Director Peter Kershaw (left) explains the nuances of the RED camera to IAIA students.

As previously announced, the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Cinematic Arts and Technology Department, in partnership with Duchy Parade Films, LLC, has put together a production plan for a contemporary feature film which will be filmed in New Mexico. Entitled, The Dark Places, the film was written and is to be directed by Peter Kershaw, a producer and director in television in the United Kingdom and an international award-winning independent filmmaker. He is a graduate of the IAIA MFA program in screenwriting, and currently teaches IAIA’s undergraduate directing class. Kershaw is a principal in Duchy Parade Films, LLC. The Dark Places is a contemporary love story set in Santa Fe which reflects the character of Santa Fe and the diversity of inhabitants that make up the community and experience of living in New Mexico.

Duchy Parade Films will provide an opportunity for current IAIA students and recent alumni to gain the experience of working on a feature film. Kershaw and the IAIA team see this as a chance to create an educational model—a feature film plan that could become a repeatable blueprint for future features produced by college film programs. Although cinematic arts and technology majors will be given first chance at positions in the production, the opportunity is open to all IAIA students and recent alumni. This is the first model of its kind to be put into place for the production of a feature by a college production team.