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 Indigenous filmmakers from Canada is an integral part of that mission. Our travelling film festival has reached over a million students – and it just keeps growing! WHAT WE DO LESSON PLANS AND Now entering our 16th season, we offer several programmes for students. And, through National RESOURCES Canadian Film Day (NCFD), we also bring an annual With a track record of thousands of successful school celebration of film to all Canadians. screenings, we can give you effective tools to get your colleagues and students excited about your Our Educational Programmes serve anywhere from event, and work with you to create a festival that will a single class to a whole school. They all incorporate resonate with your community. incredible work made by Indigenous filmmakers, and all of them are absolutely free of charge. We offer: • Film-specific lesson plans orf all feature-length Our Films in Our Schools: for more than 14 years, films in this programme we have helped teachers and students organize over 3,000 screenings of Canadian films • Lesson plans for Indigenous and Native studies courses Welcome to Canada: introducing new Canadians to Canadian film and culture through festival events • Lesson plans about Canadian film and torytellings designed specifically for English-language learners of for grades 9 to 12 English and media courses all ages • Games, quizzes and other resources to help teachers bring this important part of Canadian Indigenous Film Programme: primarily for high culture to their students schools*, this programme focuses on films made by Indigenous artists

RCtv: an interactive, live webcast, and our biggest NATIONAL offering for schools on NCFD CANADIAN FILM DAY National Canadian Film Day (NCFD) is an annual *If you teach elementary or middle school, most of the films one-day event where Canadians from coast-to-coast- in this catalogue may be too mature for your students. We do to-coast get together to watch a great Canadian film – have a limited selection of short films that are appropriate for younger viewers, so email us to find out more. across all major platforms, online and in theatres.

Email [email protected] or call 1-855-733-5709 to start planning a festival or to access our resources. 1 WHAT IS THE INDIGENOUS FILM PROGRAMME? • A selection of Indigenous-made films by filmmakers from diverse Nations across Canada including Abenaki, Anishinaabe, Cree, Dene, Gwich’in, Inuit, Métis, Mi’kmaq, Heiltsuk, Mohawk Blackfoot, Kanien’kehaka, Tsilhqot’in and Haida. • We can help you access these films whether your students are in the classroom, learning from home, or a combination of the two. • Films featured in the Indigenous Film Programme include something for everyone with documentaries, comedies, dramas, animation and experimental works to choose from.

• Everything we offer is absolutely FREE OF CHARGE.

Benefits For Non-Indigenous Students WHY AN INDIGENOUS FILM Presenting Indigenous films in schools helps dispel myths and stereotypes by providing a more inclusive history of PROGRAMME? Canada, and also promotes better understanding and sensitivity to contemporary Indigenous experiences. Indigenous stories on film have often been told by non-Indigenous filmmakers, sometimes even with non- “I may not be Indigenous but I now understand Indigenous actors portraying Indigenous characters. that I have a role to play in changing how we as a This has resulted in a stifling of Indigenous voice and collective society view Canada’s history.” has contributed to stereotypical misrepresentations — Grade 11 student, Golden SS, Golden B.C. of Indigenous people in film and television. The presentation of films made by Indigenous artists in Benefits For Mixed Audiences schools provides opportunities for dialogue, education Movies from the Indigenous Film Programme can be and cultural exchange. both a mirror and a window as they reflect Indigenous 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 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, Inuit and Métis students witness a true reflection of Section 62.i). 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 “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

2 INTRODUCTION FROM ARIEL SMITH

tānsi!

I am thrilled and privileged to join the REEL CANADA team as Manager of the Indigenous Film Programme.

REEL CANADA has a national focus and reach. However, I want to recognize and honour the fact that we operate in Toronto, Ontario, on the territory and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, which is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron Wendat, and is subject to the Dish with One Spoon Covenant. We are grateful to be on this land.

Ariel Smith (nēhiyaw) Within commercial film and television production in Canada, Indigenous peoples have Manager of the long been underrepresented as makers and misrepresented as subjects. REEL CANADA Indigenous Film Programme, 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, 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 of our Indigenous Film Programme Advisory Committee for their dedication, commitment and wisdom.

REEL CANADA recognizes the importance of the calls to action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), particularly those specific to education, art and media. The TRC calls for intercultural understanding and mutual respect. We seek to answer this call, using film to spark dialogue, build bridges and expand empathy Jack Blum, Executive Director amongst young learners. The Indigenous Film Programme is a valuable resource for Sharon Corder, Artistic Director educators, students and community members across the country. REEL CANADA We believe that Indigenous-made content must be seamlessly integrated into all of our programmes; however, there is also great value in highlighting Indigenous films, INDIGENOUS FILM PROGRAMME specifically through focused initiatives such as the Indigenous Film Programme. This ADVISORY COMMITTEE programme and its accompanying catalogue serve as an opportunity to spotlight Tantoo Cardinal and celebrate the wealth of incredible work being made by Indigenous filmmakers in Danis Goulet Canada today. Ronnie Dean Harris I greatly look forward to helping you bring this exciting initiative into your school, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs and warmly invite you to join us as we celebrate and honour Indigenous voices in the Jennifer Podemski classroom. Dr. Duke Redbird Kinanâskomitin, Jason Ryle Amanda Strong Janelle Wookey Ariel Smith (nēhiyaw) Manager of the Indigenous Film Programme, REEL CANADA

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 THE REVIEWS ARE IN!

“Our students and staff cannot stop talking about this awesome experience.” — Ngozi Okongwu, teacher, Middlefield CI, Markham, ON

“REEL CANADA is really essential. For students to have access to film, and Canadian film especially — for them to see their own stories, especially in a country that gets so much other cinema — it’s just amazing.” — Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis), filmmaker

“This is eye-opening and critical and everyone should have the chance to have a programme like this.” — Gr. 10 student, Maniwaki Woodland School, Maniwaki, QC

“I had a blast and the staff is professional and there to give back to the world. I enjoyed being part of something so meaningful. Big thanks to all involved.” — Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Heiltsuk/Mohawk), filmmaker

“I think it inspires us all to tell our stories — we have a lot of stories as First Nations people — and it is important for First Nations filmmakers to tell our stories.” — Student, Winnipeg Aboriginal Youth Leadership Programme, Winnipeg, MB

“Thank you, REEL CANADA, for advocating for Aboriginal storytelling. We have much that we want to share with the world.” — Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis), filmmaker

“This programme has the potential to highlight and shift perspectives on Aboriginal issues.” — Principal, Southwood Secondary School, Cambridge, ON

“I would ... like to applaud REEL CANADA for the efforts in creating specific programming around Indigenous films and creators to further the dialogue between Canadians and the First Peoples of Turtle Island.” — Jesse Wente (Ojibway), Executive Director of the Indigenous Screen Office, Chair of the Board of the Canada Council for the Arts We are committed to celebrating the work of Indigenous filmmakers and believe in the importance of Indigenous stories being told by Indigenous peoples on their own terms. We consider a film to be Indigenous-made if an Indigenous director, writer or producer is involved.*

Please note: Our use of the term Indigenous is inclusive of Métis, Inuit and both Status and Non-Status First Nations peoples.

LEGEND

Denotes films that are appropriate for English- ESL language learners.

GRADES 11–12 Denotes films that contain mature subject matter.

DOC Denotes films that are documentaries

Denotes films that were produced by the National Film Board of Canada. NOTES ON FILM RATINGS Our catalogue lists the Ontario Film Review Board’s ratings for each film. To check the rating of a particular film in other provinces and territories, please consult the film’s page on our website, reelcanada.ca/films.

The rating “NR” denotes a film that has never received theatrical distribution and was therefore never rated by any provincial government film ratings agencies.

* The Indigenous Film Programme includes only films made by Indigenous people. The larger REEL CANADA catalogue also includes the films Indian Horse, Maïna, The Secret Path, The Snow Walker and The Whale, all of which were made by non-Indigenous artists but focus on Indigenous subjects or stories. Although not made by Indigenous filmmakers, these works have been screened by Indigenous educators who have deemed them to be valuable learning resources. Go to reelcanada.ca/films to explore these and many other great Canadian films.

5 FEATURE FILMS

ANGELIQUE’S ISLE (2019) Director: Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe), Marie-Hélène Cousineau. Screenwriter: Michelle Derosier, James R. Stevens. Producers: Amos Adetuyi, Floyd Kane, Michelle Derosier, Dave Clement Starring: Julia Jones (Choctaw/Chickasaw), Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis), Aden Young, Charlie Carrick. 90 min. 14A In the midst of the 1845 mining boom on the shores of Lake Superior, newlywed Anishinaabe woman Angelique (Jones) agrees to accompany her voyageur husband on a copper expedition. Left by the rest of the crew to guard a large discovery on a remote island, the couple must survive for weeks dealing with the harsh winter MICHELLE DEROSIER conditions and a quickly dwindling food supply. Derosier is an award-winning filmmaker and As hunger sets in, Angelique – a devout Christian – struggles with producer whose credits include the short films Eagle vs. Sparrow and The Grandfather Drum her faith and must rely on the teachings she received from her (p.17), which premiered at the Sundance Film grandmother in order to survive. A testament to the strength and Festival. She also directed the documentary Return resilience of Indigenous women, Angelique’s Isle also stars Tantoo to Manomin. Angelique’s Isle is her first feature. Cardinal and Aden Young. MARIE-HÉLÈNE COUSINEAU Based on the novel Angelique Abandoned by James R. Stevens and the Director and producer Cousineau moved from true story of 17-year-old Angelique Mott, Angelique’s Isle is a beautiful Quebec to Igloolik in 2001 and co-founded the filmmaking collective Arnait Video Productions. and harrowing true tale of perseverance and survival. She produced and co-directed Before Tomorrow (p.22), Uvanga and wrote and produced Tia and Piujuq (p.15).

