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Spirit of Change: Cindy Blackstock

Cindy Blackstock, Gitxsan, advocate and First Nations Caring Society Executive Director shares how she embraced her voice and used it to stand up and speak out. Cindy embodies “you are worthy” in this vignette by highlighting the basic human rights and love that all First Nations children deserve now and for the future.

  • Xenia Leblanc
    Director
    Cosmic Connection
  • Matt Smiley
    Producer
    Highway of Tears, For Love
  • Cassidy Shuvera
    Producer
  • Cindy Blackstock
    Key Cast
    "Self"
  • Mary Teegee
    Executive Producers
    Highway of Tears, For Love
  • Julie Daum
    Executive Producers
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 17, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Xenia Leblanc

My in-depth cinematic journey began while studying Film at the Queen Mary University of London, learning about French New Wave and Italian Neo-Realism. During that time, I got fortunate and got a job as a script supervisor on the first Ukrainian/American 3D comedy directed by Marius Weisberg, starring Vladimir Zelenskiy. A 3D comedy? You can imagine what a uniquely bizarre adventure that was. But back to London - after filming a few arthouse short films and absorbing too much film analysis, I grabbed my diploma and my courage and moved to Los Angeles, focusing on honing the craft of the entertainment side of filmmaking.

Two years of polishing my American accent and working on Meisner exercises brought me to "Orange Is The New Black" (NETFLIX), as well as allowed me to do some voice work for Justice League (WB), Black Widow (WB) and The Boys (Amazon Prime).

Diving deep into filmmaking, I met my husband, Nicholas Acosta, with whom we got to write, direct and edit numerous projects. Among many other exciting opportunities, we got to win Best Action at My Rhode Reel Film Challenge and take home first place for Film Riot's Stay At Home Film Challenge.

Today I live in Los Angeles, CA and never plan on leaving. I am passionate about projects that manage to entertain while still making an impact. I direct, write, edit, and produce my own or other people's projects, which brings me a ton of joy.

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