The Sundance Institute has named a First Nations filmmaker from Vancouver, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, as the 2018 recipient of the Merata Mita Fellowship.

The fellowship, given to Indigenous filmmakers chosen from international nominations, honors the late Maori filmmaker Merata Mita. It includes a cash grant and yearlong support that includes attending the Sundance Film Festival, access to Sundance Institute artist programs, and mentorship.

Tailfeathers, who is of Blackfoot and Sami (Indigenous Scandinavians) heritage, has won numerous awards, including the Vancouver Mayor's Arts Awards in 2014 and a best lead actress Canadian Screen Award for her performance in the 2016 Downtown Eastside drama On the Farm (released on TV as Unclaimed).

Her feature-length documentary cesnaʔem: the city before the city, which took a look at what existed prior to the colonization of what is now Vancouver, premiered at the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival.

She is currently working on a feature-length documentary about addiction and the fentanyl crisis in her home community of Kainai First Nation (Blood reserve) in southern Alberta.

She's also collaborating with filmmaker Kathleen Hepburn (Never Steady, Never Still) on a narrative feature.