Indigenous Film Programme
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INDIGENOUS FILM PROGRAMME 1 REEL CANADA Uniting our Nations through Film WHO WE ARE REEL CANADA is a charitable organization whose mission is to introduce new audiences to the power and diversity of Canadian film, and engage them in a conversation about identity and culture. Showcasing works by WHAT IS THE INDIGENOUS FILM PROGRAMME? Indigenous filmmakers from Canada is an integral part of that mission. Our travelling film festival has reached nearly a million students — and it just keeps growing! • A selection of Indigenous-made films by filmmakers from diverse Nations across Canada including Abenaki, Anishinaabe, Cree, Dene, Gwich’in, Inuit, Métis, Mi’kmaq, Heilsuk, and Mohawk • We bring these films to students in grades 9-12 for either in-class viewing, or for larger screenings in front of multiple WHAT WE DO LESSON PLANS AND classrooms or an entire school Our work is delivered via three core programmes, each of which incorporates incredible work created by RESOURCES • Films featured in the Indigenous Film Programme include something for everyone with documentaries, comedies, dramas, animation and experimental works to choose from Indigenous filmmakers: With a track record of thousands of successful school screenings, we can give you effective tools • Everything we offer is absolutely FREE OF CHARGE Our Films in Our Schools: For more than 13 years, to get your colleagues and students excited about we have helped teachers and students across Canada your event, and work with you to create a festival organize over two thousand screenings of Canadian film. that will resonate with your community. Benefits For Non-Indigenous Students WHY AN INDIGENOUS FILM Presenting Indigenous films in schools helps dispel myths Welcome to Canada: We introduce new Canadians We offer: and stereotypes by providing a more inclusive history of to Canadian film and culture through festival events Canada, and also promotes better understanding and z Film-specific lesson plans for all feature-length PROGRAMME? designed specifically for English-language learners of all sensitivity to contemporary Indigenous experiences. films in this programme Indigenous stories on film have often been told by ages. “I may not be Indigenous but I now understand z Lesson plans for Indigenous and Native studies non-Indigenous filmmakers, sometimes even with non- Indigenous actors portraying Indigenous characters. that I have a role to play in changing how we as a National Canadian Film Day (NCFD): An annual one- courses This has resulted in a stifling of Indigenous voice and collective society view Canada’s history.” day event where Canadians from coast-to-coast-to- z Lesson plans about Canadian film and has contributed to stereotypical misrepresentations — Grade 11 student, Golden SS, Golden B.C. coast get together to watch a great Canadian film storytelling for grades 9 to 12 English and of Indigenous people in film and television. The — across all major platforms, online, and in theatres. media courses presentation of films made by Indigenous artists in Benefits For Mixed Audiences z Games, quizzes and other resources to help schools provides opportunities for dialogue, education Movies from the Indigenous Film Programme can be teachers bring this important part of our and cultural exchange. both a mirror and a window as they reflect Indigenous culture to their students experiences while also providing an opening for Benefits For Indigenous Students cross-cultural exchange and greater understanding. Research shows — and our audiences confirm — Presentation of Indigenous films can help your school that seeing oneself on film can be a profound and address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s transformative experience. When Indigenous stories are imperative to explore “Aboriginal peoples’ historical Email [email protected] told by Indigenous filmmakers, the result is authentic, and contemporary contributions to Canada” (Truth and self-determined cultural expression. When First Nation, Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action, or call 1-855-733-5709 Inuit and Métis students witness a true reflection of Section 62.i). to start planning a festival or to their lives and experiences, the effect is empowering and “Education is the key to reconciliation, but only inspirational. a true and complete experience in education can access our resources. “Watching a film about native women makes me pave the path to relationships built on mutual happy because I could relate to the things they said, respect and peaceful co-existence.” did and thought.” — National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, — Grade 12 student, W.F. Herman SS, Windsor, ON University of Manitoba 1 2 INTRODUCTION FROM ARIEL SMITH tānsi! I am thrilled and privileged to join the REEL CANADA team as Manager of the THEWe are committed to celebrating FILMS the work of Indigenous filmmakers Indigenous Film Programme. and believe in the importance of Indigenous stories being told by REEL CANADA has a national focus and reach. However, I want to recognize and Indigenous peoples on their own terms. We consider a film to be honour the fact that we operate in Toronto, Ontario, on the territory and treaty Indigenous made if an Indigenous director, writer or producer is lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, which is the traditional territory of the involved.* Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron Wendat, and is subject to the Dish with Ariel Smith (nēhiyaw) Manager of the One Spoon Covenant. We are grateful to be on this land. Please note: Our use of the term Indigenous is inclusive of Métis, Indigenous Film Programme, Inuit and both Status and Non-Status First Nations peoples. REEL CANADA Within commercial film and television production in Canada, Indigenous peoples have long been underrepresented as makers and misrepresented as subjects. REEL CANADA recognizes this fact and we are passionately dedicated to ensuring that Indigenous films are integrated and included throughout all of our core programmes. We achieve this by building and nurturing relationships with Indigenous filmmakers, LEGEND programmers and partner organizations that are based on respect and reciprocity. I would like to wholeheartedly thank our partner organizations and all of the members Denotes films that are appropriate for English- of our Indigenous Film Programme Advisory Committee for their dedication, ESL language learners. commitment and wisdom. REEL CANADA recognizes the importance of the calls to action made by the Truth and GRADES 11–12 Denotes films that contain mature subject matter. Reconciliation Commission (TRC), particularly those specific to education, art and Jack Blum, Executive Director media. The TRC calls for intercultural understanding and mutual respect. We seek Denotes films that were produced by the National Film Sharon Corder, Artistic Director to answer this call, using film to spark dialogue, build bridges and expand empathy Board of Canada. REEL CANADA amongst young learners. The Indigenous Film Programme is a valuable resource for educators, students and community members across the country. NOTES ON FILM RATINGS We believe that Indigenous-made content must be seamlessly integrated into all of Our catalogue lists the Ontario Film Review Board’s ratings for each film. To check the INDIGENOUS FILM PROGRAMME rating of a particular film in other provinces and territories, please consult the film’s ADVISORY COMMITTEE our programmes; however, there is also great value in highlighting Indigenous films, page on our website, reelcanada.ca/films. Tantoo Cardinal specifically through focused initiatives such as the Indigenous Film Programme. This programme and its accompanying catalogue serve as an opportunity to spotlight The rating “NR” denotes a film that has never received theatrical distribution and Danis Goulet and celebrate the wealth of incredible work being made by Indigenous filmmakers in was therefore never rated by any provincial government film ratings agencies. Ronnie Dean Harris Canada today. Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs Jennifer Podemski I greatly look forward to helping you bring this exciting initiative into your school, Dr. Duke Redbird and warmly invite you to join us as we celebrate and honour Indigenous voices in the *Included in the Indigenous Film Programme are a small selection of classroom. Jason Ryle films by non-Indigenous artists. We have included these films as their Amanda Strong Kinanâskomitin, stories feature Indigenous actors and/or offer a nuanced portrayal Janelle Wookey of Indigenous life. Indigenous educators have screened these works and have found them to be valuable learning resources. You can find these films on page 13. Ariel Smith (nēhiyaw) Manager of the Indigenous Film Programme, REEL CANADA For the complete REEL CANADA catalogue of great Canadian films, visit reelcanada.ca or write to [email protected]. REGISTERED CHARITABLE # 8508 92 36 5 RR0001 [email protected] • www.reelcanada.ca • 720 Bathurst Street, Suite 504, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2R4 • 416-642-5796 • 1-855-733-5709 • Fax: 647-557-2111 3 4 FEATURE FILMS ANGRY INUK BIRTH OF A FAMILY (2016) Director/Writer: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk). Producers: Alethea (2016) Director/Writer: Tasha Hubbard (Cree), Writer: Betty Ann Adam Arnaquq-Baril, Bonnie Thompson. 85 min. PG (Dene). Producer: Bonnie Thompson. 79 min. PG We all know about the terrible “brutality” of the arctic seal hunt — Four siblings, taken from their Dene mother’s care as infants and or do we? Turns out there’s more to this story: families that need to raised separately across North America, meet for the first time in this be fed, a hunting practice that began centuries ago and a tradition deeply moving documentary. central to the economy and food security of Inuit communities in the They were among the estimated 20,000 Indigenous children who Canadian Arctic. Angry Inuk is a story that’s over 4,000 years old. The were taken from their homes between 1955 and 1985 and placed in seal hunt is not exactly a laughing matter, but humour and technical the child welfare system as part of the Sixties Scoop. This policy was savvy go a long way to debunk certain claims.