ANGRY INUK DOC (2016) Director/Writer: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk). Producers: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Bonnie Thompson. 85 min. PG We all know about the terrible “brutality” of the arctic seal hunt — or do we? Turns out there’s more to this story: families that need to be fed, a hunting practice that began centuries ago and a tradition central to the economy and food security of Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic. Angry Inuk is a story that’s over 4,000 years old. The seal hunt is not exactly a laughing matter, but humour and technical savvy go a long way to debunk certain claims. Wryly tackling both misinformation and aggressive appeals to emotion, ALETHEA ARNAQUQ-BARIL Inuk filmmaker Arnaquq-Baril equips herself and her community Arnaquq-Baril is an award-winning filmmaker with the powers of social media — and yes, #sealfies — to reframe whose work has screened on CBC and APTN, and at festivals like Hot Docs and a controversial topic as a cultural issue in this 2016 Audience Award- imagineNATIVE. Notable credits include Aviliaq: winning Hot Docs hit. Entwined (p.18), Inuit High Kick (p.19) and Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos. “Angry Inuk delivers important information about an issue we tend to She was also a producer of the award-winning think we know everything about, and delivers a powerful emotional film The Grizzlies (p.9), which premiered at TIFF punch.” — Susan G. Cole, NOW Magazine 2018. “Angry Inuk was truly breathtaking.” — Grade 11 student, Southwood SS, Cambridge, ON

FEATURE FILMS 6 FEATURE FILMS

ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER (2001) Director: Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk). Screenwriter: Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk). Producers: Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk, Paul Apak Angilirq. Starring: Natar Ungalaaq (Inuk), Sylvia Ivalu (Inuk), Peter- Henry Arnatsiaq (Inuk), Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk). 161 min. AA (Inuktitut with English subtitles) Based on an ancient Inuit legend, Atanarjuat is an epic tale of love, betrayal and revenge. The beautiful Atuat (Ivalu) has been promised to the short-fused Oki (Arnatsiaq), the son of the tribe’s leader. However, she loves the good-natured Atanarjuat (Ungalaaq), a fast runner and excellent hunter. When Atanarjuat is forced to battle the jealous Oki for Atuat’s hand, the events that follow determine not ZACHARIAS KUNUK, O.C. only his fate, but that of his people. Kunuk is an acclaimed director, producer and an Officer of the Order of Canada. In Atanarjuat won 20 awards, including eight Genies and the Caméra addition to winning the Camera D’Or at the d’Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Cannes Film Festival, Atanarjuat was selected as the number one Canadian film of all time, “I am not surprised that The Fast Runner has been a box office hit ... It according to TIFF’s Canada’s All-Time Top Ten is unlike anything most audiences will ever have seen, and yet it tells a List. Kunuk’s other credits include Maliglutit universal story.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (Searchers) (p.24), The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, and One Day in the Life of Noah NOTE: Due to the unusually long run time of this film, if you would like to Piugattuk (p.24). screen Atanarjuat, please contact us to discuss the logistics.

BIRTH OF A FAMILY DOC (2016) Director/Writer: Tasha Hubbard (Cree), Writer: Betty Ann Adam (Dene). Producer: Bonnie Thompson. 79 min. PG Four siblings, taken from their Dene mother’s care as infants and raised separately across North America, meet for the first time in this deeply moving documentary. They were among the estimated 20,000 Indigenous children who were taken from their homes between 1955 and 1985 and placed in the child welfare system as part of the Sixties Scoop. This policy was part of the same trend of forced assimilation as residential schools. Over several decades, Betty Ann has worked tirelessly to track down TASHA HUBBARD her siblings, all of whom have had very different life journeys. Now Hubbard is an award-winning filmmaker and they reunite, challenged by the sadness and comforted by the joys of an assistant professor in the University of learning their full history. Despite the heartache of separation, their Saskatchewan’s Department of English. Her love uplifts them all as they move towards the birth of a new family. writing-directing project Two Worlds Colliding (p.28) won a Gemini and a Golden Sheaf Award. She has also directed the short film 7 Minutes (p.19), and the feature doc nîpawistamâsowin: “I enjoyed watching a film about challenges faced by We Will Stand Up (p.11). Indigenous families a lot more than just reading and then discussing articles. It’s a better way to learn and gave me a new balanced outlook.” — Grade 10 Student, Great Lakes SS, Sarnia, ON

7 FEATURE FILMS FEATURE FILMS

THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN (2020) Directors/Writers: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Kathleen Hepburn. Producers: Tyler Hagan, Lori Lozinski, Alan Milligan. Starring: Violet Nelson (Kwakwakaʼwakw), Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. 105 min. PG Two Indigenous women from vastly different backgrounds find their worlds colliding on an East Vancouver sidewalk when domestic violence forces one of them, a pregnant teen named Rosie (Nelson), to flee her home. ELLE-MÁIJÁ TAILFEATHERS Àila (Tailfeathers) swiftly offers her shelter, and as their intimate yet Tailfeathers is a writer, director, producer and challenging encounter develops, the women weave a fragile bond, actor who began her filmmaking career with and must face their own unique struggles with the complexities of the 2011 short Bloodland and has made music motherhood, class, and colonialism. videos, documentaries and narrative fiction. Her directing credits include the short films A “The filmmakers have constructed a world that you’ll remember Red Girl’s Reasoning and Rebel and the feature when it broke your heart open.” - Chris Knight, The National Post documentary c’sna?m: The city before the city. KATHLEEN HEPBURN Hepburn is a writer and director whose short films include Kettle, It’s Not as if We Haven’t Been Here For a While and A Land that Forgets. Her debut feature Never Steady, Never Still was adapted from her short of the same name , and was nominated for eight Canadian Screen Awards.

CLUB NATIVE DOC (2008) Director/Writer: Tracey Deer (Mohawk). Producers: Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick. 78 min. NR On the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake, outside of Montreal, there are two unspoken rules: don’t marry a white person, and don’t have a child with one. The consequences of ignoring these rules can be dire, loss of membership on the reserve for yourself and your child. For those who incur them, the results can be devastating. In this honest and affecting doc, filmmaker Tracey Deer follows the stories of four Kahnawake women whose lives have been affected by these rules, shedding light on contemporary Indigenous identity and TRACEY DEER asking questions about how we all understand who we are. In 2008, Deer became the first Mohawk woman to win a Gemini Award, for Best Documentary With her own family as a poignant case study, Deer’s film will strike Writing on Club Native. Her debut doc was a chord with anyone who’s ever thought about ethnicity, culture or the award-winning Mohawk Girls, which was their place in the world. adapted into a dramatic TV series in 2014, with Deer serving as writer, director and producer. “... it’s a compassionate and compelling exploration of what it means Her feature film debut, Beans, premiered at the to be Native, to be Canadian, to be a woman and to be in love.” 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. — Katarina Gligorijevic, exclaim!

“You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium!” — Teacher, Maniwaki Woodland School, Maniwaki, QC

FEATURE FILMS 8 FEATURE FILMS

EMPIRE OF DIRT GRADES 11–12 (2013) Director: Peter Stebbings. Screenwriter: Shannon Masters (Cree). Producer: Jennifer Podemski (Saulteaux). Starring: Jennifer Podemski, Cara Gee (Ojibwa), Shay Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho/Oglala Lakota/Mnicoujou Lakota). 99 min. 14A When single mom Lena (Gee) realizes that her daughter (Eyre) is in danger of succumbing to the same addiction issues she herself faced, she decides to take her daughter and leave the city to return home to her estranged mother (Podemski) in the rural Indigenous community of her youth. The homecoming forces Lena to deal with her past and raises issues that test all three generations of this family of spirited women. Powerful and inspiring, Empire of Dirt was nominated for five Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Picture. PETER STEBBINGS A longtime film and TV actor, Stebbings made “Empire of Dirt tells a traditional mothers-and-daughters story in a his directing debut with Defendor, which was new way by making their Cree heritage and the role it has in their nominated for four Genie Awards, including Best lives and relationships the true heart of the drama.” — Linda Barnard, Screenplay. The Toronto Star JENNIFER PODEMSKI Jennifer Podemski is an award-winning film and television producer and actor with a career “Being able to talk to Jennifer Podemski was an spanning over 25 years. She is the creator and amazing experience that I will always remember.” producer of APTN’s famed paranormal series The Other Side. — Grade 12 student, W.F. Herman SS, Windsor, ON

THE GRIZZLIES ESL (2019) Director: Miranda de Pencier. Screenwriters: Moira Walley-Beckett, Graham Yost. Producers: Stacey Aglok MacDonald (Inuk), Alethea Arnaquq- Baril (Inuk), Damon D’Oliveira, Miranda de Pencier, Zanne Devin. Starring: Emerald MacDonald (Inuk), Paul Nutarariaq (Inuk), Anna Lambe (Inuk), Ben Schnetzer, Ricky Marty-Pahtaykan (Plains Cree/Stoney Nakoda). 106 min. 14A Based on an inspiring true story, The Grizzlies is a powerful film about the determination and resilience of a group of Inuit youth struggling with the legacy of colonization. When Russ Sheppard (Schnetzer) moves to Kugluktuk, NU, to be a teacher, he is shocked by the challenges facing the community, most especially the MIRANDA DE PENCIER ongoing epidemic of teen suicide. Russ introduces a lacrosse programme De Pencier is a director and producer whose first and gradually wins the trust of his teenage charges. Together, the team short film Throat Song (p.18) won a Canadian and their coach overcome stiff odds, nurture a sense of pride, and find a Screen Award. The Grizzlies won the DGC’s award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. sense of purpose in their community. She has produced several films, including The film has won multiple awards and been screened to acclaim at film Cake, Beginners, and Thanks for Sharing. She is festivals around the world. Cast members Paul Nutarariaq and Anna Lambe currently producing The Chocolate Money. earned CSA nominations for their performances. STACEY AGLOK MACDONALD Aglok MacDonald is one of Nunavut’s leading “It’s a movie that tells its story with authenticity and heart, and that makes television producers, who wrote, directed, and all the difference. It scores.” – Norman Wilner, NOW Toronto produced the groundbreaking Inuktitut comedy series, Qanurli? for APTN. She has worked with the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, writing and producing many Inuktitut language documentary 9 FEATURE FILMS series. The Grizzlies is her first feature film. FEATURE FILMS

THE INCREDIBLE 25TH YEAR OF MITZI BEARCLAW (2019) Director/Writer: Shelley Niro (Kanien’kehaka). Producer: Amos Adetuyi, Floyd Kane, Shelley Niro. Starring: Gary Farmer (Cayuga), MorningStar Angeline (Navajo/Shoshone/Chippewa Cree/Blackfoot), Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis), Gail Maurice (Métis), Ajuawak Kapashesit (Ojibway/Cree), Andrew Martin (Mohawk). 96 min. NR When Mitzi Bearclaw (Angeline) turns 25, it’s time to start making big decisions for the future. Her dream to design cool hats is put on hold when she chooses to move from the city back to her isolated reserve to look after her sick mother. SHELLEY NIRO Niro is a filmmaker, photographer, and visual With the reserve bully (Supernault) constantly at her heels and an old artist. She directed the short films It Starts flame (Kapashesit) suddenly back in her life, she is grateful that her cousin with a Whisper and The Shirt and Tree, as well (Martin) is there to help her in the fight to stay positive under trying as the features Honey Moccasin and Kissed by circumstances. With a lot of laughs along the way, Mitzi embarks on a Lightning. Her art has been exhibited at the National Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario, quest to get her family back on the right track! and many others. In 2020, she received the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award from the Ontario Arts Foundation.

KANEHSATAKE: DOC 270 YEARS OF RESISTANCE (1993) Director/Writer: Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki). Producers: Wolf Koenig, Alanis Obomsawin. 119 min. PG Legendary documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin has created a remarkable body of work chronicling the injustices against Indigenous communities. In July 1990, she spent 78 nerve-racking days filming the standoff between the Mohawks, the Quebec police and the Canadian army, during the Kanesatake /Kahnawake resistance (often referred to ALANIS OBOMSAWIN, C.C. as the Oka Crisis). The result is a powerful documentary about Legendary filmmaker Obomsawin has made a historical moment that catapulted Indigenous issues into the over 50 documentaries on issues affecting international spotlight and challenged a nation to confront its own Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Rocks history and ongoing colonial processes. Obomsawin takes you to the at Whiskey Trench (p.13), Trick or Treaty? (p.28) frontlines to show the resilience of a people who are determined to and Our People Will be Healed (p.12). Her 53rd film, Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger protect their land at all costs. (p.24), premiered at TIFF 2019. Obomsawin is a Companion of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour). “When you believe in something, and see something unjust, you just have to stand up and fight for it.” — Alanis Obomsawin, filmmaker

FEATURE FILMS 10 FEATURE FILMS

KAYAK TO KLEMTU ESL (2018) Director: Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Heiltsuk/Mohawk). Writers: Zoe Leigh Hopkins, Michael Sparaga. Producer: Daniel Bekerman. Starring: Ta’kaiya Blaney (Tla’amin), Lorne Cardinal (Cree), Jared Ager-Foster (Cree/Métis), Sonja Bennett, Evan Adams (Tla’amin). 90 min. PG When a prominent Kitasoo/Xai’Xais activist passes away, his 14-year- old niece Ella (Blaney) embarks on a kayak journey to take his ashes home to Klemtu. It’s a race against the clock as Ella tries to make it back in time to give a speech protesting a proposed pipeline that would cross Indigenous land. Ella is joined by her aunt, cousin and grumpy uncle (Cardinal), as the four paddle with all their might through the Inside Passage and past the ZOE LEIGH HOPKINS shores of the Great Bear Rainforest. Join this family on the adventure Hopkins is an alumna of the Sundance Institute, and Kayak to Klemtu is her first of a lifetime as they learn about themselves and connect with the land feature. Currently, she lives in the community around them. of Six Nations, where she teaches the Mohawk language online to students across Turtle Island. “It encouraged Indigenous kids to pursue their dreams and stand up for what you believe in.” — Grade 9 Student, Kelvin HS, Winnipeg, MB

NÎPAWISTAMÂSOWIN: DOC WE WILL STAND UP (2019) Director/Writer: Tasha Hubbard (Cree). Producers: Tasha Hubbard, George Hupka, Jon Montes, Bonnie Thompson. 98 min. NR On August 9, 2016, a 22-year-old Cree man named Colten Boushie was killed by a gunshot to the back of his head after entering a rural farm property in Saskatchewan with his friends. When an all-white jury acquitted the white farmer of all charges, the case received international attention and sent Colten’s family and community on a quest to fix the Canadian justice system. Sensitively directed by Tasha Hubbard, this profoundly affecting TASHA HUBBARD documentary weaves a narrative encompassing the filmmaker’s own Hubbard is an award-winning filmmaker and family story, the history of colonialism on the Prairies, and a vision of a an assistant professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of English. Her future where Indigenous children can live safely on their homelands. writing-directing project Two Worlds Colliding Nîpawistamâsowin was the opening night film at Hot Docs 2019, where it (p.28) won a Gemini and a Golden Sheaf Award. She has also directed the short film 7 won the prize for Best Canadian Documentary. Minutes (p.19), and the feature doc Birth of a Family (p.7).

11 FEATURE FILMS FEATURE FILMS

OUR PEOPLE WILL BE HEALED DOC (2017) Director/Writer/Producer: Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki). 97 min. PG Master documentarian Alanis Obomsawin’s 50th film reveals how a Cree community in Manitoba has been enriched through the power of education. The students at a local school for the Norway House Cree Nation discuss their aspirations for the future and reflect on the fact that they are feeling more hopeful and optimistic than previous generations. By discussing the effects of intergenerational trauma, substance abuse and many other issues facing Indigenous communities, and by learning about their own history and culture, the students are able to undergo a process of collective healing and ensure that growing up doesn’t mean leaving one’s ALANIS OBOMSAWIN, C.C. roots behind. Legendary filmmaker Obomsawin has made over 50 documentaries on issues affecting This inspiring doc shows that the strength of the community comes from the Indigenous peoples in Canada, including people within it, and provides a strong model for prosperity and renewal. Rocks at Whiskey Trench (p.13), Trick or Treaty? (p.28), and Kanehsatake: 270 Years of “Our People Will Be Healed breathes with hope for the future.” Resistance (p.10) . Her 53rd film, Jordan River — Pat Mullen, POV Magazine Anderson, The Messenger (p.24), premiered at TIFF 2019. Obomsawin is a Companion of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour).

REEL INJUN DOC (2009) Director: Neil Diamond (Cree). Producers: Christina Fon, Catherine Bainbridge, Linda Ludwick. 86 min. PG Reel Injun is an enlightening documentary about the way Indigenous people have been depicted in film from the silent era to the present day. Chock-full of clips from hundreds of films and packed with interviews with famous Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors, directors and writers, Reel Injun is an entertaining and insightful look at how the powerful medium of film both reflects and influences culture. Director Neil Diamond takes the audience on a trip through time to NEIL DIAMOND explore the history of the “Hollywood Indian” and offers a refreshing, Diamond is known for several award-winning candid and personal analysis, tracing how these cinematic images documentaries that focus on Indigenous have shaped and influenced the understanding of Indigenous culture life and issues. His debut film, Cree Spoken Here, won the Telefilm/APTN award for Best and history. Aboriginal Documentary. His latest film is Inuit “Impeccably well researched and crafted, Reel Injun neatly walks the Cree Reconciliation with filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk. line in balancing entertainment and education.” — Todd Brown, Screen Anarchy

“I know more about myself because of this film.” — Grade 8 student, John Oliver SS, Vancouver, BC

FEATURE FILMS 12 FEATURE FILMS

ROCKS AT WHISKEY TRENCH DOC (2000) Director/Writer/Producer: Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki). 105 min. PG The year 2020 marks thirty years since the Kanesatake/Kahnawake resistance (often referred to as the Oka Crisis). This affecting documentary profiles a key incident that occurred during the 78-day stand-off. On August 28, 1990, a convoy of 75 cars left the Mohawk community of Kahnawake and crossed Montreal’s Mercier Bridge—straight into an angry mob of non-Indigenous people that pelted the vehicles with rocks. The targets of this violence were Mohawk women, children, and elders leaving their community, in fear of a possible advance by ALANIS OBOMSAWIN, C.C. the Canadian army. Legendary filmmaker Obomsawin has made over 50 documentaries on issues affecting This film is the fourth in Alanis Obomsawin’s landmark series on the Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Trick Mohawk rebellions that shook Canada in 1990. or Treaty? (p.28), Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (p.10), and Our People Will be Nominated for the Genie Award for Best Documentary, Rocks at Healed (p.12). Her 53rd film, Jordan River Whiskey Trench is shocking and absolutely essential viewing for all Anderson, The Messenger (p.24), premiered Canadians. at TIFF 2019. Obomsawin is a Companion of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour).

RUSTIC ORACLE (2019) Director/Writer: Sonia Boileau (Mohawk). Producer: Jason Brennan (Anishinaabe). Starring: Carmen Moore (Wet’suwet’en), Lake Kahentawaks Delisle (Mohawk), McKenzie Deer Robinson (Mohawk). 101 min. PG When her older sister vanishes from their Mohawk community, eight- year-old Ivy (Delisle) joins her mother Susan (Moore) in a desperate search that lays bare the authorities’ indifference towards missing Indigenous Women and Girls. Ivy and Susan’s journey to find answers is one that no family should go through, but their shared hope helps mother and daughter come together in love amongst difficult circumstances. Filmmaker Sonia SONIA BOILEAU Boileau brings warmth and grace to this delicate depiction of a young Boileau is a bilingual filmmaker, raised between Oka and Kanesatake, and a graduate from girl forging a strong sense of identity while also contending with Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School family tragedy. of Cinema. Over the last decade, Sonia has developed and produced television projects in both English and French, ranging from children’s programming to socially driven documentaries.

13 FEATURE FILMS FEATURE FILMS

THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT GRADES 11–12 (2016) Director/Writer: Kirsten Carthew. Producers: Kirsten Carthew, Amos Scott (Dene). Starring: Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Mohawk), Duane Howard (Nuu-chah-nulth). 93 min. PG Set in the stunning landscape of the Arctic Circle, this charming coming-of-age drama tells the story of an unexpected friendship between a hunter obsessed with finding a missing caribou herd and a teenage rebel who gets lost while on the run. After her mother dies, 16-year-old “urban princess” Lia (Jacobs – who won an award at the Whistler Film Festival for her performance) is sent to spend the summer with her Gwich’in grandmother in a small KIRSTEN CARTHEW community in the far north. Desperate to get back to city life, she The Sun At Midnight marks Kirsten Carthew’s steals a boat and heads south. directorial debut. Her short film credits include The YK Doc Project, Abe & Alfred, and Fish out of As might be expected, she quickly gets lost, and is soon discovered by Water. She is currently working on her second Alfred (Howard), a Gwich’in hunter who reluctantly helps her navigate feature, Polaris. the unfamiliar wilderness. AMOS SCOTT “A truly inspirational masterpiece that I hope everyone has a chance Based in the Northwest Territories, Amos Scott is an emerging filmmaker and the creator, to see.” – Blake Priddle, CKLB Radio producer and director of the APTN series Dene: A Journey.

SGAAWAAY K’UUNA (EDGE OF THE KNIFE) (2019) Director: Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in), Gwaai Edenshaw (Haida). Writers: Gwaai Edenshaw, Jaalen Edenshaw (Haida), Graham Richard, Leonie Sandercock. Starring: Tyler York (Haida), Sphenia Jones (Haida), Brandon Kallio (Haida), William Russ. 100 min. 14A Set in the Haida Gwaii region in the 19th century, Edge of the Knife (SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna in Haida) adapts a classic Haida folk tale of a man left for dead in the forest who becomes the Gaagiid/Gaagiixiid, or “the Wildman”. After an accident where he is separated from his family, Adiit’si (York) wanders through the forest becoming driven mad by both natural HELEN HAIG-BROWN and supernatural forces. As his loved ones, including best friend Kwa Writer, cinematographer and director Haig- (Russ), set out to capture and cure him, Adiits’ii grows increasingly Brown’s short film ?E?ANX (The Cave) screened feral. at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals and was named one of Canada’s Top Ten Short Films The first feature film made entirely in the critically endangered Haida of the year by TIFF. She also directed the short language – fluently spoken by fewer than 20 people – the film is a docs Su naa (My Big Brother) and My Legacy. spellbinding and mythical tale of pride, tragedy and love, set against GWAAI EDENSHAW the stunning backdrop of Canada’s Pacific northwest. Edenshaw is an accomplished visual artist and a founding member of the K’aalts’idaa K’ah Made with a Haida cast and in collaboration with the Haida Council, Storytelling Society. He wrote, produced and this compelling film proves that cinema can be at once a powerful created puppets for Amanda Strong’s short vessel for storytelling and a profound act of Indigenous language and film Haida Raid 3: Save Our Waters. SGaaway culture revitalization. K’uuna is his first feature film. FEATURE FILMS 14 FEATURE FILMS

TIA AND PIUJUQ (2018) Director: Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk). Screenwriter: Lucy Tulugarjuk, Marie-Helene Cousineau, Samuel Cohn-Cousineau. Starring: Tia Bshara, Nuvvija Tulugarjuk (Inuk), Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk). English/Arabic/French/Inuktitut with English subtitles. 80 min. NR Tia (Bshara) is a 10-year-old refugee from Syria, living in Montreal and struggling to make friends and feel comfortable in her new environment. While her parents are preoccupied with her mother’s pregnancy and the challenges of everyday life in a new place, Tia is left mostly to her own devices. Everything changes when she discovers a magical portal that transports her to Igloolik, a community in the Arctic Circle. There LUCY TULUGARJUK she meets Piujuq (Tulugarjuk), an Inuk girl who she quickly forms a Tulugarjuk is an actor, throat singer, writer and director who has starred in Atanarjuat: The Fast deep bond with in spite of their cultural differences. Through their Runner (p.7), L’iceberg, The Journals of Knud friendship, the stories of Piujuq’s grandmother, and their wanderings Rasmussen and Maïna, among other films. Tia across the striking northern landscape, the girls are immersed in Inuit and Piujuq is her directorial debut. myth and magic. A heartwarming magical-realist fable about friendship and discovery, Tia and Piujuq is a delightful adventure for all ages.

15 FEATURE FILMS EPISODIC TV

RISE DOC (2017) Director: Michelle Latimer, With Sarain Carson-Fox (Anishinaabe), Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot/Dene). English. NR This powerful documentary series from VICELAND gives viewers a rare glimpse into the frontline of Indigenous-led resistance, examining Indigenous life through the stories of people in diverse communities who are working to protect their homelands. Several episodes of this urgent and timely show debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and were hailed as “persuasive and poignant” by The New York Times.

Sacred Water: Standing Rock Part 1 45 minutes The residents of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation of South Dakota are fighting to stop a pipeline from being built on their ancestral homeland. In this absorbing account of the events leading up to the protests, Anishinaabe host Sarain Carson-Fox provides context and background, telling the water protectors’ side of the story as the conflict develops right before our eyes.

Red Power: Standing Rock Part 2 44 minutes As the #noDAPL movement grows in size and reaches a boiling point, over 5,000 people descend on the Standing Rock camp. Using the unprecedented occupation at Standing Rock as its starting point, this episode delves into the evolution of the Red Power Movement, combining history lessons about Indigenous-led resistance with explosive footage of this urgent and historic moment.

The Urban Rez 44 minutes Winnipeg, MB, is home to Canada’s largest Indigenous population – over 90,000 people. In this powerful and inspiring episode, several grassroots organizations and collectives take back the streets, battling the intergenerational effect of Canada’s residential school system, poverty, high crime and violence against Indigenous women and girls.

MICHELLE LATIMER Michelle Latimer’s The Underground won “While watching Rise I felt like I wanted to become a the best short film award at the 2014 leader, become more involved in my community, and imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. help support my people.” In 2020, she directed the documentary An Inconvenient Indian and the series Trickster, — Grade 10 Student, R.B. Russell Vocational HS, Winnipeg, MB an adaptation of award-winning author Eden Robinson’s novel Son of a Trickster, both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

16 SHORT FILMS

ANIMATION FIGHTING CHANCE THE MOUNTAIN OF SGAANA Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) 2011 Christopher Auchter (Haida) 2017 (TUKTUMIT) 9 min. 10 min. Ippiksaut Friesen (Inuk) 2014 4 min. An Indigenous youth who’s A wondrous tale of a young man stolen This gorgeously rendered animation struggling with the intergenerational by the spirit world, and the young explores the way traditional hunting effects of Canada’s Indian residential woman who comes to his rescue. school system, takes advantage of in Nunavut has evolved so that it ORIGIN OF THE DREAM (TUKTUMIT) can continue to play a vital role in the chance to turn his life around. contemporary Inuit culture. CATCHER FOUR FACES OF THE MOON Donavan Vollant (Innu) 2018 ABORIGINALITY Amanda Strong (Michif) 2016 4 min. Dominique Keller, Tom Jackson (Cree) 13 min. In this beautiful animated short film 2007 5 min. A filmmaker travels back through we learn about the creation of the A young boy is transported into time, experiencing pivotal moments very first dreamcatcher. his television to witness the power in her family’s history. THE ORPHAN AND THE of a hoop dance. THE GIFT POLAR BEAR AMAQQUT NUNAAT Terril Calder (Métis) 2011 2 min. Neil Christopher, Louise Flaherty ABORIGINALITY (Inuk) 2014 9 min. (THE COUNTRY OF WOLVES) This stop-motion tale explores the historical question of whether In this adaptation of an Inuit legend, Neil Christopher, Louise Flaherty a neglected orphan is adopted by a (Inuk) 2011 12 min. smallpox-infected blankets were given by European settlers to polar bear elder and learns the skills In this traditional Inuit story, two Indigenous populations unwittingly, he will need to survive under the brothers are set adrift on ice floes or as a deadly “gift.” bear’s guidance. while hunting for seal. They soon find themselves in the country of TRADITIONAL HEALING wolves, where all is not as it appears. THE GRANDFATHER DRUM Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe) Raymond Caplin (Mi’kmaq) 2013 2016 12 min. 3 min. BIIDAABAN (THE DAWN COMES) In this beautiful animation, a woman’s BIIDAABAN Amanda Strong (Michif) 2018 19 min. In this stunning storybook animation, the forceful removal of sacred healing dance causes a miracle In this dream-like animation, a Naamowin’s healing drum from an to occur in an otherwise bleak and young Anishanaabe artist comes Anishinabek community disrupts devastated environment. to a suburban neighbourhood to the delicate balance between the reclaim her ancestral tradition of sky-world and the underworld. UAPUNATSHEU sap harvesting. (THOSE FROM THE MIST)

GRANDFATHER ON THE PRAIRIES James Warren Wapistan (Innu) 2018 BIRCHBARK 4 min Andrew Genaille (Cree) 2018 3 min. John Hupfield (Anishinaabe) 2008 Based on an Innu legend, a man Jason meets his great-great-great- 4 min. portaging his canoe through the grandfather and soon finds himself FOUR FACES OF THE MOON Symbols of traditional knowledge woods encounters a mysterious and in a hilarious debate about what it come alive and find themselves potentially dangerous mist. means to be a hunter. inside the pages of a book.

