KJ Edwards (she/they) is a Kanien’kehá:ka, mixed-settler filmmaker and media artist. Their family is from Kahnawa:ké and Longueuil, Quebec, Canada; while KJ was born and raised in Treaty 6 Territory, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Holding a BFA in Film Production from the Toronto Metropolitan University, KJ is trained in narrative, documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques, using both analogue and digital hybrid workflows. She is a 2023 MFA graduate from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. KJ's thesis work involved eco processing analogue film, reflecting on the unpredictability of the medium as that of a collaborator, and the ways that dreams and memory can offer creative pathways toward content creation. Their short analogue films istén:'a (2023) and future ready: cusp (2023) are making festival rounds. KJ's debut short film Meet The Sky (2021), starring Chanin Lee, T’áncháy Redvers, and Cheri Maracle, premiered at the 2021 American Indian Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Live Short. Meet The Sky also won the Best of BC and the Short Film Impact Award at the 2023 Vancouver International Women in Film Festival. She is currently developing this film into a feature with funding from the Canada Arts Council and The Indigenous Screen Office.
Filmography
Director (3 Credits)
future ready: cusp2023
Experimental, Short
istén:'a2023
Documentary, Experimental, Short, Other
Meet The Sky2021
Short
Writer (1 Credit)
Meet The Sky2021
Short
12 Awards & Selections
Opus Art Award future ready: cusp
Libby Leshgold Gallery Vancouver
2023
New York Premiere istén:'a
Buffalo International Film Festival Buffalo
2023
Nominated for Best Director istén:'a
Mirror Mountain Festival Ottawa
2023
Official Selection istén:'a
Dawson City Film Festival Dawson City
2023
March 31 student screenings, Q&A's for both screenings istén:'a
Skoden Indigenous Film Festival Vancouver
2023
Winner: Short Film Impact Award & Best of BC Award Meet The Sky
Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Vancouver
2023
Indigenous Short Film Award Meet The Sky
Caravan Farm Theatre Armstrong
2022
Official Selection Meet The Sky
Breakthroughs Film Festival Toronto
2022
Official Selection Meet The Sky
Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix
2022
Official Selection, two screenings and Q&A Meet The Sky