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-Matinee-
Time: 2pm
Portraits: Short Docs (84m)
Time: 4pm
Sacred Currents: Shorts (91.5m)
Noam Sol Azouz, Dan Lior • 5m • 2023 • USA • Eng.
Wallowing Bull explores the cultural significance of the American bison. The bison, which was nearly extinct by the end of the 19th century due to systematic extermination, holds a special place in the hearts of many Native American tribes. Shot on location in the Wind River reservation, Indigenous singer-songwriter Christian Wallowing Bull works to bridge the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous perspectives.
Desmond Simon (Mi'kmaq) • 6m • Canada • 2023 • Eng.
The story of one family, their connection to their land, and discovering their resilience. Mitata (pronounced "mee-da-da") is Mi'kmaq word translating to "grandfather". Created by Elsipogtog First Nation filmmaker Desmond Simon, Mitata is a celebration of a grandfather through the voice of his son and the eyes of his grandson.
Alyssia Labbé-Hervieux (Innu) • 5m • Canada • 2022 • French
The Furry community is made up of people who use drawing and costumes to bring animal characters with human characteristics to life. “Fursona” depicts the universe of Aly, a member of this community.
Roxann Whitebean (Mohawk) • 4m • 2023 • Canada • Eng.
In this unconventional portrait of John Kim Bell, he reflects on his formative years, which brought him to Broadway and influenced him to become the first Indigenous person in North America to lead a classical orchestra. After spending a lifetime amplifying the voices of Indigenous Peoples through the arts, he elaborates on his trailblazing work, including founding the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation known as Indspire.
Kim Stadfeld (Anishinaabe) • 12m • 2022 • Canada • Eng.
Flora Bear's youngest granddaughter searches for truth and answers about her Indigenous grandmother's life.
This short documentary is the filmmaker's personal journey of discovery to honour her late grandmother's life and understand her family history
Tace Stevens (Noongar & Spinifex) • 9m • 2022 • Australia • Eng.
Noongar and Spinifex Aboriginal woman Tace Stevens explores the impact of code-switching on her identity, before revealing what led her to embrace the power of standing firm in who she is, no matter where she is.
Holly Beckham (Maori) • 10m • 2022 • New Zealand
Determined to break the cycle for her tamariki, one wāhine toa turns her troubled life of addiction and trauma around by rediscovering her wairua and reclaiming her mana. Jessica Apanui’s methamphetamine addiction began as an escape from the trauma of a violent childhood. But after years of chronic abuse, she made the decision to break the cycle for her own tamariki. Now Jess must look deep into her past and embrace the power of Māoritanga to help guide her future.
Jordan Dresser (Northern Arapaho), Sophie Barksdale • 20m • 2023 • USA • Eng.
Who She Is tells the story of two women caught in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) epidemic in the U.S. By bringing these missing women to life on screen, through animation and first-person storytelling, the documentary aims to humanize the people behind the statistics of MMIW.
Inuk Jørgensen (Inuit) • 6m • 2022 • Greenland • Eng.
Endorsed by the UN-mandated Spokesperson for the Rights of the Child calling it “a call for action”, ‘Where Dreams Are Forgotten’ is filmed in what was once the economic center of the colonial Arctic and deals with the prospects of the ever evolving infrastructure set against the stark reality for the local population. Told through noisy images the film transports you to a neglected and often forgotten part of the sub-polar regions of the world's largest island where the youngest generations are the ones who suffer the most in a post-colonial struggle of an entire society.
Elle Brown (Heiltsuk) • 6.5m • 2022 • Canada • Eng.
After everything that Indigenous people have gone through, we have managed to come back to our ways and teachings.
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Moe Clark (Metis), Victoria Hunt (Maori), James Brown • 5m • Canada/New Zealand • 2020 • Cree, Maori
biolumin is an experimental examination of threshold states. moving through deep space time in underwater realms, mirrored bodies spiral, suspend and dance through te reo maori and nêhiyawêwin lamentations.
Tia Barrett (Māori) • 4.5m • 2022 • New Zealand • Eng./Maori
He Pounamu Ko Āu (I am Pounamu) is a kaupapa Māori experimental short film that explores wahine Māori identity. The film unfolds through moving image, pounamu pūrākau (storytelling), mōteatea (sung Māori poetry), and ambient sound. Created for healing and artistically expressing a story of overcoming the adversity of colonisation and the reconnection to indigenous woman's identity. Drawing on maternal whakapapa (genealogy) to celebrate intergenerational wāhine talent.
KJ Edwards (Kanien’kehá:ka) • 5m • Canada • 2023 • Eng.
A poetic retelling of a visit from the artist’s mother, istén:'a explores dreamspace as a meeting place for us and our late loved ones, who we always remain tethered to.
Dianne Ouellette (Métis) • 5m • 2022 • Canada • Eng.
lii bufloo aen loo kishkishiw (buffalo wolf memory) honours the memory of the "buffalo wolves," also known as the "prairie wolves," who at one time thrived in the North American grasslands. Wolfers hunted the wolves to extinction by the turn of the 20th century. I reflect on the wolves extinction, distant memories of ancestors, lost language, and the bison who roam the grasslands today.
'Wáats'asdiyei Joe Yates (Haida) • 15m • 2023 • Alaska • Eng.
We explore how it was for our people to go through statehood, blood quantum, ANCSA, boarding schools, stripping our language and dance away, and all that has done to our mental health. With that, we try to have a hopeful spin on this narrative and show how resilient our people are.
Wendell G. Collier (Mi'kmaq ) • 22m • 2022 • Canada • Eng.
For the Mi’kmaq community of Miawpukek First Nation, reviving the tradition of Birch Bark Canoe building becomes a way to connect to the past and ensure cultural survival.
Javier Stell-Frésquez (Piru & Tigua Pueblo, Xicanx) • 11.5m • 2022 • USA • Eng.
Two, Mayan-descended 2 Spirits meet at a Queer bar and realize that their connection with one another is more ancient than either could imagine.
Ado' Kaliting Pacidal (Pangcah) • 25m • 2022 • Taiwan • Eng., Mandarin Chinese, Maori
By the glowing embers of the campfire, the elder narrates the mythical beginnings of the Pangcah. Shifting to thousands of years after creation, Ado, an Pangcah woman living in the urban jungle, often dreams of a mysterious man, seemingly a memory from a past life, calling out to her in the distance. Returning to her tribal cottage, the spiritual space of the Pangcah tribe opens up to her.