Laura J. Milliken possesses a wealth of information. After our interview I came away with the feeling that if I wanted to, I could create a successful production company with just the knowledge I had gained while talking to her. Of course creating a successful production house requires much more than just knowledge. It requires ingenuity, a strong work ethic and lots of intiative to translate that knowledge into action. And if Laura is anything, she is a woman of action.

RG – Tell us about yourself and how you got into the film and television industry in Canada.

LM – I started as a junior producer on the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, which was a one hour music and variety special on CBC. I did that for two years – I actually came from a communications background, I was a journalism graduate. And I had no intention of being a producer but I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. That much I knew – I just didn’t know what kind of business. It seemed liked all my various jobs, and my diploma in Journalism, I worked at a publishing company for a while, when I went to do the Junior producing job on the Achievement Awards, I suddenly went, “Wow, it seems like all the work I’ve been doing over the past several years has culminated into this.” I somehow had acquired so many of the skills you need to be a producer. So it worked out really well – I suddenly felt like I was in a place that really made me happy, [a job] I did very well and I knew I wanted to stay in for a while. It was the first time I didn’t get a two-year itch, you know? I wasn’t even looking at the clock anymore. That’s the thing about producing, like right now we’re really busy and other times, not busy at all, but it’s great because your life is never nine-to-five.

And it was after about two years in that job [Junior Producer] that I met Jennifer Podemski who was then my partner. We created a show and we needed a business to support the show. That spawned Big Soul in 1999.

RG – What show was that?

LM – That was called the Seventh Generation. We actually met when I was producing the Achievement Awards in Regina and Jen was hosting them. We started talking about the onset of APTN, how the network was just getting started that summer and we said should just come up with an idea. We came with an Aboriginal youth role model series because we really wanted to do something positive and entertaining. In the end we ended up producing three seasons – three nine-episodes – and we profile ninety-one aboriginal youth achievers.

It was one of the first nationally televised series that was shot on a mini-DV camera and edited on Final Cut Pro. Nobody was doing it at the time and in fact, everyone said we couldn’t do it. That’s part of what got me so jazzed was that everyone said “Oh you guys are crazy.” We actually raised all the money ourselves because we had the worst licensee. We raised half a million dollars a year to make the show happen.

RG – How did you go about doing that?

LM – I actually have a long history of sourcing money from Feds, from the provincial arms of the government and corporate sponsorships and we pieced it together that way. We had people who would give us a car rental for a day all the way up to 100,000 from HRDC, Human Resources Development Canada. I brought that knowledge with me and I thought very few networks are going to give us enough money and we’re not going to get investors without any experience. We didn’t know enough of what we were doing but what I did know was find money other ways.

RG – And I think also, under pressure, you sort of learn those skills pretty quickly.

LM – Exactly. I’ve always been comfortable in those kinds of environments.

RG – So basically you founded Big Soul with Jennifer as kind of an umbrella over Seventh Generation?

LM – Yea, that was our centerpiece project for the first three years of our existence.

RG – Touching on the subject of the innovative use of media - editing on Final Cut and in general using digital media that is more accessible to people, like you said, who haven’t had as much experience, but really want to be able to have a platform in mainstream media – can you describe what your experience has been with using these tools? How has it benefited Big Soul and how do you plan on moving forward with it?

LM – We couldn’t have done it any other way - we had to be innovative. As innovative as the media itself was, we had to be just as innovative. We had to find inexpensive ways to start our own production studio, find inexpensive ways to create your promotional packages and your promotional reels. The technology changes all the time and is hard to keep up with, but I think we were young (and smart) enough to recognize that it had sustainability. So you have to do your research. One of my strategies is to have people around who can actually read that information, understand it and make it make sense to me. Having someone who truly understands [the media] so that you can grow with it is really important. So it has benefited me in that when I had no money it allowed me not only to make the show for the budget that I had but to also engage people who were also not going to get a break anywhere else. It forces you to open doors that you wouldn’t normally open.

RG – For people who aren’t as familiar with the media industry as far as production companies are concerned, how do you go about networking your projects? I’m sure it goes both ways where you have projects and you want to go ahead and sell them to a network but also receive requests to produce things. How does that work and how have you gone about it in the past?

LM – There’s a number of ways. When Jen and I first started we hijacked a meeting that APTN had set up with her, asking her to be an ambassador to the network. I went with her and we pitched our idea for the series [Seventh Generation] and sold it. So it’s about finding creative ways in. Also, going to all the festivals, like the Banff Television Festival, and if you can’t afford to go then try and get a CTV Fellowship or some other funding. Another thing I did a lot was go to workshops, tons of them. Whatever ones I could I’d apply for bursaries so that I could go for cheap. And then what would happen was I would find amazing mentors at these things. You make those contacts and people start to recognize you as an aggressive, motivated, committed, young energy, new blood type of person in the industry that they want to work with.

