Some people praise STRONGFRONT.tv founder Jesse Green a successful businessman gracing magazine covers and subject of various business articles, but Jesse thinks of his film and television career as an evolution of numerous inroads, trials and tribulations that have contributed to his success.
Most recently Jesse won an award for best television program at this years Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, is nominated for a Native American Film Festival Award and is currently wrapping up post on his latest series “Dreamcatcher Bios with Adam Beach”.
His latest endeavors have included working with writer Gregg Kavett of Seinfeld fame on his Arbor Live comedy series along with Adam Beach, Eric Schweig and Stevie Salas. “When you work with the best you get the best” says Green.
It all began at a very young age – his mothers side of the family are from Sioux Valley First Nation in Manitoba and are descendants of the Great Sitting Bull of which he is very proud. The family are all academically inclined and his mother instilled in him a strong work ethic at a very young age. “I was baby sitting and doing dishes for as long as I can remember” says Green, employed at the age of 12 and working ever since to make his own way. He reaped the fruits of his labor by having his own car at the age of 15 and saving up to buy things such as a guitar and cool clothes. To this day that work ethic has stuck with him and he attributes that to his success in business and in life.
Jesse’s introduction to video began in high school in a vocational course at Sturgeon Creek High in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After working as a full time musician for 8 years Jesse began looking to his video training as a career option. After some research Jesse realized that through his years as a musician he was already well entrenched within the entertainment circles in both the radio and television industry.
One of his contacts was David McLeod of Native Communications Inc., a little northern native broadcasting company in Thompson Manitoba. NCI gave Jesse his first break in the television business by taking him on as intern. The experience with NCI, running the entire television department, producing corporate videos across northern Manitoba and becoming a northern correspondent for CBC, led Jesse to train at the world renowned Banff Centre for the Arts and to a scholarship at University of Regina in Journalism.
Jesse began working for numerous production companies and broadcasters, doing sound, camera, editing, writing and anything else that was part of the production process. An unknown trade secret he developed was a distaster for working with disorganized production companies but Jesse would attribute this experience of writing, directing and editing television projects on heroically short timelines as invaluable, showing him the importance of planning and scheduling.
On the other end of the spectrum Jesse was able work with some very distinguished Manitoban’s whom he would consider mentors such as Lisa Meeches, Jim Compton and Tina Keeper to name a few. Lisa Meeches added Jesse to her list of respected writers and directors of “The Sharing Circle”, which at the time was one of Canada’s longest running documentary series, garnering him an award for Best Television Program at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for “First Nation Invasion”.
