To: n.renaud@concordia.ca
Subject: Cinema, community autonomy, and First Peoples Studies — a question of route

Bonjour Monsieur Renaud,

I've been learning about your work — your films and your programming of Indigenous cinema at Présence autochtone — and your role directing First Peoples Studies. I'm reaching out for your perspective, not to pitch anything.

A bit of grounding: I come from cinema and visual effects (a few feature films), and for the past few years I've been in relation with Indigenous communities — three years as a fire keeper at the Sundance, and ongoing relationships with Innu people. One thing keeps surfacing in those circles: communities want to make films for and by themselves, but the technical capacity often isn't there, so films about Indigenous people still tend to be made by outsiders. Some elders have named wanting that to change — for the community to be autonomous in cinema.

The question I'm sitting with is simple to state and hard to answer well: how could someone with my background help facilitate that autonomy, respectfully, without stepping into the extractive pattern? That's what draws me toward First Peoples Studies at Concordia.

I'd genuinely value 20–30 minutes of your thinking on which path might hold a question like this — whether that's the land-based program, the BA, or a graduate route (I've been pointed toward INDI and HUMA) — and what you'd watch out for. I'm at the route-finding stage, not asking for any commitment.

Merci de votre temps — au plaisir d'échanger, en français ou en anglais, selon ce qui vous convient.

Cordialement,
Guillaume [last name]
[phone] · [email]

To: FASgradprograms@concordia.ca
Subject: INDI & HUMA — fit for an Indigenous cinema / technology project (referred by Élise)

Hello,

I'm writing on the suggestion of Élise [last name], a recruiter in Undergraduate Admissions, who recommended I contact you about graduate-level options — specifically the Individualized Program (INDI) and the Humanities (HUMA) program.

I have a background in cinema and visual effects (I've worked on feature films), and I have learning relationships connected to Indigenous community contexts, including three years serving as a fire keeper at the Sundance and relationships connected to Innu people. I am careful not to treat those relationships as institutional permission; they are responsibilities that make protocol and consent central. The project I want to develop sits at the intersection of Indigenous cinema, technology, and community self-determination: how to support communities in producing their own films autonomously, rather than having outsiders make films about them.

Because this crosses creative practice, technology, and First Peoples Studies, Élise thought INDI or HUMA might hold it better than a single existing program. I'd be grateful for your guidance on a few points:

1. For a project this interdisciplinary, how would you compare INDI vs. HUMA in terms of fit, structure, and flexibility?
2. How does the supervisor / faculty-match process work — can I identify supervisors before applying, and would faculty in First Peoples Studies and the Applied AI Institute be eligible to supervise?
3. What are the admission requirements and application timeline for the next intake?
4. I previously began a master's in arts at another university (interrupted during the pandemic) — how would prior graduate standing be considered?

I'm also in parallel contact with Nicolas Renaud, the First Peoples Studies program director, on the academic-fit side.

Thank you for your time — I'd welcome a short call or a pointer to the right next step.

With appreciation,
Guillaume [last name]
[phone] · [email]