THE GUEST THE VISIT DANCERS OF THE GRASS Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe) 2009 Nick Rodgers (Anishinaabe) 2015 Melanie Jackson (Métis/Saulteaux) 3 min. 5 min. 2009 2 min. The charming “true” story of an A trapper collects a mysterious Spectacular stop-motion animation encounter between extraterrestrials animal in the forest, but as he tries breathes life into a traditional dance. and a Cree family. to care for it, the beast quickly GRANDFATHER ON THE becomes insatiable. PRAIRIES EMPTY WALK-IN-THE-FOREST Jackie Traverse (Anishinaabe) 2009 Diane Obomsawin (Abenaki) 2009 5 min. MIA’ 3 min. Amanda Strong (Michif), Bracken Set to a song by Little Hawk, this A medicine man walks in the woods Hanuse Corlett (Wuikinuxv-Klahoose) animated story is a daughter’s and discovers an intriguing secret 2015 8 min. starkly honest tribute to her world. estranged mother. A young Indigenous street artist struggles to return home after being transformed into a salmon.

THE MOUNTAIN OF SGAANA

17 SHORT FILMS SHORT FILMS

DRAMA KAJUTAIJUQ: THE SPIRIT STOLEN THAT COMES Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs ASSINI Scott Brachmayer, Co-Producer/ (Mohawk) 2017 7 min. Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis) 2015 Co-Writer: Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk) 2014 This powerful short offers a glimpse ASSINI 13 min. 15 min. into the life of Sheena, a troubled Seven-year-old Assini and her friends Part Inuit legend, part thriller, an 14-year-old Indigenous girl who often play Cowboys and Indians. But arctic hunter tries to live by the yearns for freedom away from the when Assini discovers that she herself is traditional skills his grandfather girls’ home she’s been placed in. an “Indian”, the game takes a new turn. taught him — but they are difficult for a modern man to apply, and the price of failure is high. THROAT SONG* AVILIAQ: ENTWINED Miranda de Pencier. Executive producers: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk) 2014 Alethea Arnaquq- Baril (Inuk), Qajaaq 15 min. (Inuktitut with English subtitles) QAGGIQ (GATHERING PLACE) Ellsworth (Inuk) 2011 16 min. In the 1950s, two Inuit women Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk) 1989 A young Inuit woman with a BAREFOOT attempt to protect their relationship 58 min. troubled past begins to connect when pressure from their community (Inuktitut with English subtitles) with other victims of violence from forces them to marry men. Conflicts arise when families in an her community and reclaims her Inuit camp build a communal igloo voice along the way. BAREFOOT to celebrate the coming of spring *Throat Song deals with difficult Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis) 2012 11 min. with games, singing and drum subject matter (abuse and suicide) In a tight-knit Cree community in dancing. northern Saskatchewan, 16-year- WAKENING old Alyssa enjoys the attention that SAVAGE Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis) 2013 9 min. comes with pregnancy — until her Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe) 2009 Set in the near future, a lone Cree GOD’S ACRE secret plan unravels. 6 min. wanderer roams through an urban This “residential school musical” wasteland overseen by a brutal THE BLANKETING uses song and dance to depict a military occupation, searching for an Trevor Mack (Tsilhqot’in) 2013 8 min. little girl’s dehumanizing journey ancient and dangerous creature. A fictional confrontation before the into the residential school system, real-life smallpox outbreak in the as well as her mother’s pain. WAPAWEKKA mid-1800s that nearly wiped out Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis) 2010 the Tsilhqot’in First Nation of British SHIN-CHI’S CANOE 16 min. Columbia. Allan Hopkins (N’quatwua) 2018 Josh and his father visit their family 13 min. cabin in Saskatchewan for the last SHIN-CHI’S CANOE BOXED IN Through his father’s gift of a secret time, confronting the generational Shane Belcourt (Métis) 2009 4 min. and tiny hand-carved cedar canoe, differences between their Cree A woman of mixed ancestry struggles an Indigenous child discovers the heritage and Josh’s urban lifestyle. with an Equal Opportunity form strength and resilience to endure that requires her to respond to the his first year at a residential school. WILDFIRE dilemma “Ethnicity — Choose One.” Bretten Hannam (Mi’kmaq) 2019 SNARE 12 min. GOD’S ACRE Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe) 2013 On the run from their abusive Kelton Stepanowich (Métis) 2016 4 min. father, two Mi’kmaq brothers 15 min. Spare and visually arresting, befriend a hitchhiker who helps THROAT SONG A man living alone on his family’s with a haunting soundtrack, this them connect to their identities. ancestral Cree lands is forced to performance piece captures choose between abandoning his home the brutality of violence against A WORLD OF OUR OWN or adapting to rising water levels. Indigenous women, as well as the Morningstar Derosier (Anishinaabe) possibility of healing and grace. 2018 9 min. HER WATER DRUM In a twist on the sci-fi genre, a Jonathan Elliot (Tuscarora) 2018 SPIRIT OF THE BLUEBIRD young woman is infatuated with 17 min. Jesse Gouchey (Cree), Xstine Cook a woman who has removed the Following the disappearance of a 2011 6 min. computer implant that has replaced young Mohawk woman, tensions A personal and poetic tribute most forms of communication. WAKENING between her brother and mother by Cree artist Gouchey to Gloria come to a head in a standoff for her Black Plume, a woman who was most prized possession. murdered in Calgary in March of 1999.

WILDFIRE SHORT FILMS 18 SHORT FILMS

DE FACE OU DE PROFIL THE LIFE YOU WANT DOCUMENTARY (FACE OR PROFILE) Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe) 7 MINUTES Sharon Fontaine (Innu) 2014 2011 34 min. 7 MINUTES 5 min. (French with English In the isolated northern town of Tasha Hubbard (Cree) 2016 7 min. subtitles) Fort Hope, Ontario, many residents Marie’s walk home from university Told from 16-year-old Sharon’s point are addicted to prescription drugs. takes seven minutes, but when she of view, this charming short uses One brave community member is followed home by a stranger in a her wit and humour to reflect on admits her problem and applies for van, those seven minutes feel like society’s use of online avatars. treatment. an eternity. LOST MOCASSIN AGAINST THE GRAIN EMPTYING THE TANK Caroline Monnet (Algonquin) 2018 Roger Boyer (Saulteaux/Ojibway) 2018 Curtis Mandeville (Métis) 2009 24 min. 10 min. 11 min. Survivors of the Indian residential LE CHEMIN ROUGE Chippewa mixed martial artist Bradford Bilodeau tells the story of school system attempt to cope with Ashley Nichols teaches an how he reconnected with his birth its impact on their personal lives important lesson about dedication, family due to being raised apart and communities. A good primer perseverance and maintaining both from them after his forced adoption for discussions of the Truth and physical and spiritual health. as part of the Sixties Scoop. Reconciliation Commission report. FAST HORSE MÉMÉRE MÉTISSE LE CHEMIN ROUGE Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) 2018 Janelle Wookey (Métis) 2008 30 min. 13 min. A young filmmaker explores her (RED PATH) family’s past as she schemes to Thérèse Ottawa (Atikamekw) 2015 At the Calgary Stampede, Cody CREE CODE TALKERS convince her grandmother to accept 15 min. BigTobacco competes in his first her heritage, uncovering a legacy of (French with English subtitles) Indian Relay, a fast-and dangerous race where jockeys ride bareback shame and the profound courage This moving documentary tells the needed to overcome it. story of Tony Chachai, a young man and switch horses mid-race.

who goes on a journey to reconnect MOHAWK GIRLS with his Atikamekw roots by HONEY FOR SALE Tracey Deer (Mohawk) 2005 55 min. dancing in powwows. Amanda Strong (Michif) 2009 7 min. A honeybee’s tenuous life is Three teens from the Kahnawake documented in this poetic and Indigenous community wrestle not THE CREATOR’S GAME only with decisions about their Candace Maracle (Mohawk) 2011 thoughtful meditation on the CRY ROCK fragility of human existence. futures, but also the challenges of 41 min. maintaining and embracing their Denied entry into Europe because Mohawk identity. of their Haudenosaunee passports, INUIT HIGH KICK the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk) 2010 team was forced to forfeit their shot 3 min. MORE THAN A STEREOTYPE Sinay Kennedy (Dene) 2019 4 min. at the World Championship. A year A stunning slow-motion visual Dene filmmaker Sinay Kennedy later, they continue the fight for examination of an athlete reflects on Indigenous national sovereignty and the title. performing the traditional Inuit high kick. representation in the media and CREE CODE TALKERS how she plans to combat against FAST HORSE stereotyping through her own art. Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) 2016 LAKE 14 min. Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) 2019 This documentary film reveals the 5 min. MR. SANDERSON Ray Sanderson, Terrie McIntosh role of Cree code talker Charles Two Métis women demonstrate their (Ojibwe) 2014 9 min. ‘Checker’ Tomkins, who used the Cree process of ice fishing on a cold lake in language during the Second World Northern Alberta. An intimate portrait of the War to confound and defeat the Axis. inspirational Ray Sanderson, a single father blinded by gun violence LELUM’ (HOME) who pleads for us to look at things CRY ROCK Asia Youngman (Cree/Iroquois/ differently. Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk) 2016 Carrier/Métis) 2017 9 min. MORE THAN A STEREOTYPE 29 min. Witness the beauty and strength Less than fifteen Nuxalk-language of the land through the eyes of NOT JUST A MMIW Ulivia Uviluk (Inuk) 2019 4 min. speakers are left in Bella Coola, B.C. empowered Indigenous youth (Lelum’ In this moving documentary, Ulivia This thoughtful film explores what is is the Hul’qumi’num word for ‘home’). lost from a culture when a language Uviluk reflects on the circumstances threatens to go extinct. and impact of her mother’s death, and reminds us of the importance of remembering the names and lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, rather than just MÉMÉRE MÉTISSE the statistics.

19 SHORT FILMS SHORT FILMS

NOTHING ABOUT MOCCASINS THUNDERBIRD WHERE THE RIVER WIDENS Eden Mallina Awashish (Atikamekw) Erin Collins (Anishinaabe) 2017 Zach Greenleaf (Mi’gmaq) 2014 2015 4 min. 3 min. 5 min. A young Atikamekw filmmaker sets The amazing story of Steven Collins, A lyrical ode to the hard work, OVERBURDEN out to make a film about crafting a First Nations ski jumper who determination and kinship of the moccasins but finds another story competed in the Olympics when he fishermen of Gesgapegiag First emerging instead. was only 15 years old. Nation.

