Our Mentors
Storytelling Through Film Youth Program
Jillian Dion
Acting Mentor
Jillian is a Cree/Metis Professional Actor and Acting Mentor with over 20 years of industry experience. A proud member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, she has been a resident of British Columbia for the past two decades. A graduate of the prestigious Vancouver Film School, Jillian bridges the gap between high-level formal training and the real-world mechanics of carving out a sustainable, long-term career in film and television. Notable Industry Credits Jillian’s professional career spans acclaimed international cinema and major network television, including: Feature Film: Portrayed "Minnie" in the Academy Award-nominated historical crime saga Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by cinematic legend Martin Scorsese. Television: Appeared in hit series spanning diverse genres, including Dark Winds on AMC, Legion on FX, When Calls the Heart on Hallmark, and Alaska Daily on ABC. Mentorship Philosophy Drawing from two decades on set, Jillian provides her students with direct, actionable insight into the realities of the modern industry.
Alanna Bluebird
Storytelling / Filmmaking Mentor
Alanna Bluebird is a human being that comes from the Siksika Nisiitapi and Tsuut’ina Dinatii, the DNA that once walked these lands long ago in Treaty 7 territory. She makes her living through art that comes from eternal creativity to empower and uplift the next generation of Indigenous youth. Art is her means of expression through performing arts, dance, poetry, cinematic arts, and quillwork. She contributed to the theatre production “Making Treaty 7” as a writer, spoken word poet, and actor from 2015 to 2018.
Alanna has been a part of many organizations and finally decided to build one of her own. Alanna founded an organization connecting wellness and art called HEAL – Helping Every Artist Live. HEAL collaborates with the Tsuut’ina Youth Program, an arts and culture after-school program called For Indigenous Youth By Indigenous Youth. The organization is about helping young artists grow and learn from themselves in the art they create because art is a way of healing. HEAL invigorates and develops the young creative mind to create the best version of themselves.
Alanna is a multidisciplinary artist who has experience in the film industry, most recently working in set dec for Netflix’s The Abandons.
Alanna’s short film Cut Knife Creek, which she co-directed, produced and animated in collaboration with Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society, Tsúut’ínà Gunáhà Násʔághà and Quickdraw Animation Society. Eight minutes long, the film screened at the Smithsonian Institution’s Mother Tongue Film Festival