b'FILM & TELEVISIONaspects of filmmaking such as screenBetween 2019 and 2022, Indigenous film and writers, directors, producers and the cast. Below-the-line focuses on thedocumentary production increased by 46 per technical and production aspect such as camera operators, post-produc- cent and, as of 2022, the Indigenous film and tion, boom operators and makeup artists. Morrisette hopes to get moreTV industry accounted for 6.9 per cent of total Indigenous people involved in bothCanadian production. This represented $290.6 categories in Canada.million in economic contribution, providing The goal of the Indigenous Lens project is to provide aspiring Indigenousover 4,100 full-time jobs and contributing youth with a chance to learn about and have hands-on experience inaround $340 million to the Canadian GDP.roles both above and below the line. The whole reason we created the Indigenous Lens project was to show-case the opportunities that are there in the film business and give people a chance to use cameras and other tools, says Morrisette.The project first started in Arizona and then moved to Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge is located near the Blackfoot, Kainai, Piikani and Tsuutina Nations in southern Alberta, and Morrisette says he wanted to activate and engage all tribal communities as well as First Nation communities in this project. The location was ideal as it gives greater logistical access to filmmakers from the communities in the south as opposed to the major city centres such as Calgary and Edmonton. Morrisette says that when looking at film locations, people often just focus onCalgaryorEdmonton,buthe wanted them to consider other areas like Lethbridge that dont get as much attention. Alberta also provides a 33 per cent film tax credit, which is substantial. This incentive to create large-budget film projects in Alberta creates substan-tial demand for skilled filmmaking crews in the province. There are 10 new film projects coming to Alberta in the fall for instance, Morrisette notes. But given the high demand, there is not always the skilled labour needed within the provincethere are only four full crews available. The demand for labour includes all roles within film, like hair, makeup, lighting, camera operators and elec-trical. But there is a barrier to filling these rolesa recent quirk of big-budget filmmaking that makes it chal-lenging to diversify skillsets. COVID Indigenous BUSINESS REPORT27'