Joseph Lazare
Joseph Tekaroniake Lazare | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 19, 1984 |
| Died | January 18, 2025 (aged 40) |
Joseph Tekaroniake Lazare (June 19, 1984 – January 18, 2025) was a Mohawk director, producer, writer and actor. He was a member of the Wolf Clan.
Early life
[edit]Lazare grew up in Kahnawake, a Mohawk reserve south of the Saint Lawrence River and across from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He began filmmaking at 12 years old through Teioiaks, a local summertime film production program.[1] After attending Kahnawake’s local high school, Lazare left a collegiate film and television production program to intern at Aboriginal owned and operated Big Soul Productions in Toronto, Ontario.
Career
[edit]Lazare’s films To the Rescue and Mervin were each selected to screen at the Toronto International Teen Movie Festival (now The YoungCuts Film Festival).[1] After gaining attention from Bird Runningwater (Mescalero Apachi/Cheyenne),[2] Associate Director of Native American and Indigenous Programs for the Sundance Institute, Lazare's Might of the Star Chaser premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.[1][3] Might of the Star Chaser is a multi-platform animation that tells the story of a young space officer trying to save his planet from being destroyed by an evil lizard bent on repopulating its species. The same year, Lazare participated in CyberPowWow,[4] an interactive visual art exhibition web-hosted by Oboro Gallery in Montreal.[5] In 2007, along with Big Soul Productions, Lazare produced By the Rapids, a Mohawk-language children's animated series. The show was picked up by APTN and ran for 4 seasons, making it the first prime time Aboriginal animated series.[6][7] By the Rapids is the story of Cory Littlehorn, a pampered urban teen, and his parents as they adjust to life with their extended family members and eccentric neighbours in a quirky Mohawk community.[8]
He died on January 18, 2025.[9]
Filmography
[edit]| Title | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Bat Kidd | 1999 | Director, writer, actor |
| To the Rescue | 2000 | Director, writer, actor |
| Mervin[10] | 2001 | Director, writer, actor |
| Might of the Star Chaser[11] | 2002 | Director, writer, actor |
| Good Looking[12] | 2004 | Director, writer |
| By the Rapids (4 seasons)[13] | 2006-2010 | Creator, director, writer, producer, actor |
| DYS | 2014 | Actor |
| Mohawk Girls | 2014–present | Actor |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Joseph Lazare | National Museum of the American Indian". filmcatalog.nmai.si.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ↑ "N. Bird Runningwater". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
- ↑ "2007 September/October Feature: Animation". www.nativepeoples.com. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ↑ "CyberPowWow". www.cyberpowwow.net. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
- ↑ "OBORO | A centre dedicated to production and presentation of art, contemporary practices and new media". www.oboro.net. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
- ↑ "By The Rapids Cartoon | The Nation: Cree News". The Nation: Cree News. 2008-10-24. Archived from the original on 2018-01-13. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ↑ "Iori:wase: News from the Kanien'kehá:ka Nation". kahnawakenews.com. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ↑ "By The Rapids | APTN". aptn.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ↑ "Joseph Tekaroniake "Dega" Lazare".
- ↑ "Mervin - National Museum of the American Indian".
- ↑ "Might of the Starchaser - National Museum of the American Indian".
- ↑ "Good Looking - National Museum of the American Indian".
- ↑ "By the Rapids - National Museum of the American Indian".
- 1984 births
- 2025 deaths
- 21st-century Canadian male actors
- 21st-century Canadian screenwriters
- 21st-century First Nations male actors
- 21st-century Haudenosaunee people
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian male television actors
- Canadian male voice actors
- Canadian Mohawk filmmakers
- Canadian Mohawk male actors
- Film directors from Quebec
- Male actors from Quebec
- Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke people
- Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee