows an Indigenous woman on a journey to find her birth family, and uncover the hidden truth of her past. The series will be available to audiences in English and French, and Fremantle will handle international distribution.
The character-driven drama features an extraordinary cast of Indigenous actors, led by newcomer Darla Contois (Dhaliwal ’15) along with: Ellyn Jade (LETTERKENNY); Osawa Muskwa (World Ends at Camp Z); Joshua Odjick (The Swarm); Imajyn Cardinal (TRIBAL); Braeden Clarke (OUTLANDER); Eric Schweig (BLACKSTONE); and Michelle Thrush (Bones of Crows).
Award-winning filmmakers Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open) and Zoe Hopkins (Run Woman Run) each direct three episodes, while Hopkins writes three of the episodes.
“I’m very proud to be working alongside visionaries like Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Zoe Hopkins, and a creative partner like Hannah Moscovitch, whose allyship is brilliant and remarkable,” said creator and showrunner Jennifer Podemski. “I’m also incredibly honoured to tell this story with an outstanding group of actors. We all take the responsibility very seriously, and acknowledge that the power and triumph of this project lies in the reclamation of Indigenous narratives and perspectives.”
“APTN is proud to present LITTLE BIRD, a compelling series that explores the far-reaching impact of the child welfare system on Indigenous families,” says Adam Garnet Jones, APTN’s director of TV content and special events. “The story is told by some of the brightest talents in Indigenous storytelling and provides audiences with the opportunity to reflect and have meaningful conversations about reconciliation.”
“Crave is committed to telling compelling stories that resonate with all Canadians, and LITTLE BIRD is a powerful story that must be told,” said Justin Stockman, Vice President, Content Development and Programming, Bell Media. “We are honoured to collaborate with our partners at Rezolution, APTN, and OP Little Bird to share LITTLE BIRD with Crave audiences.”
LITTLE BIRD explores themes of resilience in the face of trauma and loss. Removed from her home in Long Pine Reserve in Saskatchewan, Bezhig Little Bird is adopted into a Montréal Jewish family at the age of five, becoming Esther Rosenblum (Contois). Now in her 20s, Bezhig longs for the family she lost and is willing to sacrifice everything to find them. Her quest lands her in the Canadian prairies, worlds apart from everything she knows. As she begins to track down her siblings, she unravels the mystery behind her adoption, and discovers that her apprehension was connected to a racist government policy now known as the Sixties Scoop. Bezhig’s sense of identity shatters and she is forced to reckon with who she is and who she wants to become.
Click here for photography.
The production of LITTLE BIRD features a training program that includes opportunities for emerging and mid-career level Indigenous creators and crew as well as for entry-level individuals to gain practical on-set experience leading to subsequent employment in the industry. Built with the understanding that training, skill building, and professional development are integral to building capacity and sustainability in the Indigenous screen sector, the program, is made possible via partnerships with the Indigenous Screen Office, Bell Media, REEL Canada, DGC, DGC Manitoba, and IATSE 856.
LITTLE BIRD is a co-production from Bell Media’s Crave and APTN, produced by Rezolution Pictures and OP Little Bird with the participation of the Canada Media Fund (CMF), the Bell Fund, and Manitoba Film and Music. Fremantle International is the distributor for the series. Led by an Indigenous creative team, LITTLE BIRD is developed by showrunner Jennifer Podemski and Rezolution Pictures, and created by Podemski and head writer Hannah Moscovitch. The series is executive produced by Christina Fon, Ernest Webb, Catherine Bainbridge, Linda Ludwick (Rezolution Pictures), Kim Todd, Nicholas Hirst (Original Pictures), Jeremy Podeswa, Jennifer Podemski, and Hannah Moscovitch, along with Christian Vesper and Dante Di Loreto (Fremantle). Producers are Tanya Brunel and Jessica Dunn (OP Little Bird), Claire MacKinnon and Philippe Chabot (Rezolution Pictures) and Lori Lozinski and Ellen Rutter.
For Bell Media: Rachel Goldstein-Couto is Head of Development; Alison Korogyi is Development Executive; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production, Original Programming; Mitch Geddes is Production Executive. Carlyn Klebuc is General Manager, Original Programming; Pat DiVittorio is Vice-President, CTV and Specialty Programming; Justin Stockman is Vice-President, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media; and Karine Moses is Senior Vice-President, Content Development & News, Bell Media and Vice Chair, Québec, Bell.
APTN’s Adam Garnet Jones and Sylvain Lévesque are production executives for LITTLE BIRD.