Having industry affiliations is important. I’m a member of the Canadian Television and Film Producers Association. I’m also a member of the WGC, I’m also a member of Women in Film and Television. I get on as many boards wherever I can. Selection juries are also good because you meet a lot of people from the networks who might be taking part as a sponsor or something like that. Submitting as much of your stuff as possible to as may festivals as you can, all the time. Those are all really good ways to get people to see what you’re doing. Your product’s only good if it’s getting out there, right?

RG – At NAICA we’ve made the habit of asking artists and filmmakers this question and for Big Soul, as a production company I feel it is equally relevant. The question is on the burden of representation. Specifically as an Aboriginal yourself and on a larger scale, as part of a media company which produces native programming, do you feel this burden? And if so, how do you deal with the idea of representing yourself to the larger community?

LM – That’s a really good question because I talk about this all the time. Especially since I have been criticized, we all have, as Aboriginal producers. The reason I think that we are subject to criticism regarding representation is because nobody else really has this responsibility. You could be a non-native producer and produce stories about anybody you want and not really be on the hook for it. There are so very few Aboriginal people I know that have actually written to non-native producers and have said, “Your representation of this sweat lodge was absolutely horrific.” But honestly, if you are an Aboriginal producer, your community will jump on you in five seconds. I’m not saying that the community is wrong; I’m just saying that we are more accessible to them. They might not have the opportunity to contact a big Hollywood producer but, “Oh I can call Laura in Toronto and point out something that she did wrong.”

The other thing is, we have to take this very, very seriously. We are trying to represent so many people and we’re representing a population that is still in so much pain and still so fragmented and suffering from inter-generational impacts from oppression and abuse and all of those things. Does that mean that we have to represent everyone on a positive level? We can certainly try, but the other thing is every story has lightness and darkness. It’s not a good story unless there’s tension, unless there’s drama. So somebody has got to be the bad guy, and if it’s a native person because it’s a native story then that’s the way it has to be. We can’t change all the rules of dramatic storytelling just because we’re representing a specific community, but we certainly have the power to be more sensitive about culture and tradition and language and beliefs and not representing in a pan-Indian kind of way, where we’re using a Cree prayer for a Lakota elder. There are those sensitivities that I think we are more capable of dealing with and I think that’s why non-Aboriginal producers should be seeking us out. And we can empower ourselves to know more about the actual production end so we’re actually taking part in the production portion of it and building capacity in the industry.

RG - I know that you probably didn’t go into [the industry] saying, “Oh, I want to be an Aboriginal producer.” But that is sort of the role you’re thrust into because of your background. How do you feel about having this label on you as far as your own personal career is concerned?

LM – I’ve thought about that so many times because as a producer I also happen to be Aboriginal. But the truth is, when I’m not producing something Aboriginal, I have to say that it is honestly not as fulfilling. My favorite thing is walking onto a set and saying, “Look at all the native people who are keys on this set. This isn’t going to happen on anyone else’s set.” And to be able to that [say you are an] Aboriginal producer is actually a really big deal, because there aren’t that many of us who work with big budgets and actually have the infrastructure and can say to a writer, “I want to option your work and realize it in a tasteful manner that retains your vision.” So I’m starting to find the term, “Aboriginal producer” a lot more empowering than I used to. I was utterly opposed to it for the longest time.

RG – What has been your most rewarding project to date? And conversely, your most challenging?

LM – It’s such a toss up because they’ve all been so rewarding. I have to say Seventh Generation because it was the first thing that we did. It was such a wonderful growing and learning experience. I was able to take so many mistakes from that project and … not make those same mistakes again. [Laughs]. I learned a lot of valuable lessons and met some amazing people. And I was doing something extremely positive. I also think artistically it was a well-done show. A close second is Moccasin Flats. Not the series, but the half hour episode that became the pilot. That was a training program that we did with Aboriginal youth in Regina and that’s what turned into the series. That was also our first Sundance film. To have all of these kids who had never been out of Regina, go to Sundance for their first film was just amazing.

RG – You know I wanted to ask you about that short. I know it was part of repREZentin’ which is a native youth workshop. How did the story come about and evolve into the series?

LM – When we first started repREZentin’, my whole vision for it was that the very first thing we would do was go to the community where we were trying to make this film, do an open call for kids who wanted to participate and talk to them about their experiences. I always gleaned the stories from those discussions with the youth. Out of those auditions came the story of Justin who was the star of that episode. He had actually lost his brother in the neighborhood where we were shooting. He was stabbed at a house party. He was Justin’s best friend. And he [Justin] said, “Every time I grass dance, I’m thinking about my brother up there looking down on me.” That story stuck with me. We got Randy Redroad involved. We try and bring in Aboriginal people who can teach these kids on a very professional level. We engaged a couple of writers to come in and work with us on the project – actually me and Darrell Dennis wrote that episode and Randy came in and did some work on the script with us. But that’s where the story came out of and that’s where most of the early repREZentin’ stories came from.

RG - Onto your involvement with native youth – you guys have done a lot of work, from Project One to Seventh Generation. Can you talk about you motivation behind that?

