b'WHERE ARE THEY NOW?Skoden Entertainment also developeda full feature-length documentary andHes fully aware it will require a lot of dili-content for the Disney Channel, includinga feature-length film, he says. Thosegence, hard work and perseveranceall their award-winningUse Your Voiceare pretty big because were looking at,qualities hes proven to possess in droves. campaign, which features young peoplefor a documentary, a $1-million budget, striving to make positive change in theirand a feature film is a multi-million-dollarIts a lot [about] proving yourself with communities. Skoden was hired to findbudget. But thats where Id like to seeno guarantees, he says. Its a big thing and tell the stories of authentic youngit go. to do, prove that you have the ability Indigenous people. It was really goodto create something that people actu-because were getting to a point where weIts an ambitious goal, but Pratt is anally want to see so that money can be can get Indigenous faces on channels likeambitious man and someone who hasrecouped. Thats the challenge.that, where nobody has ever seen themalready achieved more in his young life before. We featured youth for each one,than many people do in their lifetime.If anyone is up for it, its Pratt.and those youth are getting more recog-nition for what theyre doing, Pratt says. Pratts company also released a short film this year with an impressive budget of $300,000. This past summer, we finished filming our first short film that was funded by the Indigenous Screen Office. We just finished filming that in July and premiered it in November at the TCL Chinese Theatre in L.A., Pratt says.The film, Calling, is a love story about a would-be couple in two different time-lines and lifetimes.Almost everyone who worked on the project was Indigenous, which made Pratt especially proud. The two producers were Indigenous, the crew was Indigenous, and all of the lead roles were played by Indigenous people. As well, Pratt set up a mentorship program giving young people the opportunity to be mentored in film production. We created a mentorship program as part of our film, he says. We got a bunch of applications from all over from young people interested in the film industry. We had a production mentee, a directing mentee, and a wardrobe and TV mentee, and they worked alongside all of us for the entire [production]. By the end, all three of them were planning their careers in the film industry. So, theyre all working at film schools.Making sure our team was almost all Indigenous and creating those mentor- Control ship opportunities was really important to us, adds Pratt, because we wantedthe light in to show what Indigenous teams actually do, and then give opportunities to peopleyour life.that dont normally have an opportunity like that come their way. As far as future plans go, Pratt already has his eye on a number of exciting possibili- yycbeautifulblinds.caties, including eventually putting together full feature-length films. For the next403-274-9558significant step, Id like to see us [doing] Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 73'