Darlene Naponse

Darlene Naponse is an Ojibway woman from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Northern Ontario, Canada. She is a writer, director, and video artist. Her film work has been viewed internationally including the Sundance Film Festival (2001/2002/2003) and the American Indian Film Festival (2011), as well as at film festivals across Canada. Her most recent feature film, "Every Emotion Costs", screened nationally and internationally winning various awards. It aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and the Movie Network (Hollywood Suite) in Canada and on FNX in the United States. As a storyteller, she is in search of imaginative images giving truth through word, film and song. She owns Pine Needle Productions, an award-wining boutique Film/Video and Audio Recording Production Studio located in Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, ON. She also co-founded Nite Fall Studios Inc., the production company that produced Every Emotion Costs. Darlene is committed to social consciousness, her environmental footprint, youth advocacy and governance work within her community. She has sat on Council in her First Nation community, is the Chairperson for the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Constitution Committee, and is a Director on the Board for the Sudbury Arts Council. Darlene recently completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (2015) at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.