Jeff Barnaby

{{Infobox person

| name = Jeff Barnaby

| image =

| alt =

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| birth_name =

| birth_date = 1976

| birth_place = Listuguj, Quebec, Canada

| death_date = {{Death date and given age|df=y|2022|10|13|46}}

| death_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation = Filmmaker, composer, writer

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works = {{hlist|class=nowraplinks|Rhymes for Young Ghouls|Blood Quantum}}

| spouse = Sarah Del Seronde

| children = 1

}}

Jeff Barnaby (1976 – 13 October 2022) was a Mi'kmaq and Canadian film director, writer, composer, and film editor. He is known for his films Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum.

Early life

Barnaby was born on a Mi'kmaq reserve in Listuguj, Quebec, in 1976.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tiff.net/events/blood-quantum|title=Blood Quantum|website=TIFF|access-date=22 November 2019}}{{cite news|title=INTERVIEW WITH FILMMAKER JEFF BARNABY ON RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS|url=http://muskratmagazine.com/interview-with-filmmaker-jeff-barnaby-on-rhymes-for-young-ghouls/|first=Jamaias|last=DaCosta|date=1 February 2014|access-date=13 October 2022|magazine=Muskrat Magazine}} He graduated from both the Dawson College and Concordia University film programs.{{cite web|title=JEFF BARNABY |url=http://www.imaginenative.org/home/node/404 |accessdate=17 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222130229/http://www.imaginenative.org/home/node/404 |archive-date=22 December 2015 }}

Career

Barnaby began his career directing short films. Barnaby's short film From Cherry English won two Golden Sheaf Awards: Best Aboriginal and Best Videography in the 2004 Yorkton Film Festival.{{cite web|last=|first=|date=2004|title=Canada's Golden Sheaf Award Winners 2004|url=http://yorktonfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2004-Winners.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806235230/http://yorktonfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2004-Winners.pdf|archive-date=6 August 2019|accessdate=24 April 2020|website=Yorkton Film Festival|location=Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada|ref=YFF-2004}}{{Cite web|last=Threlfall|first=John|date=22 September 2016|title=Mi'gmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby kicks off Indigeneity & the Arts series|url=https://finearts.uvic.ca/research/blog/2016/09/22/mikmaq-filmmaker-jeff-barnaby-kicks-off-indigeneity-the-arts-series/|access-date=8 December 2020|website=University of Victoria|ref=UofVictoria}} His 2010 short film File Under Miscellaneous was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama.{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Todd|title=Watch Jeff Barnaby's Award Winning FILE UNDER MISCELLANEOUS|url=http://twitchfilm.com/2014/01/watch-jeff-barnabys-award-winning-file-under-miscellaneous.html|accessdate=17 December 2015|archive-date=30 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130071450/http://twitchfilm.com/2014/01/watch-jeff-barnabys-award-winning-file-under-miscellaneous.html|url-status=dead}}

Rhymes for Young Ghouls marked Barnaby's feature film debut. The film premiered in the Discovery section of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. It was given an independent release in Canada by its production company, Prospector Films in 2014.{{cite web|title=RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS OPENS ACROSS CANADA|url=http://cfccreates.com/news/pressroom/29-rhymes-for-young-ghouls-opens-across-canada|accessdate=17 December 2015}} In July 2014, Monterey Media acquired the film for U.S. distribution.{{cite web|title=Monterey Media Picks Up Canadian Aboriginal Revenge Film 'Rhymes for Young Ghouls' for U.S. Distribution|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2014/07/monterey-media-picks-up-canadian-aboriginal-revenge-film-rhymes-for-young-ghouls-for-u-s-distribution-24467/|date=9 July 2014 | publisher=IndieWire|first=Brandon|last=Latham|accessdate=26 April 2018}} For his direction Barnaby was named Best Director of a Canadian Film by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle,{{cite web|last1=Vancouverfilm|title=And the Winners Are...|date=8 January 2014 |url=http://vancouverfilmcritics.com/2014/01/08/and-the-winners-are/|accessdate=17 December 2015}} best Actor (Glen Gould) and Director at the American Indian Film Festival (2014), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Devery Jacobs) at the Canadian Screen Awards (2014).

In 2015, Barnaby was invited by the National Film Board of Canada to participate in Souvenir, a collective made up of four First Nations filmmakers invited to use their archival material in order to create a short documentary. Barnaby's contribution was the short film Etlinisigu'niet (Bleed Down).{{cite web|title=Indigenous New Wave: NFB at the Pan Am Games|url=http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2015/07/10/indigenous-new-wave-nfb-pan-games/|date=10 July 2015|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|accessdate=26 April 2018}}

Barnaby premiered his sophomore feature Blood Quantum at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, as the opener for the festival's Midnight Madness section.{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/blood-quantum-review-1203326948/|title=Toronto Film Review: 'Blood Quantum'|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|date=9 September 2019|work=Variety}} The film was named the second runner-up for the festival's Grolsch People's Choice Midnight Madness Award.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tiff.net/the-review/tiff-19-award-winners|title=Announcing the TIFF '19 Award Winners|date=15 September 2019|website=TIFF}} The film has been acquired for U.S. and international distribution on the Shudder streaming service, with Canadian streaming rights to be held by Crave.{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/amc-shudder-acquires-zombie-movie-blood-quantum-xyz-cannes-1202638122/|title=AMC Streamer Shudder Picks Up Zombie Thriller 'Blood Quantum' For US, UK & Australia; XYZ Strikes Int'l Pacts|last=Wiseman|first=Andreas|date=26 June 2019|work=Deadline}}

At the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, Barnaby was nominated for Best Original Screenplay,Brent Furdyk, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210330161247/https://etcanada.com/news/762082/canadian-screen-awards-announces-2021-film-nominations/ "Canadian Screen Awards Announces 2021 Film Nominations"]. ET Canada, 30 March 2021. and won the award for Best Editing, for Blood Quantum.Naman Ramachandran, [https://variety.com/2021/tv/global/schitts-creek-blood-quantum-canadian-screen-awards-1234978520/ "'Schitt's Creek,' 'Blood Quantum' Triumph at Canadian Screen Awards"]. Variety, 21 May 2021.

Personal life

Barnaby was Mi'kmaq. He was married to Navajo filmmaker Sarah Del Seronde and had one son.{{cite web|last1=DaCosta|first1=Jamaias|title=INTERVIEW WITH FILMMAKER JEFF BARNABY ON RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS|date=February 2014 |url=http://muskratmagazine.com/interview-with-filmmaker-jeff-barnaby-on-rhymes-for-young-ghouls/|accessdate=17 December 2015}} Barnaby died in Montreal after a year of battling cancer on 13 October 2022.{{cite news |title=Acclaimed Mi'kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby dies at 46, representatives say |url=https://www.thespec.com/ts/entertainment/2022/10/13/newsalert-acclaimed-mikmaq-filmmaker-jeff-barnaby-dies-at-46-representatives-say.html |access-date=13 October 2022 |publisher=The Hamilton Spectator |date=13 October 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jeff-barnaby-dead-indigenous-director-rhymes-for-young-ghouls-1235240822/|title=Jeff Barnaby, Canadian Indigenous Director of 'Rhymes for Young Ghouls', Dies at 46|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Etan|last=Vlessing|date=13 October 2022|access-date=13 October 2022}}

Following his death, the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival and Netflix launched the Jeff Barnaby Grant, a program to support new works by emerging indigenous filmmakers.Noel Ransome, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2023/01/26/new-grant-for-indigenous-filmmakers-launched-in-honour-of-jeff-barnaby.html "New grant for Indigenous filmmakers launched in honour of Jeff Barnaby"]. Toronto Star, January 26, 2022. He was also named as a posthumous recipient of the Board of Directors Tribute Award at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024.Connie Thiessen, [https://broadcastdialogue.com/marilyn-denis-john-brunton-among-canadian-academy-special-award-recipients/ "Marilyn Denis, John Brunton among Canadian Academy ‘Special Award’ recipients"]. Broadcast Dialogue, March 19, 2024.

Filmography

From Cherry English - 2004{{cite web|title=Jeff Barnaby List of Movies and TV Shows|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jeff-barnaby/credits/3000079915/|website=TV Guide|access-date=13 October 2022}}
The Colony - 2007{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jeff_barnaby|title=Jeff Barnaby|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=13 October 2022}}
File Under Miscellaneous - 2010
Rhymes for Young Ghouls - 2013
Etlinisigu'niet (Bleed Down) - 2015{{cite web|title=Etlinisigu'niet (Bleed Down)|url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/etlinisigu_niet_bleed_down/|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=13 October 2022}}
Blood Quantum - 2019