NOW IS THE TIME TO WAKE UP THE WOMAN DRESS Christopher Auchter (Haida) 2019 NAKOTA LANGUAGE Thirza Cuthand (Cree) 2019 6 min 16 min. Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree) 2017 Using archival footage and dramatized In 1969, Robert Davidson carved 6 min. re-enactments, Cuthand retells a story the first totem pole that was 69-year-old Armand McArthur is one that has been passed down through RUN AS ONE: mounted in the Haida territory in of the last fluent Nakota speakers in many generations of the Cuthand over a century. fifty years later, Saskatchewan, but has dedicated his family, about a Two Spirit person the community reflects on the life to passing down his teachings so named Woman Dress. importance of that day. that the language and culture survive for generations to come. OVERBURDEN Neil McArthur, Warren Cariou TURNING TABLES COMEDY (Métis) 2009 15 min. Chrisann Hessing 2018 16 min. Indigenous communities in Alberta Anishinaabe music producer Joshua APAJA’SIMK (THE RETURN) defend the environment, their health DePerry, aka Classic Roots, uses his Trevor Gould (Mi’kmaq) 2018 and their way of life in the face of a platform as an award-winning DJ to 10 min. TWILIGHT DANCERS destructive oil recovery enterprise. empower the youth in his community Glooscap, the creator of the sets out on a canoe trip by himself, and examine what it means to be Mi’kmaq people, sends a messenger as a rite of passage into adulthood. both urban and Indigenous. to present day Mi’kma’ki to see RELEASED how his people are faring and TWILIGHT DANCERS* report back. Chantal Rondeau (Northern Tutchone) Paola Marino, Theola Ross (Cree) 2015 10 min. 2017 16 min. A traditional artist and former drug Indigenous teenagers use dance INDIAN addict is released from prison and Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux) 2008 as a tool to heal from the trauma finds comfort in her passion and 2 min. of a suicide epidemic in the small, THE ROUTES talent for embroidery. remote community of Pimicikamak In this amusing and powerful short, Cree Nation. the etymology of the word “Indian” THE ROUTES *Twilight Dancers deals with is deconstructed at the Canadian James McDougall (Anishinaabe) 2014 difficult subject matter (suicide) National Spelling Bee. 4 min. A man cycles through his memories JORDAN GORDON’S GUIDE TO of the local women who have gone UTE KANATA / HERE IN CANADA KUUJJUAQ missing in his Anishinaabe community. Virginie Michel (Innu) 2016 2 min. Jordan Gordon (Inuk) 2018 5 min. This poignant take on “O Canada” Jordan Gordon is thrilled to show RUN AS ONE: THE JOURNEY OF adapts the national anthem to reflect you around his hometown, taking WHERE THE RIVER WIDENS THE FRONT RUNNERS the reality of Indigenous peoples, you through the highlights with Erica Daniels (Cree/Ojibway) 2018 resulting in a rallying song for all. a wonderful mix of humour and 19 min charm. In 1967, ten runners from various First WAYS OF YESTERDAY Nations carried the Pan-Am Torch to Elliott Simon (Anishinaabe) 2014 6 min. NO RESERVATIONS the opening ceremony in Winnipeg, Through breakdance and rap, Elliott Trevor Carroll (Ojibway) 2018 10 min. only to face unexpected discrimination and Curtis share their life experiences How does a predominantly right before the finish line. and try to motivate and inspire white community react when an Indigenous kids to follow their dreams. Indigenous construction team THIS RIVER arrives to build a pipeline through APAJA’SIMK (THE RETURN) Erika MacPherson, Katherena WHEN THE CHILDREN LEFT their backyard? Vermette (Métis) 2016 19 min. Charlene Moore 2019 11 min An Indigenous perspective on the With no high school in their devastating experience of searching community, the people of Shoal Lake for a missing loved one, told 40 First Nation must send their children through two stories that exemplify away from home at only 14 years old in the resilience and activism borne order to access secondary educational out of the need to do something. opportunities.

JORDAN GORDON’S GUIDE TO KUUJJUAQ SHORT FILMS 20 SHORT FILMS

LITTLE THUNDER THROAT SINGING IN KANGIRSUK EXPERIMENTAL Nance Ackerman, Alan Syliboy Manon Chamberland (Inuk), Eva (Mi’kmaq) 2009 3 min. Kaukai (Inuk) 2019 3 min. INDIGO BUNDLE Jamie Whitecrow (Anishinaabe) 2020 Inspired by the Mi’kmaq legend A mesmerizing duet between 4 min. “The Stone Canoe”, this coming- two Inuit throat singers forms the A look at the Anishinaabeg tradition of-age story follows a boy who soundtrack for a beautiful journey of carrying a small bundle at all reluctantly sets out on a canoe trip through the four seasons of the times, containing items that are by himself, as a rite of passage into Arctic. essential to maintaining spiritual adulthood. and emotional wellbeing. WAVE A RED FLAG MOBILIZE Adam Garnet Jones (Cree/Métis) 2009 INDIGO Caroline Monnet (Algonquin) 2015 3 min. A whimsical, wordless exploration Amanda Strong (Michif) 2014 9 2 min. THREE THOUSAND of Indigenous identity, community min. Repurposed NFB footage is used to Inspired by Indigenous stories and explore the perpetual negotiation and culture. vividly told through stop-motion between the modern and the animation, a woman trapped traditional by a people always NOUS NOUS SOULEVERONS in a cluttered space is freed by moving forward. (WE WILL RISE UP) “Grandmother Spider,” who still has Natasha Kanapé Fontaine (Innu) important webs to weave. THREE THOUSAND 2015 4 min. (French with English Asinnajaq (Inuk) 2017 14 min. subtitles) INUKSHOP Through an inspired spoken word THROAT SINGING IN Jobie Weetaluktuk (Inuk) 2009 2 min. Historic footage of Inuit is woven piece and beautiful forest imagery, KANGIRSUK Inuk filmmaker Weetaluktuk mixes into a stunning animation to shine a Innu poet Natasha Kanapé Fontaine archival reels with new footage to new light over the past, present and calls us to rise up and bring light to make this commentary on cultural future. the world. appropriation.

21 SHORT FILMS REFERENCE FILMS

There are many more great Indigenous-made films than what we can offer as part of our official school programmes. While we cannot provide lesson plans, resources or copies of the films on the following pages, we hope you’ll explore these titles and check them out on your own.

BEFORE TOMORROW (2008) Directors: Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Inuk), Marie-Hélène Cousineau. Writer: Susan Avingaq (Inuk), Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Ivalu, based on the novel by Jørn Riel. Producer: Stéphane Rituit. Starring: Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, Paul-Dylan Ivalu (Inuk), Mary Qulitalik (Inuk). 93 min. Set in 1840, as white settlers begin encroaching on Inuit territory, Before Tomorrow is a visually stunning tale of an Inuk woman and her grandson. Ningiuq (director Madeline Ivalu) is an elder who, along with her best friend Kutuujuk (Qulitalik), gather with their families each summer to share food, visit and tell stories.This particular summer however, Kutuujuk is sick and Ningiuq is worried about their future. MADELINE PIUJUQ IVALU & The two women and Ningiuq’s grandson Maniq (Paul-Dylan Ivalu) are MARIE-HELENE COUSINEAU dropped off on a remote island to dry and store fish for winter. However, as Ivalu and Cousineau were co-founders of the Arnait Video Productions filmmaking collective. Ivalu has summer turns to fall, they wait in vain for the others to pick them up, and worked with the Pan Arctic Women Artists Workshop Ningiuq worries that her worst fears about the impending advance of white and Isuma Distribution International. They Europeans are coming true. co-directed the features Uvanga and Restless River, with Cousineau producing and writing.

BLOOD QUANTUM (2020) Director: Jeff Barnaby (Mi’kmaq). Writer: Jeff Barnaby. Producers: John Christou, Robert Vroom. Starring: Michael Greyeyes (Nêhiyaw), Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Forrest Goodluck (Diné/Mandan/Hidatsa/ Tsimshian). 96 min. 18A The term “blood quantum” refers to a colonial system enforced on Indigenous peoples in North America which determines their individual status and rights based on their “percentage” of Indigenous ancestry. It is a tool of control, assimilation and erasure of Indigenous peoples. In this brilliantly provocative horror film set in an isolated Mi’kmaq community, the Indigenous population remains immune to a raging zombie virus JEFF BARNABY infecting the surrounding white population. Barnaby’s films paint a stark portrait of Indigenous life and culture. His short films include the Genie- Blood soaked, fast paced and darkly comic, Blood Quantum is a wild nominated File Under Miscellaneous, the Sundance ride using the zombie genre as a vehicle to explore white supremacy, selection From Cherry English, and The Colony, colonialism, genocide and Indigenous self-determination. which was nominated for a Jutra and included in TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten shorts of the year. His feature debut was Rhymes for Young Ghouls (p.25) REFERENCE FILMS 22 FALLS AROUND HER (2018) Director/Writer: Darlene Naponse (Anishinaabe). Producers: Jamie Manning, Darlene Naponse, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss. Starring: Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/ Métis), Tina Keeper (Cree), Gail Maurice (Métis). 100 min. PG When a world-famous Anishinaabe musician (Cardinal) returns home in search of peace and quiet, she finds that her international fame allows her no time to relax. As she tries to combat a constant series of requests for her time, she also begins to fear that she is being trailed by an unwanted pursuer. With her sister’s guidance, she manages to find happiness through her family, old friends and some unexpected new romance. Falls Around Her was the opening gala film at the 2018 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, where it won the Audience Choice Award. DARLENE NAPONSE Naponse is a writer, director and video artist “Tantoo Cardinal is enthralling” – Samantha Edwards, NOW Magazine whose work has screened at numerous festivals around the world, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance, and imagineNATIVE. Her credits include the shorts Retrace and She Is Water, and the features Cradlesong and Every Emotion Costs.