LM – When I first started I knew we were going to do a lot of work with native youth, and I wasn’t really sure why. I don’t have children of my own and I think that might have something to do with it. Not that I have this void to fill or anything but I do have something to give. And I think when you’re not putting all those resources into your family that you can afford to put them somewhere. I see too many kids, not just native kids, but kids in general, that can’t communicate. They’re too busy on their computer or on the internet all the time and don’t really, truly understand the value of self-expression. Or how something like working in a group environment on a film can build self-esteem and help you understand teamwork and your own sense of value. The film set is a perfect microcosm for so many amazing experiences. I also draw from my experiences in drama class in grades nine through twelve, and how that was such an important experience for me.

RG – About Moccasin Flats the series, what was your experience producing that and how did you go about establishing and shopping the series?

LM – When we were running a rough-cut of the film, Randy Redroad said, “This could be a great series.” We immediately sent it to APTN and they loved it but said they didn’t have enough money for a license and told us we would have to get a second window so we took it to Showcase. It was actually when we were at Sundance that Showcase phoned us and said, “We need you to do a treatment for six episodes and we want it in two days.” So for half the festival I was holed up in my room writing this treatment for six episodes. And then we came back and had a deal with them. Part of the reason we got in to see them in the first place was because Jen [Jennifer Podemski] was working with two producers who were very close with one of the Production Executive from Showcase Television. Jen was really, really good at using her contacts to our benefit. I said to her, “There’s no way. Do you really think they’re going to want this little show with two inexperienced dramatic producers?” We had no drama experience at the time, with the exception of little films we were doing here and there. Then I had to just learn as I went because it was completely different than anything I had ever done.

RG – You’ve worked with Randy Redroad on many occasions as well as other directors and actors. Who have been some of your favorite people to work with.

LM – I guess all producers have their favorite writers and directors but probably my favorite…well I don’t want to leave anyone out. [Laughs] But first season of Moccasin Flats, Stacy Curtis, who is a non-Aboriginal director. Amazing woman; worked herself up from a PA and twenty years later is one of the best directors in Canada. She is absolutely amazing. You know if you’re directing, you don’t just learn about directing, you learn about values. Randy Redroad is always kind to people. He’s a little nutty and he changes things on the fly and grabs hold of the camera every now and then. But he is a nice person. That goes a long way. I really like his style of working with youth too. I think it translates well and kids connect with him.

RG – What current projects are you guys working on?

LM – I’m trying to do some co-productions with other companies. I’m in talks with a producer on the west coast to make a feature film based off an international best-seller written by a native author. It would be my first feature. I’m also co-producing another book into a movie of the week, which was also written by another native author. It’s actually required reading in schools here, it’s called April Raintree. Actually Buffalo Gal and Winnipeg approached me, which is great, because they are a non-Aboriginal production company and they said, “If we’re gonna do this we have to have an Aboriginal producer on board.” I’m so passionate about that book and I appreciate that they had the foresight to engage an Aboriginal person on the project. I’m also currently writing and producing a movie-of-the-week for Moccasin Flats.

RG – What are some of your future goals for Big Soul? What would you like to see happen?

LM – I would like to start producing feature films, which any feature film producer tells me I’m insane for wanting to do. First of all, I’d like to complete everything I’ve started, because I feel passionate about every project we’ve started to develop so far. I would like to develop, create and produce another long-term project. A dramatic series that will even surpass Moccasin Flats, that will have a bigger budget that will have a longer life and hopefully fuller season. I’d like to continue to develop a really strong slate of Aboriginal talent in the industry and help them get noticed. One of the things I’m really excited about right now is an animated short we’re producing called By the Rapids. It was a four minute piece that we’ve been developing into a series for two years now. The creator, Dega Lazare was only 20 years old when we started talking to him about the concept. He wrote, animated, did all of the post-production, all of the voice recording, did most of the voices himself for the four minute piece and now we just got $100,000 to do a half hour pilot. It’s incredible to me and makes you think, “Do we need Aboriginal producers?” I highly doubt that anybody else would have said to this kid from the rez with no experience, “Sure, come on in. Write this whole series, animate it, do all the illustrations, make it happen.” And it’s not just because he’s an Aboriginal, it’s because he’s inexperienced. Nobody knows his name.

That’s half the battle in this industry, no matter where you are, it’s who knows your name. What I like to do is try and find these little gems of incredible talent that will blow people away. I’m excited about the project [By the Rapids]; I see good things coming from it. It’s kind of like our version of The Simpsons. It’ll be the native Simpsons.

RG – [Laughs] I think that’s a good direction to go in, they’ve been around for thirteen years!

LM – Exactly. I think when you nurture new talent then people take notice and start talking about it and that’s how you generate the buzz. Just like Moccasin Flats was in its first season. Everybody was talking about it. It’s so funny, in Canada, if you get on a morning show on CBC radio called “Sounds Like Canada” with Sheila Rodgers, you’ve basically made it. That’s how we measure everything. [Laughs] If you get an interview with Sheila Rodgers, you’re doing pretty good. And Moccasin Flats was in fact on “Sounds Like Canada.”