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About Crave
Delivering more Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning programming than any other service, Crave is Canada’s prestige entertainment offering, with HBO, HBO Max Originals, SHOWTIME®, STARZ, Hollywood-hit movies, is the exclusive Canadian streaming home of FRIENDS, and boasts a robust slate of English and French original series. Crave is a major supporter of Canada’s production industry, helping to fund numerous film projects, and features acclaimed selections from some of Canada’s prestigious film festivals including Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, HOT DOCS, ImagineNATIVE, and Inside Out LGBT Film Festival.
Crave is a bilingual TV and streaming service with thousands of hours of exclusive French-language content. Crave is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet at Crave.ca, via iOS and Android, and other platforms such as Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, select LG Smart TVs, PlayStation, Roku, select Samsung Smart TVs, and Xbox One. It’s also available through participating service providers across ten, 24-hour High Definition linear and on demand channels. Crave is from Bell Media, Canada’s leading content company, providing Canada’s most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming on network, specialty, pay and digital platforms. Visit our website at Crave.ca.
About Bell Media Original Productions
Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada’s most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit series commissioned by CTV include #1 Canadian drama TRANSPLANT; record-breaking Canadian format THE AMAZING RACE CANADA; comedy series CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING from the producers of LETTERKENNY, and JANN. Among the original series on Bell Media specialty and streaming platforms are CTV Life Channel’s culinary series MARY MAKES IT EASY with Mary Berg; CTV Comedy Channel’s ROAST BATTLE CANADA, and the upcoming comedy series ACTING GOOD; as well as CTV Drama Channel’s upcoming scripted series SULLIVAN’S CROSSING. Crave Originals include hit series LETTERKENNY and its upcoming official spinoff series SHORESY, CANADA’S DRAG RACE, and WAY OVER ME (SORTEZ-MOI DE MOI); docuseries DARK SIDE OF THE RING; and acclaimed documentaries FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK and A.RTIFICIAL I.MMORTALITY. Discovery is home to Bell Media’s hit factual series and franchises HIGHWAY THRU HELL, HEAVY RESCUE: 401, and MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS, in addition to MAKE IT TO THE MOON, and others. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company. Learn more at www.BellMedia.ca.
About APTN
APTN launched in 1999 as the first national Indigenous broadcaster in the world. Since then, the network has become a global leader in programming that celebrates the rich diversity of Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island and beyond. A respected non-profit and charitable broadcaster, APTN shares authentic stories in English, French and a variety of Indigenous languages with over 10 million Canadian households. APTN proudly features over 80% Canadian content and inspires audiences via multiple platforms, including its Indigenous-focused streaming service, APTN lumi.
About Rezolution Pictures
Rezolution Pictures is an award-winning production company that’s changing the narrative when it comes to diversity and representation in the entertainment landscape. They have established original Indigenous content within mainstream media and sold programming around the world in major markets to broadcasters including GEM, APTN, Superchannel, OMNI, TVO, CBC, RDI, ARTV, Télé-Québec, FNX, Vision Maker and internationally with PBS, Peacock +, ARTE.
The Emmy-nominated Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World has won awards at Sundance, Hot Docs and the CSAs and the Gemini- and Peabody-winning Reel Injun has been inducted into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Museum.
About OP Little Bird
OP Little Bird, is a Winnipeg-based company, majority-owned by Manitoba independent producer Tanya Brunel, a Red River Métis. The other shareholders are Original Pictures Manitoba, a company controlled by producer Jessica Dunn and Original Pictures Inc. a boutique production company with offices in Winnipeg, Toronto and Calgary, founded by its president Emmy-award winner Kim Todd (The Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World, Falcon Beach).
About Fremantle
Fremantle is one of the world’s largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of Entertainment, Drama & Film and Documentaries.\
Operating in 26 territories we are a proudly independent group of content creators. We produce and deliver high-quality multi-genre IP including some of the biggest entertainment formats, most watched international dramas, award winning films and hard-hitting documentaries, amplifying local stories on a global scale.
From Too Hot To Handle to The Mosquito Coast, Game of Talents to The Hand of God, Farmer Wants A Wife to ‘Got Talent’, Family Feud to My Brilliant Friend and The Investigation to Arctic Drift, our focus is simple – we create and deliver irresistible entertainment.
We are also a world leader in digital and branded entertainment with more than 480 million fans across 1,600 social channels and over 40 billion views per year across all platforms.
Fremantle is part of RTL Group, a global leader across broadcast, content and digital, itself a division of the international media giant Bertelsmann.
For more information, please visit Fremantle.com, follow us @FremantleHQ or visit our LinkedIn and Facebook pages.
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