FIRE SONG (2015) Director/Writer: Adam Garnet Jones (Cree/Métis). Producers: Adam Garnet Jones, PJ Thornton. Starring: Andrew Martin (Mohawk), Jennifer Podemski (Saulteaux), Harley Legarde-Beacham (Ojibway). 96 min. 14A Just weeks before Shane (Martin) is scheduled to leave his small Northern Ontario town to start university in Toronto, his younger sister commits suicide, leaving him struggling to take care of his family in the aftermath. Shane finds solace in the love he shares with his boyfriend David (Legarde- Beacham), but they are forced to keep their relationship a secret from their families and friends. Torn between his responsibilities at home and the promise of freedom calling ADAM GARNET JONES to him from the big city, Shane is forced to make a difficult choice after Jones is a Two-Spirit screenwriter, director, bead- circumstances take a turn for the worse. worker and novelist. His short film credits include Cloudbreaker, Wave a Red Flag (p.21) and A Small Fire Song won the Audience Choice award at the 2015 imagineNATIVE Film + Thing. His most recent feature, Great, Great, Media Arts Festival. Great, was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Screenplay.

FORGOTTEN WARRIORS DOC (1997) Director/Writer: Loretta Todd (Cree/Métis). Producers: Michael Doxtater (Haudenosaunee), Carol Geddes (Tlingit), Jerry Krepakevich. With: Gordon Tootoosis (Cree), Nathaniel Arcand (Nêhiyaw), Michèle Audette (Innu). 51 min. NR This documentary introduces us to the thousands of Indigenous people who enlisted and fought for Canada alongside their countrymen and women during World War II, even though they could not be conscripted. While they fought for the freedom of others, they were being denied their rights in their own country. As a reward for fighting, the returning soldiers were allowed to buy land at a cheap price. However, many of the Indigenous soldiers were never told about the land entitlement, and LORETTA TODD Todd is a documentary filmmaker, installation artist, some returned home to find the government had seized parts of their own essayist and pioneer of Indigenous filmmaking in reserve lands to compensate non-Indigenous veterans. Canada. Her directing credits include the feature documentaries The Learning Path, Hands of History Narrator Tootoosis gives a historical overview, while Indigenous veterans and the upcoming Monkey Beach. She has also share their poignant and unforgettable war memories, and the ways in directed numerous television series, including the which they have healed. recent Coyote’s Crazy Smart Science Show. 23 REFERENCE FILMS JORDAN RIVER ANDERSON, DOC THE MESSENGER (2019) Director/Writer: Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki). Producer: Alanis Obomsawin. 65 min. NR When Jordan River Anderson, who suffered from a rare muscle disorder, died in 2005, he had spent all five years of his short life in a hospital while the federal and provincial governments argued over which was responsible for his care. In 2007, Canada’s Parliament passed a motion in support of “Jordan’s Principle,” a policy meant to ensure that First Nations children have equitable access to government-funded health, social, and ALANIS OBOMSAWIN, C.C. educational services. Legendary filmmaker Obomsawin has made over Master documentarian Alanis Obomsawin interviews Jordan’s family as 50 documentaries on issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Rocks at Whiskey well as other Indigenous families across Canada who have had to fight for Trench (p.13), Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance basic human rights for their children. (p.10), Trick or Treaty? (p.28) and Our People Will be Healed (p.12). She is a Companion of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour).

MALIGLUTIT (SEARCHERS) (2016) Directors: Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Natar Ungalaaq (Inuk). Writers: Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn. Producers: Cara Di Staulo, Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk. Starring: Benjamin Kunuk (Inuk), Karen Ivalu (Inuk), Jonah Qunaq (Inuk). 94 min. 14A Inuk pioneer filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk adapts the plot of John Ford’s 1956 western The Searchers to the arctic setting for a very different kind of revenge story, in which an Inuk man and his band of maliglutit (“followers”) set out across the barren Arctic in search of the marauders who have ransacked his home and kidnapped his wife. Like Ford’s film, Kunuk’s Maliglutit (Searchers) explores the repercussions NATAR UNGALAAQ & ZACHARIAS KUNUK of violence, but it cleverly overturns the Western genre, exposing how An Officer of the Order of Canada, Kunuk won the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for the colonial ideology is inherent to the western genre, and magnifies the Atanarjuat (p.7). His credits include The Journals fight for justice in a seemingly unjust world. With a tale as timeless as the of Knud Rasmussen and One Day in the Life of landscape in which it is set, Kunuk has provided us with another classic. Noah Piugattuk (below). Ungalaaq is an acclaimed sculptor and Kunuk’s longtime collaborator. He played the leading role in Atanarjuat, and Maliglutit is his feature film directorial debut. ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF NOAH PIUGATTUK (2019) Director: Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk). Writers: Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn. Producers: Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk. Starring: Apayata Kotierk (Inuk), Kim Bodnia, Benjamin Kunuk (Inuk). 111 min. NR It is 1961 in Kapuivik, north Baffin Island, and Noah Piugattuk’s nomadic Inuit community live and hunt by dog team as his ancestors did when he was born in 1900. When the white man known as Boss (Bodnia) arrives at Piugattuk’s hunting camp, what appears as a chance meeting soon opens up the prospect of momentous change. Boss is an agent of the government, assigned to get Piugattuk to move his people to permanent housing, assimilate his children into settler ZACHARIAS KUNUK, O.C. society and give up their traditional way of life. This encounter leads An Officer of the Order of Canada, Kunuk is an acclaimed filmmaker whose 2001 film Atanarjuat to an extended showdown between Piugattuk and Boss, who can only (p.7) won the Caméra d’Or award at Cannes. communicate with each other through the help of a young Inuk translator. Atanarjuat was voted the top Canadian film of all time in TIFF’s Canada’s All-Time Top Ten List. One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk is a deeply absorbing account of a Kunuk’s credits include Maliglutit (Searchers) little-known and important piece of both Inuit and Canadian history. (above) and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen. REFERENCE FILMS 24 RED SNOW (2019) Director/Writer: Marie Clements (Métis/Dene). Producers: Marie Clements, Lael McCall, Michelle Morris. Starring: Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis), Samuel Marty (Plains Cree/Nakoda Stoney), Asivak Koostachin (Cree/Inuk), Miika Bryce Whiskeyjack (Cree). 100 min. PG Dylan (Koostachin), a Gwich’in soldier from the Canadian Arctic, is on a military tour in Afghanistan when he is ambushed and captured by Taliban rebels. As he is held prisoner and interrogated, he is reminded of painful memories connected to the love and death of his Inuk cousin, Asana (Whiskeyjack). What begins as a fight for survival becomes a terrifying race against time as Dylan is forced into a situation no soldier ever wants to face. Marie Clements’ bold second feature premiered at the imagineNATIVE festival MARIE CLEMENTS in 2019 and collected a number of accolades including a nomination for best Clements works within a variety of mediums including film, television, radio, and live director from the DGC and 10 nominations at the Leo awards. performance. Her work has screened at Cannes, “[Red Snow] brings an extraordinary new twist to … the war movie.” TIFF, MOMA, VIFF, American Indian Film Festival and imagineNATIVE, and she has garnered — Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ Women on Film numerous awards. She directed the musical documentary The Road Forward (below). Red Snow is her dramatic feature film debut. RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS (2013) Director/Writer: Jeff Barnaby (Mi’kmaq). Producers: Aisling Chin-Yee, John Christou. Starring: Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Mohawk), Glen Gould (Mi’kmaq), Brandon Oakes (Mohawk), Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis). 88 min. 18A It’s 1976 on the Red Crow Mi’kmaq reserve, and 15-year-old Aila (Jacobs) is the weed princess of her community. Hustling drugs with her uncle Burner, she sells enough dope to pay a “truancy tax” to Popper, the sadistic government agent who runs St. Dymphna’s Residential School. It’s a tough life, but she’s making it work. That is, until the precarious balance of her world is threatened by her father’s return from prison, and the theft of her drug money. Part fable, part small-town drama, Rhymes for Young Ghouls is a richly imaginative drama about growing up during a very dark time in Canada’s JEFF BARNABY treatment of Indigenous people. Barnaby’s films paint a stark portrait of Indigenous life and culture. His short films include the Genie- “A savvy [Indigenous] genre film with a strong, beautiful and ingenious heroine nominated File Under Miscellaneous, the Sundance whose courage helps right an injustice.” — Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail Official Selection From Cherry English, and The Colony, which was nominated for a Jutra and included in TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten shorts of the year. His second feature, Blood Quantum (p.22), premiered at TIFF 2019. THE ROAD FORWARD DOC (2017) Director/Writer: Marie Clements (Métis/Dene). Producer: Shirley Vercruysse. Starring: Evan Leslie Adams (Tla’amin), Chief Leonard George (Tsleil- Waututh), Ron Harris (Stō:lo/St’át’imc/Nlaka’pamux), Wayne Lavallee (Métis). 101 min. NR A musical doc unlike anything you’ve seen before, The Road Forward pushes the boundaries of what we expect of documentaries and offers a unique, defiant blend of genres that will leave you smiling and feeling inspired. The film tells the tale of six generations of Indigenous activism, weaving in musical sequences that seamlessly connect past and present with blues, rock and traditional beats. A rousing tribute to those who tirelessly fight for MARIE CLEMENTS Clements works within a variety of mediums the rights of First Nations people and a visceral and inspiring call to action. including film, television, radio, and live The Road Forward performance. Her work has screened at Cannes, “ represents the bold and optimistic position where TIFF, MOMA, VIFF, Whistler Film Festival, American [Indigenous documentary] now stands.” – Kate Taylor, The Globe and Mail Indian Film Festival and imagineNATIVE, and she has garnered numerous awards. Her dramatic feature film debut was in 2019 with Red Snow (above). 25 REFERENCE FILMS RUTHLESS SOULS (2019) Director-Writer: Madison Thomas (Ojibwe/Saulteax). Producer: Darcy Waite (). Starring: Mary Galloway (Cowichan), Christie Taronno, Eugene Baffoe. 84 min. Jackalope “Jackie” Cambell (Galloway) is a tough as nails Ojibwe artist born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. On the first anniversary of her partner’s tragic death, Jackie copes with her guilt and loneliness by drinking and smoking up. When Jackie finds out that her best friend Rooney has split-up with her long time partner Tay, she feels her remaining relationships are in peril. Rooney and Tay are Jackie’s only friends, and have been each other’s MADISON THOMAS pillars of support since they were kids. Thomas is an award-winning filmmaker and educator based in Winnipeg. Her directing credits A visually alluring film full of heavy emotions and sharp, witty dialogue, include many short films, such as Seven Drinks, Heart Wired and The Middles as well as the Ruthless Souls confronts the pain of loss and highlights the human television series Colour of Scar Tissue and Taken, ability to overcome grief. Madison Thomas’ sophomore premiered at and the feature This is Why We Fight. Ruthless ImagineNative 2019. Souls is her second feature film.

