Samian
Originally from Pikogan, a small aboriginal community in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Samian has been renowned wearing his colors; those of an entire people, for whom he claims respect and recognition. Discovered in 2004 thanks to the Wapikoni Mobile project, he has since released 4 albums, one of which, Face à la musique (2011), won a Felix at the ADISQ gala for hip-hop album of the year. He has performed throughout Canada and in more than a dozen countries around the world. He has also published a book of poetry gathering the texts of his first 3 albums; in addition, many of his texts are now found in various schoolbooks in Quebec. In February 2016, he was the recipient of the prestigious Artist for Peace Award, recognized across Canada.
Samian is also a photographer and has been a spokesperson, besides having showcased some pictures, at the 10th edition of the World Press Photo Montreal (2015). The following year, he presented his first photographic exhibition, entitled Child of the Earth, at Place des Arts. Since then, it has been hosted in several galleries, museums and theaters across Quebec. A book containing the complete exhibition was published in 2016.
Samian made his big screen debut in the film Roche Papier Ciseaux (2013), alongside Roy Dupuis. He then appeared in Scratch (2014) and Chasse-Galerie: La légende (2016). For the first time, Samian got a lead role in François Girard's film, Hochelaga: Land of Souls, which represented Canada in the race for the Oscars (2018) in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.
His fourth album, Le Messager (2019), has been well received since its release. Samian hosts the documentary series En Marge du Monde (2019) on TV5 Monde.