Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers

Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers, born in 1986, is a versatile Canadian filmmaker, actor, and producer. Making her mark in the film industry in the late 2000s, she quickly captured audiences' attention and critics' praise with her engaging storytelling. Her birthplace, Cardston, Alberta, marks the beginning of her journey. Tailfeathers' initiation into acting happened at the Vancouver Film School, from where she graduated in 2006. However, her curiosity took her to the University of British Columbia, where she further expanded her knowledge with a degree in First Nations studies and a minor in women and gender studies by 2011. Not satisfied with just acting, Tailfeathers stepped into the vast world of filmmaking as a writer, director, and producer. It was during her time at the University that she began experimenting with film equipment and editing software. Among her numerous accolades, the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director, which Tailfeathers shared with Kathleen Hepburn for the movie 'The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open', stands out. This film also bagged the Toronto Film Critics Association’s $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. Tailfeathers also dedicated her career to creating social justice themed films with a focus on representations of women of colour and First Nations subjects. Her work often explores innovative storytelling mediums including narrative fiction, docudrama, documentary, mockumentary, and experimental film. Indeed, her films have sparked widespread conversations on important topics such as fracking practices (in her film 'Bloodland') and missing and murdered Indigenous women (in her film 'A Red Girl's Reasoning'). She clinched the 2019 Vancouver International Film Festival Best BC Film Award for her film 'The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open'. In 2020, Tailfeathers was honoured with the Skábmagovat Prize, a recognition of her significant contributions to the Sámi culture and communities. In 2022, at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards, she won Best Actress for Night Raiders and her documentary film 'Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy' won for Best Feature Length Documentary.