One of Canada’s foremost Aboriginal filmmakers, Neil Diamond is from the Cree community of Waskaganish, on the coast of James Bay. His 2001 directorial debut, Cree Spoken Here, garnered the Telefilm/APTN award for Best Aboriginal Documentary. His 2004 film, One More River, a behind-the-scenes look at the Quebec Cree’s decision to accept another hydro project on their land, was named Best Documentary at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québecois. Awards for Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec (2004) include Top Prize and Audience Pick at Norway’s Riddu Riddu Festival. His award-winning documentary Reel Injun is a lively and insightful look at the portrayal of Native Americans through a century of Hollywood film. In 2010 the film won three Gemini Awards of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for Best Direction in a Documentary Program, Best Visual Research, and the Canada Award, which recognizes the work of exploring the racial and cultural diversity of Canada. The film was runner-up for the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program and for Best Original Music Score. Reel Injun won awards at numerous Canadian and international film festivals, premiering in 2009 at the Toronto International Film Festival and selected as the opening night film of the 2009 imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival. Diamond also directed three seasons of the six-part series Dab Iyiyuu for APTN about Cree elders.
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