Wayne Wapeemukwa is an award-winning Michif filmmaker and researcher. He is the Mellon doctoral fellow at the Pennsylvania State University where he researches and publishes on the history and philosophy of anti-Indigenous race and racism. His debut feature, Luk’Luk’I, premiered at TIFF 2017 and won the award for Best Canadian First Feature. Later that year the Director’s Guild of Canada presented Wayne the Discovery Prize for best new talent. In 2024 he will be awarded his PhD and undertake production of his next feature film. Wayne is a citizen of the Métis Nation of British Columbia with ancestry from the historic Métis homeland of northwest Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota.