Jennifer Podemski

Jennifer Podemski (First Nations Saulteaux and sister of Tamara Podemski) has enjoyed a career that includes filmmaking, acting, and training. In 1999 Podemski and producer Laura Milliken founded Big Soul Productions in Toronto. Their creative output includes a television series, documentaries, music videos, and narrative film. Podemski facilitates production workshops for Native youth throughout Canada, developing short films for broadcast on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. As an actor, she has had leading roles in Blood River and Bruce McDonald’s Dance Me Outside. For the series The Rez, she won Best Actress at the Dreamspeakers Aboriginal Film Festival and the American Indian Film Festival as well as winning the 1996 James Buller Award for Female Performer of the Year. She is pictured holding her Tribute Award at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. We list her credits as an actor first.

Watch Jennifer Podemski talk about the making of Empire of Dirt.
Also see: The Academy names nine recipients for the 2023 Special Awards.

Features & TV Movies:
VR indicates Direct-to-Video Release

Conspiracy of Silence (TV-1991)
The Diviners (TV-1993)
Dance Me Outside (1995)
Bogus (1996)
Fish Tale Soup (1996)
…First Do No Harm (TV-1997)
Short for Nothing (1998)
Don’t Think Twice (1999)
Mind Prey (TV-1999)

The Lost Child (TV-2000)

Blood River (2000)
She (2001)
The Wandering Soul Murders (TV-2001)

Bar Life (2003)
Myst IV: Revelation (VR-2004)

Distant Drumming: A North of 60 Mystery (TV-2005)
One Dead Indian (TV-2006)
Fugitive Pieces (2007)
Pavane (2008)

Take this Waltz (2011)
Empire of Dirt (2013)
Fire Song (2015)
Reel Women Seen (2017, short)
Mouthpiece (2018)
The Death Doula (2020)

TV Series – Cast:
The Rez (1996)

Degrassi: The Next Generation (2003-2010)
Moose TV (2007)

Hard Rock Medical (2017-2018)

TV Series – Guest appearances:
Maniac Mansion (1993)
Riverdale (1997)
Animorphs (1999)

Wild Card (2003)
Moccasin Flats (2003)
Bliss (2003)
Blue Murder (2003)
The Eleventh Hour (2004)
The Border (2008)
Rabbit Fall (2007, 2008)

Republic of Doyle (2013)
Sensitive Skin (2014)
Blackstone (2014, 2015)
Private Eyes (2017)
Forgive Me (2018)
Cardinal (2019)

Credits as a Producer:
Moccasin Flats (2003, short)
Music is the Medicine (2003, short)
I’m A Lucky One (2003, short)
2009 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (TV-2009)

Spare Change (Executive Producer, 2010, short)
Crazytown (2010, short)
Empire of Dirt (2013)
21st Annual Indspire Awards (TV-2014)
22nd Annual Indspire Awards (TV-2015)
Clouds of Autumn (Executive Producer, 2015, short)
23rd Annual Indspire Awards (Executive Producer, TV-2016)
Just One Word (Executive Producer, 2017, short)
24th Annual Indspire Awards (Executive Producer, 2017)

TV Series:
Moccasin Flats (2003-2006, 23 episodes)
Rabbit Fall (2007-2008, 14 episodes)

The Other Side (2014-2018, 52 episodes)
Future History (2018-2019, 26 episodes)

Unsettled (2020, 10 episodes)