May 14, 2024, TORONTO – Iconic arts company Red Sky Performance announced today it will launch Aki Creators, a platform dedicated to accelerating Indigenous content globally.
The streaming platform is now available at www.akicreators.com and through Red Sky Performance‘s website.
Available globally, the platform is launching as the world’s first entirely Indigenous streaming platform to focus on the intersection of art, wisdom, and land. The streaming platform will host Indigenous art of all mediums including dance, film, TV, talks and digital projects.
Central to its mission are the opportunities and the empowerment of fearless Indigenous partners, artists, storytellers, and culture keepers. This initiative represents a significant step in amplifying Indigenous voices, ensuring they resonate powerfully in the digital world.
The Aki Creators platform launches with its key offering of Land Dances Us from Red Sky Performance. The first-of-its-kind film seamlessly blends performance and AI.
Land Dances Us is a cinematic expression inspired by an Anishinaabe creation story with a contemporary twist. It is about a woman who falls through a hole in the sky, descending to Earth. As she lands, she uncovers a profound connection to the natural world, realizing that she shares the fate of trees. Her untimely walk on earth has left her with only a few seeds clutched in her hand from the world above.
Land Dances Us is written, directed, and choreographed by Sandra Laronde, with Dré Labre serving as AI lead and creative collaborator. Jason George (Apocalyptica: En Route to Mayhem) helped bring Laronde’s vision to life as director of photography, with music by Eliot Britton, costume design by Lesley Hampton and performances by Moira Blaise with aerialist Eman Hillawi.
“The Aki platform aims to drive Indigenous digital storytelling and resurgence in this country and beyond. As a film, Land Dances Us stands as a testament to the transformative possibilities that emerge when human ingenuity seamlessly intertwines with artificial intelligence,” says visionary founder Sandra Laronde. “Land Dances Us takes the first bold step into an AI-augmented future of filmmaking, one that combines a passionate artistic vision with technological innovation to reveal the epic nature of Indigenous storytelling and visual narrative.”
“The process was far from automated,” added Dré Labre. “Tremendous amounts of human involvement were required. Countless iterations, experimentation, and problem-solving pushed the boundaries of what AI could achieve. Yet our willingness to embrace uncertainty allowed us to forge new creative frontiers.”
On launch day, the Aki Creators platform will include partners Isuma, Rugged Media, and V-Tape. Two experimental short films Tungijuq (What We Eat) from Isuma Productions’ Zacharias Kunk and Helen Haig Brown’s The Cave will be available for audiences globally. It will also host Red Sky Performance’s latest dance on film production, Miigis.
Alongside Land Dances Us, Aki Creators will launch 7 Red Talks featuring performances and interviews with singer/songwriter Aysanabee, author Michelle Good, scholar Taiaiake Alfred, water protector Autumn Peltier, singer/songwriter Logan Staats, author/storyteller James Vulkelich, and author David A. Robertson.
This platform is independently hosted and linked through founder member Red Sky Performance’s website with a subscription-based model, offering monthly ($19.99 CDN / $14.99 USD) and annual options ($199.99 CDN / $146.99 USD) with a 7-day free trial.
About Red Sky Performance:
Red Sky Performance plays a pivotal role in the ongoing Indigenous cultural resurgence of Canada. Their work highlights the originality and power of contemporary Indigenous performance in dance, theatre, music, and media.
Created in 2000 by Sandra Laronde, they have delivered over 3,000 performances across Canada including international performances in 21 countries on four continents,
including two Cultural Olympiads (Beijing and Vancouver), World Expo in Shanghai,
Venice Biennale, Kennedy Center, among others. At the same time, they remain deeply
rooted and regularly perform in urban, rural, and reserve communities across Canada.
Red Sky is proud to have solid roots in Canada’s vibrant arts community where they
continue to create, produce, and disseminate new creations that illuminate Indigenous
power, ingenuity, and ethos. www.redskyperformance.com
