{"id":233214,"date":"2019-10-02T01:47:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T05:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=233214"},"modified":"2019-10-02T01:47:50","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T05:47:50","slug":"indigenous-filmmakers-for-any-run-ad-project-earns-praise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/10\/02\/indigenous-filmmakers-for-any-run-ad-project-earns-praise\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous filmmaker&#8217;s &#8216;For Any Run&#8217; ad project earns praise"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B1Wz5arBpVH\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"12\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B1Wz5arBpVH\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\"> View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B1Wz5arBpVH\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_blank\">Huge Congratulations to 2019 CDDP-Commercial Directors Diversity Program-Directing Fellow Christopher Cegielski @nataanii_cegielski for an incredible 2 days of production for his ambitious and extremely unique and funny &#39;New Balance&#39; commercial spec shoot! Christopher&#39;s spec was filled with sheep, parkour, an absolutely gorgeous desert location and more. He had a very clear and precise vision which he directed into fruition with patience and clarity.  Huge shout out to his dedicated cast and crew who braved heat, snakes (we saw a couple), rock climbing and more. A very special thanks to his mentoring production company &#34;Reverie&#34; @reverie.content who were extraordinary with their support and guidance and there for Christopher 100% at every step of the way. Shout out to everyone at Saatchi &amp; Saatchi @we.are.saatchi for their creative guidance. We would also like to thank our dedicated camera sponsor Keslow Camera @keslowcamera , Quixote @quixotestudios , J.L. Fisher @jlfisher_inc , Eleven Sound @eleven_sound , Cosmo Street @cosmostreeteditorial , Filmmakers Alliance @filmmakersalliance , Final Draft @finaldraftscreenwriting , AICP @theaicp , the DGA @directorsguildofamerica and all of our other incredible partners, vendors and supporters. We really couldn&#39;t do this without you and are so grateful for your continued support. Your commitment to Diversity &amp; Inclusion and the CDDP is so important and we thank you for it. We look forward to sharing this fantastic and funny spot with all of you.  Awesome job Christopher- Kudos!<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A post shared by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cddprogram\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;\" target=\"_blank\"> CDDP<\/a> (@cddprogram) on <time style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\" datetime=\"2019-08-19T18:56:55+00:00\">Aug 19, 2019 at 11:56am PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>PHOENIX \u2014 A spec is a \u201cmade-up\u201d commercial that filmmakers use to showcase their talent and potential. That is exactly what Dine filmmaker Christopher Nataanii Cegielski did when he created his New Balance spec called \u201cFor Any Run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The video is a product of the Commercial Directors Diversity Program, an organization that provides guidance, exposure and tools for minority directors who hope to work in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>Cegielski, 28, was selected out of more than 300 applicants to participate as a fellow of the program, the first Indigenous filmmaker, Indian Country Today reported. So over the course of six months, he attended workshops, shadowed industry employees and created mentorships.<\/p>\n<p>His final project: \u201cFor Any Run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Experts who study media representation of Native Americans say Cegielski&#8217;s work is important because of visibility. \u201cBringing contemporary representations of native people, whether it is through branding or ad campaigns, educates the greater American people about who we (Native Americans) are today,\u201d says Crystal Eckohawk, who is Pawnee and executive director of IllumiNative.<\/p>\n<p>For Cegielski, the story began with an idea of a Dine grandmother who chased her sheep and did flips. He worked for three months researching brands, writing scripts, putting together pitch decks, choosing a cast and even budgeting. In total, his one-minute commercial cost approximately $16,000.<\/p>\n<p>In the initial phases the commercial advertised an ASICS shoe instead of New Balance. After further research, Cegielski observed that the tone of the ASICS brand was geared toward \u201cserious\u201d athletes. He saw that New Balance had a more \u201cplayful\u201d tone \u2014 and that it fit in line with his light-hearted and fun vision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had to think about everything the right way,\u201d Cegielski said.<\/p>\n<p>With this in mind, he says his goal was to create something that Indian Country could watch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor far too long there has been non-Native people making Native material,\u201d Cegielski said. \u201cIt&#8217;s always about oppression. &#8230; I just wanted to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The commercial led him to meeting Dine actors Colleen Biakeddy, who played the grandma, and Micah Chee who portrays the grandson. In true Dine fashion, the trio discovered they all belong to the Ta&#8217;chii&#8217;nii, or Red Running Into Water clan, after they met in person. The commercial was shot in mid-August over two days.<\/p>\n<p>This was Biakeddy&#8217;s first acting role. But the 50-year-old is not new to sheep herding. Her day starts with checking on her cattle near Big Mountain in Arizona, some 53 miles (85 kilometres) south of Kayenta.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe role was first brought to my attention as a sheep-herding grandmother,\u201d Biakeddy said. \u201cI said if I don&#8217;t land this, I am going to be laughing.\u201d She hopes for more acting opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>The role for her was important because of how it represents Dine grandmothers. She appreciated the attention to detail, noting that grandmothers in her community \u201creally do\u201d cover their feet using tennis shoes, or whatever it takes to get work done.<\/p>\n<p>In a single minute, the commercial shows that a \u201cgrandmother goes out there and tells her grandchildren to give it their all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This rang true for the 11-year-old actor who played her grandson. Some of Chee&#8217;s recollections of the experience include that the filming day was hot, but fun. He stayed well-hydrated and remembers eating sandwiches and pickles on set.<\/p>\n<p>Another highlight for Chee was working with Cegielski. \u201cHe was a really fun and nice director. . He even ran around the desert with me,\u201d Chee said who wants to continue acting.<\/p>\n<p>In case you wondered, Biakeddy did not do her own stunts (though she notes she had to do a somersault in her casting audition). Her stunt double was Conrad Weitzel, a parkour athlete from Phoenix.<\/p>\n<p>Cegielski highlighted one challenge. Weitzel needed to land his stunts on specific marks in order to stay in the camera&#8217;s focus. \u201cHe was amazing. He hit his marks all while flipping in the air,\u201d Cegielski said.<\/p>\n<p>The spec has now been seen throughout Indian Country, largely motivated by social media. The video on Instagram alone has been viewed more than 10,000 times since last Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a dream come true,\u201d Cegielski said. \u201cIt also makes me really happy because of unexpected timing.\u201d Cegielski was referring to a Dior advertisement that was published a few weeks ago which sparked outrage in Native communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe likely would not see a commercial like this were it not created by someone like Christopher who is Native American,\u201d said Tamika Lamison, director of the Commercial Directors Diversity Program. \u201cAnd certainly it would not have the authenticity that this New Balance has from that perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The organization also shared that they are grateful to their partners: REVERIE, Cegielski&#8217;s mentoring production company, as well as the creatives at Saatchi &amp; Saatichi.<\/p>\n<p>Moving forward, Biakeddy and Chee hope that New Balance&#8217;s marketing team sees the commercial. He said: \u201cI would like to have the right people buy it and acknowledge it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Balance could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>View this post on Instagram Huge Congratulations to 2019 CDDP-Commercial Directors Diversity Program-Directing Fellow Christopher Cegielski @nataanii_cegielski for an incredible &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":233217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","mauthors-aliyah-chavez","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233214"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233219,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233214\/revisions\/233219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}