SMOKE TRADERS DOC (2012) Directors: Jeff Dorn (Ojibway), Catherine Bainbridge. Writers: Catherine Bainbridge, Jeff Dorn, Howard Goldberg. Producers: Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick. 51 min. PG This insightful documentary looks at the controversy ignited by the Mohawk Nation’s participation in the tobacco trade, raising issues of sovereignty, economic independence and entrepreneurship versus what some see as illegal activity. Shooting over three years, the filmmakers gained extraordinary access to a cast of charismatic characters, including Brian, a former tobacco runner from Akwesasne trying to go legit by starting a sustainable energy business, JEFF DORN & CATHERINE BAINBRIDGE and Robbie, who runs a federally licensed cigarette factory in Kahnawake. Dorn began his career as a news photographer, and has directed for CTV News, the National The film tells the Mohawk side of the story, their history with tobacco, Aboriginal Achievement Awards, and the Arctic Indigenous rights and the battles with federal and provincial governments. Winter Games, as well as the acclaimed series Rez Rides. Bainbridge is a founder of Rezolution Pictures. She co-directed Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World and produced Club Native (p.8), Reel Injun (p.12), and the TV series Mohawk Girls. SOL DOC (2014) Directors: Susan Avingaq (Inuk), Marie-Hélène Cousineau. Writer: Marie- Hélène Cousineau, Dana Schoel. Producer: Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Stephane Rituit. 76 min. NR When Solomon Uyarasuk died in police custody at age 26, the RCMP declared it a suicide. This documentary explores the truth of what happened in that prison through a look at Solomon’s life that was cut much too short. Far from being an isolated incident, Solomon’s story is an example of a pattern of systemic failures that are a root cause for the tragically high suicide rate in Nunavut. After premiering at imagineNative in 2014, Sol won the Canadian Screen SUSAN AVINGAQ & MARIE-HÉLÈNE COUSINEAU Award for Best Documentary and was included on TIFF’s Canada Top Ten. Cousineau and Avingaq are co-founders of the collective Arnait Video Productions. Cousineau’s co-directing credits include Uvanga, Restless River, and Before Tomorrow (p.22) all of which she also co-wrote and produced. Avingaq also co-wrote Uvanga and the two worked together on the short documentary Anaana. REFERENCE FILMS 26 THE SPIRIT OF ANNIE MAE DOC (2002) Director: Catherine Anne Martin (Mi’kmaw). Writer: Angela Baker. Producer: Kent Martin. 73 min. NR Annie Mae Pictou Aquash was a 30-year-old Nova Scotia-born Mi’kmaq woman and a prominent figure in the American Indian Movement (AIM) until her life was tragically cut short in 1975, when she was brutally murdered in South Dakota. Decades later, as the crime remains unsolved, her friends and family reflect on her life and what she meant to each of them. While remaining an intimate portrait of a loving mother and friend, The Spirit of Annie Mae also chronicles the history of AIM, and ways in which the government sought to destroy it from within. CATHERINE ANNE MARTIN, C.M. Martin is a filmmaker, writer, drummer and Member of the Order of Canada. She has worked extensively with the NFB, and her credits include the short films Little Boy Who Lived with Muini’skw and Mi’kmaq Family: Migmaoei otjiosog as well as the online documentary Bringing Annie Mae Home.

TKARONTO (2007) Director/Writer: Shane Belcourt (Métis). Producers: Shane Belcourt, Duane Murray, Jordan O’Connor. Starring: Melanie McLaren (Ojibwe), Duane Murray, Lorne Cardinal (Cree), Cheri Maracle (Mohawk). 105 min. PG Anishinaabe painter Jolene (McLaren) and part-Métis TV writer Ray (Murray) form an instant connection after a chance encounter. Both have come to the city with big hopes for their futures, and stand at a crossroads; Ray came to pitch his TV series Indian Jones, which he hopes will be his big break, and Jolene has an interview with an elder, who presents her with an unexpected gift that she feels she doesn’t deserve. Together, they embark on a search for meaning, sharing experiences of hope and fear and reflecting on urban Indigenous reality. Taking the original Mohawk name of Toronto for its title, Belcourt’s multi-award SHANE BELCOURT winning Tkaronto was the closing night film at the 2007 imagiNATIVE Festival Belcourt is an award-winning and CSA-nominated filmmaker whose work includes shorts such as A and won the Best Director Award at the Dreamspeakers Festival. Common Experience, Keeping Quiet, and Pookums, the dance-documentary Kaha:wi - The Cycle of Life, and two heritage minutes for Historica Canada. He recently co-directed the CBC documentary Indictment with Lisa Jackson, and directed the feature Red Rover.

TOTEM: DOC THE RETURN OF THE G’PSGOLOX POLE (2003) Director/Writer: Gil Cardinal (Métis). Producer: Bonnie Thompson, Jerry Krepakevich. 70 min. 14A In 1929, the Haisla people of British Columbia returned from a fishing trip to find their nine-metre mortuary pole — otherwise known as the G’psgolox — missing, severed at the base. The pole’s fate was a mystery for over 60 years, until it surfaced in a Stockholm museum. The Haisla people traveled to Sweden in 1991 to retrieve it. This documentary traces their journey to repatriate the G’psgolox pole. GIL CARDINAL Cardinal was a groundbreaking filmmaker whose This unique documentary provides audiences with important community work revealed the complex history of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples. His body of work includes NFB commentary on issues of cultural appropriation and repatriation. documentaries such as The Spirit Within, David with F.A.S., and Foster Child alongside television series such as North of 60, Big Bear, Chiefs, and Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis. He passed away in 2015. 27 REFERENCE FILMS TREADING WATER: PLIGHT OF THE 2011 DOC MANITOBA FIRST NATIONS FLOOD EVACUEES (2014) Directors/Writers: Janelle Wookey (Métis), Jérémie Wookey (Métis). Producers: Janelle Wookey, Jocelyn Mitchell, Jeff Newman. 60 min. NR In 2011, 2100 Indigenous people in Manitoba were forced from their homes after artificially diverted floodwater swamped their communities to save the city of Winnipeg and other major urban centers. Years later, evacuees are still stranded, caught in a political firestorm between the First Nations bands, the Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters, hotel owners and the federal and provincial governments. JANELLE & JÉRÉMIE WOOKEY Disrupted families are weakened by separation as the communities face Janelle and her brother Jérémie started their rising substance abuse and suicide. careers at Radio-Canada in Winnipeg working on news and special series, then co-founded Wookey Treading Water is a deeply intimate look at the unexpected and untold Films to continue making documentaries. Their story of the real-life evacuees behind the national headlines of the 2011 films include the short docs Mémére Métisse (p.19) and Pollock & Pollock, and the feature docs Manitoba flood. A Right to Eat and Le boys du ballet.

TRICK OR TREATY? DOC (2014) Director/Writer: Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki). Producer: Alanis Obomsawin. 84 min. NR To the Canadian government, Treaty No. 9, which covers a vast swath of northern Ontario, represents a surrendering of Indigenous sovereignty, while the descendants of the Cree signatories believe that its original purpose to share the land and its resources has been misunderstood and not upheld. Trick or Treaty succinctly and powerfully portrays one community’s attempt to enforce their treaty rights and protect their land, while revealing the complexities of treaty agreements. Set against the backdrop of the Idle No More movement and Chief Theresa ALANIS OBOMSAWIN, C.C. Spence’s hunger strike, Obomsawin interviews legal, historical and cultural Legendary filmmaker Obomsawin has made over 50 documentaries on issues affecting experts — as well as descendants of original treaty signers — to explore Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Rocks at fundamental questions about Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples. Whiskey Trench (p.13), Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (p.10), and Our People Will be Healed “Obomsawin’s documentaries inform, inspire and shock us. Trick or Treaty? is (p.12). Obomsawin is a Companion of the Order of no different.” — Nadya Domingo, Toronto Film Scene Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour).

TWO WORLDS COLLIDING DOC (2004) Director/Writer: Tasha Hubbard (Cree). Producer: Bonnie Thompson. 49 min. NR In the early 2000s, members of the Saskatoon police force drove Indigenous men into remote fields and abandoned them to die. These acts became known as the Saskatoon “freezing deaths,” a terrifying story blown open by Darrell Night, a survivor who came forward when he learned the bodies of other Indigenous men were discovered in the same area. This documentary is an inquiry into these events and the schism between an understandably mistrustful Indigenous community and a police force harbouring a harrowing secret. Night’s whistle-blowing sets into motion a TASHA HUBBARD chain of events: a major RCMP investigation into several suspicious deaths, Hubbard is an award-winning filmmaker and an assistant professor in the University of the conviction of the two constables who abandoned him, and eventually, Saskatchewan’s Department of English. She has a judicial inquiry. directed the short film 7 Minutes (p.19), and the feature doc nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (p.11). Two Worlds Colliding won a Gemini and a Golden Sheaf Award. REFERENCE FILMS 28 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

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