Boil Alert

Layla Staats
Layla Staats is an inspirational and creative multidisciplinary Artist based in the Six Nations, whose works stem from her deep understanding of Indigenous strength from her heart and soul. As an Indigenous Film Maker, Musician, Speaker, and Activist, she advocates for Indigenous rights, and utilizes her mediums to provide a platform for the stories and movements of her community. Layla has dedicated her life to her work in order to deeply nurture and inspire the compassion, respect, and admiration for her people and roots. Which is why her keynotes and workshops reach the audience on a deep and emotional level. With a shining light that seemingly never dims and a strength that can never be broken, her work speaks for itself–revealing a one-of-a-kind voice that stands with courage and conviction. Layla Staats is a powerful artist with a profound calling and a stunning legacy.

Joshua Neuman
Joshua Neuman is a Toronto-based writer and filmmaker. His award-winning documentary, Johnny Physical Lives, played at dozens of film festivals all over the world and was a Vimeo “Staff Pick Premiere.” He has appeared on BBC Radio, VH1, A & E Biography, National Public Radio, and Extra and his speaking engagements have taken him from Comic-Con to the United Nations to the Super Bowl. He is currently the Senior VP of Development at Seeing Red 6Nations.

Stevie Salas (Director/Producer/Writer)
Stevie Salas is globally recognized guitarist, composer, and recording artist who has sold over two million solo albums around the world as well as the Emmy-nominated Executive Producer of the feature film, RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World. Of proud Apache descent, Salas spent his early years working with a wide range of musicians including Mick Jagger, Bootsy Collins, Public Enemy, George Clinton, Justin Timberlake, and Rod Stewart. He provided the guitar score for Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and appeared as the hands of George Carlin’s for the film’s iconic end-of-the-movie, guitar solo scene. From 2006-2010, he served as a music director and consultant for 19 Ent/American Idol, working with Chris Daughtry, David Cook, Chris Allen, Jordin Sparks, and Adam Lambert. He is currently the Chief Creative Officer/ Executive Producer of Seeing Red 6Nations, an Indigenous-owned media company, based on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, as well as a member of the reconstituted, legendary rock band, the MC5.

James Burns (Director/Writer)
James Burns is an award-winning director and producer. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2023, is a Sundance Institute fellow of 2020, was selected for the Saatchi & Saatchi New Director Showcase at Cannes Lion 2016, won the TriBeCa Film Festival Special Jury Mention Award in 2015, and was nominated for the D&AD Next Director Award in 2017. In 2017 James created the Solitary Confinement Project, an unprecedented month-long 24-hour livestream in which James voluntarily entered solitary confinement for 30 days and broadcasted his time inside. The project was nominated for a Webby Award in 2018. The work he has directed and produced has been presented on Netflix, SHOWTIME, VICE, Independent Lens, Amazon Prime, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Vimeo Staff Picks, and Nowness. His most recent films have premiered at TIFF, SXSW, and Tribeca FF.