Kelvin Redvers: Last News

A Vancouver-based Indigenous film producer says he was treated like he was “trying to steal something” after being turned away from a red carpet event at the Cannes Film Festival because he was wearing a pair of traditional moccasins.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International A trademark battle is brewing between two Indigenous North American producers over the use of an Indigenous descriptor in their respective company names. The bubbling dispute between Frisco, Texas-headquartered IndigiStudios — founded by actor Gary “Litefoot” Davis, known for his role as Little Bear in the 1995 film “The Indian in the Cupboard” — and Kelvin Redvers’ Vancouver-based IndigiFilm Media raises questions about the use and protection of cultural identity-based descriptors in corporate names. Canadian producer Redvers, a member of the Dene nation, set up film and TV production company IndigiFilm in June, with an eye on developing and producing scripted and unscripted projects in Canada and overseas.

Manori Ravindran International EditorAn Indigenous Canadian producer who was turned away from the Cannes red carpet for wearing traditional moccasins says he was made to feel like “a criminal” for representing his culture at the world’s foremost film festival.Vancouver-based producer Kelvin Redvers, who is a member of the Dene nation, was in line to walk the red carpet for the world premiere of Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s “Les Amandiers” on Sunday (May 22) when he was stopped in his tracks by red carpet security.Redvers was part of a contingent of Indigenous producers who were in Cannes for the first time, pitching their projects and experiencing the festival. The group’s trip was backed by Canadian funding org Telefilm, Toronto-headquartered Indigenous Screen Office and Capilano University’s FILMBA program.