Cole Forrest
is an Anishinaabe Filmmaker, writer, and curator from Nipissing First Nation.
Cole joins us from an area whose resource draining has greatly impacted their life and artistic practice to focus on environmental sustainability. Cole is a filmmaker who is passionate about film process and development and is excited to incorporate community goals into their project here in Moab.
Cole is a recipient of the Ken and Ann Watts Memorial Scholarship, imagineNATIVE Director’s Lab, and of the James Bartleman Indigenous Youth Creative Writing Award. They are the 2019 recipient of the imagineNATIVE + LIFT Film Mentorship and a 2020 Artist in Residence as a part of the Sundance Native Filmmakers Lab. Cole is a 2023 participant of the Reelworld E20 Program and the 2024 emerging curator-in-residence at Images Festival. Cole has supported programming at festivals including TIFF, imagineNATIVE, VIFF, Santa Fe International Film Festival, and Pathways Indigenous Film Festival. Cole has been published in GRAIN Magazine, and released a debut co-authored poetry collection titled “Once The Smudge Is Lit” in 2024. Cole is currently developing new film and writing projects including their first feature film. They are grateful to represent their community in all artistic pursuits.
Cole Forrest
Residency Work
During their Residency here in Moab, Cole plans to experiment with alternative film development methods. While strong chemicals have been used for over 100 years in the film community there is a movement to create and use more sustainable processes. Cole will host a series of workshops and a closing reception, all free and open to the public. All four workshops revolve around creating and developing images with eco-friendly and organic film processes that use coffee grounds, baking soda and vitamin C. Workshop participants will learn how to build cameras and develop film using materials from the waste stream and thrift store. The images and film created through the workshops, along with the work that Cole has created throughout the month-long artist residency, will be presented at the end of the residency.
Thank you to our program partners:
