Michelle Latimer
Latimer at theGenie Awards in 2012
Born	Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)	Actress, director, filmmaker
Years active	2001–present

Michelle Latimer is a Canadian actress, director, writer, andfilmmaker. She initially rose to prominence for her role as Trish Simkin on the television seriesParadise Falls, shown nationally in Canada onShowcase Television (2001–2004).^[1] Since the early 2010s, she has directed severaldocumentaries, including her feature filmdirectorial debut,Alias (2013),^[2] and theViceland series,Rise, which focuses on the2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests; the latter won aCanadian Screen Award at the6th annual ceremony in 2018.^[3][4]

Latimer's 2020 filmInconvenient Indian won thePeople's Choice Award for Documentaries and the award forBest Canadian Film at theToronto International Film Festival.^[5] She is also the co-creator, writer, and director of theCBC Television seriesTrickster.^[6]

Latimer was born and raised inThunder Bay, Ontario.^[7] Latimer later studied theatre atConcordia University inMontreal, Quebec.^[8]

Latimer initially garnered recognition for portrayinggoth teen Trish Simpkin inParadise Falls.^[9][1] Aside fromParadise Falls, Latimer has had limited roles in other television productions. In 2004, she had two guest appearances on the low budget Canadian seriesTrain 48. She also had a minor appearance in the 2004 filmResident Evil: Apocalypse.^[10]

AfterParadise Falls, she returned to the stage, starring inUnidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, written byBrad Fraser.^[11] She performed the play in 2004 at Crow's Theatre inToronto and she played Benita, a psychic prostitute. LikeParadise Falls, the play also had some controversy for its open depiction of sexuality.^[11]

Latimer later produced and directed an animated film titledChoke, which was funded bybravoFACT and screened at theSundance Film Festival and was one of five animated shorts nominated for aGenie Award in 2011.^[12]

Since the early 2010s, Latimer has dedicated her time todocumentary filmmaking.^[13] In 2013, she made her feature filmdirectorial debutAlias, which "follows aspiring rappers trying to escape the gangster life."^[14] The film received positive reviews, was nominated for several awards,^[15] including for aCanadian Screen Award,^[16] and screened at theHot Docs Film Festival.^[17] Also in 2013, she was chosen as one ofPlayback's "10 To Watch".^[18]

Latimer'sViceland documentary series, titledRise, which focuses on the2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests, premiered at the Special Events section of the2017 Sundance Film Festival.^[19] The series won aCanadian Screen Award at the6th annual ceremony in 2018.^[3][4] While accepting the award, Latimer delivered what was described byCBC News as "one of the night's most passionate speeches", in which she celebrated Indigenous resistance atStanding Rock.^[3]

In 2020, she was announced as the creator, writer, and director of the drama seriesTrickster.^[20] In advance of the television premiere, two episodes of the series was screened in the Primetime program at the2020 Toronto International Film Festival,^[21] and at theCinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival in Sudbury.^[22]

Trickster premiered onCBC Television on October 7, 2020.^[23] She adapted the series fromEden Robinson's 2017 novelSon of a Trickster.^[24][25][26] The series centres on Jared, an IndigenousHaisla teenager and small-time drug dealer inKitimat,British Columbia, who becomes increasingly aware of the magical events that seem to follow him. The series was renewed for a second season prior to the first season's premiere;^[27] the second season is expected to be based onTrickster Drift, the second novel in Robinson's trilogy.The CW acquired the U.S. broadcast rights for the series, which premiered in the country on January 12, 2021.^[28] In its December 2020 year in review, the Canadian film and television industry magazinePlayback namedTrickster the Scripted Series of the Year.^[29]

Latimer's documentary film,Inconvenient Indian, also premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.^[21] Adapted fromThomas King's non-fiction bookThe Inconvenient Indian, the film presents a history of theindigenous peoples in Canada.^[30] The film blends scenes in which King, filmed in a taxi cab being driven by actressGail Maurice in character as an indigenoustrickster, narrates portions of his own book, blended with video clips of historical representation of indigenous peoples as well as segments profiling modern figures, such asKent Monkman,Christi Belcourt,A Tribe Called Red,Alethea Arnaquq-Baril andNyla Innuksuk, who are reshaping the narrative with their contemporary work in art, music, literature and film.^[31]

At the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival,Inconvenient Indian won thePeople's Choice Award for Documentaries and the award forBest Canadian Film.^[5] ForNow andThe Georgia Straight, Radheyan Simonpillai praised the film.^[31] The film was named to TIFF's year-endCanada's Top Ten list for feature films.^[32]

Latimer also works as a film curator; she is a programmer for theImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the Hot Docs Film Festival and is a programming advisor forWinnipeg Film Group's Cinematheque and theRegent Park Film Festival.^[7]

Through much of her career, Latimer identified as havingAlgonquin andMétis heritage, based on a family oral history of Indigenous ancestry in the province of Quebec. In interviews, Latimer has said that her father is French-Canadian and that her mother is Algonquin and Métis.^[33] In a September 2020 interview about her film and TV projects, she stated that her mother had a complicated relationship with her mixed race identity.^[34]

In December 2020, her Indigenous identity came into question after aNational Film Board (NFB) press release announcing the release of her filmInconvenient Indian stated a connection to the community ofKitigan Zibi inQuebec, which the community denied.^[35] Latimer subsequently apologized for having claimed historical roots to the Kitigan Zibi community before fully verifying them,^[33] and resigned from the production of her television seriesTrickster,^[36] after the husband and wife producing team of Tony Elliott andDanis Goulet resigned from the show, citing the questions and criticism about Latimer's ethnic identity as their reason.^[37] Latimer's documentary filmInconvenient Indian was also withdrawn from the2021 Sundance Film Festival, all other film festivals, and from distribution, by the NFB until further notice.^[38]

In responding to journalists, Latimer said her identification as Indigenous rested on the oral history of her maternal grandfather who talked about being Indigenous and sometimes used the term "Métis".^[35] She said: "I never had reason to question what my family had told me. I'd again say that going back to identity is complex... Identity is not just about ancestral connection. It is about our values and our worldview and how those are incorporated. I grew up in the North, I grew up with those teachings. And that, for me, is what makes me Indigenous."^[39]

Latimer produced genealogical records to bolster her claim that she was a 'non-status Algonquin'; these claims were rejected by tribal leaders.^[40] Census records reviewed by CBC News suggest that Latimer's grandfather was French-Canadian. However, Dominique Ritchot, a genealogist and researcher with an expertise in French-Canadian families, claimed that Latimer had two Indigenous ancestors dating from 1644, while most of her other ancestors were identifiable as French Canadian, Irish and Scottish.^[35][38] Later, Sébastien Malette, an associate professor in the Department of Law and Legal Studies atCarleton University, and Siomonn Pulla, an associate professor in the College of Interdisciplinary Studies atRoyal Roads University produced a joint genealogical report which found that Latimer has Indigenous ancestry from both her paternal and maternal lines that originated from a "historical community of Baskatong that was known for its Algonquin and Métis population."^[39]

In January 2021, it was reported that Latimer served CBC with anotice of libel,^[41] claiming to "have grave concerns about the fairness and accuracy" of the CBC's reporting on her ancestry.^[42] Latimer elaborated that the CBC "created a false narrative about my character and my lineage."^[42] She maintains:"The CBC article painted a picture of someone who is misrepresenting themselves as a fake and a liar. All I can say is that I never misrepresented who I was. I never intended to mislead anyone who I worked with. I tell Indigenous stories because that feels true to my experience, and it's what I love to do. The fact that I've been painted as someone who has been profiting for my own gain feels so unfair and misguided."

An Algonquin Elder from Kitigan Zibi, Annie Smith St. Georges, (known for her work with theNational Arts Centre) posted on Facebook that Latimer was connected with her indigenous ancestors by marriage, "the grand niece of my grandpa and grandma, who were originally from Mishomis Baskatong."^[39] However,Jean Teillet, the great-grand niece of Métis leaderLouis Riel, denied that a distant connection qualified someone as indigenous, telling CBC that "from my perspective, it's a fantasy" and "Most of the legitimate Métis groups … they don't accept people who just find an ever-so-great grandmother back in the 1600s. That doesn't work. That is not a culture. It's just a genealogical fact."^[43]

In October of the same year, Latimer withdrew the CBC lawsuit without formal explanation.^[44]

• List of female film and television directors

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