Steve Joe is a traditional archaeologist with the Moquohat Nation. Down on his luck, with bad things befalling him and others, Steve wants to set things right. The ancestors demand the repatriation of sacred artifacts so loved ones can finally be at rest, including a loved one whose tragic death haunts Steve in his sleep. Alas, the artifacts are in the hands of the dreaded Royal Western Canadian Museum, who's shipping the First Nations exhibition to Europe so "white peoples can gawk." So, turning to others on the Rez, Steve assembles a crack team of burglars while trying to bamboozle a wealthy and diabolical Russian mobster obsessed with collecting artifacts.

In addition to the feature films in this catalogue, we also offer a wealth of Indigenous-made short films suitable for various grade levels. They cover a variety of themes and topics, and encompass fiction and documentary, live action and animation. For the full list, check out our Short Film Programme and filter by Indigenous filmmaker. 

 

In this incredible APTN docuseries, artist and activist Sarain Fox teams up with archeologist Kris Nahrgang to travel across the country to discover various ways that Indigenous peoples are shaping the future. Through conversations with artists, activists, community leaders and more, the series covers a wide range of themes including Indigenous identity, culture, land rights and intergenerational trauma.

Beautifully shot and packed with powerful interviews, Future History celebrates and explores diverse Indigenous perspectives to create a deeper understanding of our shared history as well as a positive path forward. It is a journey that can’t be missed.

Each 21-minute episode can be viewed independently, or you can watch it as a complete series. Contact us for specific programming recommendations.

Jared (Oulette), a teenaged drug dealer in Kitimat, BC, finds his life upended by a series of preternatural events that expose the magical undercurrent both in his community and in his own family. When a mysterious stranger (Queypo) comes into town looking for his mother (Lightning, in a CSA-winning performance), Jared is forced to come to terms with his own powers in order to save the people he loves.

Based on the critically-acclaimed novel Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson (Haisla/Heiltsuk) and steeped in Haisla mythology, Trickster was named by Playback as the top scripted series of 2020 and received 11 CSA nominations, winning three.

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 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.

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.

Red Power: Standing Rock Part 2 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.

Winnipeg is home to the largest urban Indigenous population in the country, with a high percentage living in a low-income neighbourhood with the highest crime rate in the city. In the face of a staggering number of cases of missing Indigenous women and girls, the community has decided to take a stand, working on an individual level to support, protect and improve the lives of its residents.

Hosted by Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot, Dene) this documentary shows the brave fighters who have dedicated themselves to the cause and delves into the underlying factors and intergenerational trauma that has allowed this environment to develop in the first place.

Tyler (Lulua), a young aspiring filmmaker, spends his days comedically documenting life on the Tl’etinqox Reserve where he lives, but everything changes when he meets the mysterious Aaron (Koostachin) who encourages him to tell a new kind of story. What starts out as a personal project about his family soon leads to the reveal of a shocking secret that threatens to unravel his life. 

A coming of age story that is often funny and surreal, this debut feature from director Trevor Mack is also a poignant look at the importance of family and being in touch with one’s ancestry.

“Portraits from a Fire boasts some superb production values… wrapped around a simple, heartfelt tale that is clearly close to the heart of its 29-year-old director.” – Chris Knight, The National Post

In this charming supernatural mystery, Lisa (Dove), a young Haisla woman with clairvoyant abilities, returns to her hometown of Kitamaat and tries to come to terms with the fact that her brother Jimmy (Oulette) has gone missing at sea. Soon, she finds herself drifting between her life in Kitamaat and the spirit world, in an attempt to save him.

Set in the stunning natural landscape of the Pacific Northwest, Monkey Beach draws on Haisla symbolism and culture. This debut feature from renowned documentarian Loretta Todd is a heartfelt and often funny look at grief and the importance of family.

Based on the celebrated novel by Eden Robinson, Monkey Beach received international acclaim and a CSA nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Single mother Beck (Hebert) finds her life upended when she faces a health scare and is forced to make big changes to the way she lives. Beck decides to start training for a marathon to prove to herself and her family that she’s able to get back on track.

Guided by the ghost of her ancestor, legendary long distance runner Tom Longboat (Koostachin), she sets out on a journey that is both emotional and inspiring. Told in a lighthearted and charming way, Run Woman Run is a feel-good anti-rom-com about a woman who has to tackle the ghosts of her past before she can run toward a better future. Winner of the Audience Choice Award and Moon Jury Prize at imagineNATIVE.

“It’s one of the year’s best” – Alex Heeney, Seventh Row

 

A compelling and propulsive dystopian thriller grounded in an allegory for the residential school system, Night Raiders is the story of Niska (Tailfeathers), a Cree mother in an impossible situation. As she travels across a war-torn Turtle Island (North America), she is caught in a desperate attempt to save her daughter from a state-run forced re-education camp. With the world against her, Niska joins forces with a group of underground resistance fighters seeking to free their children and save their future.

Anchored by an incredible lead performance from Tailfeathers along with a stellar supporting cast, this powerful and heartfelt debut feature from Danis Goulet premiered at TIFF in 2021 and was nominated for eleven Canadian Screen Awards, winning six, including Best Original Screenplay.

“Night Raiders should become the most talked-about Canadian film of the year. And for good reason.” – Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail

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 she meets Piujuq (Tulugarjuk), an Inuk girl who she quickly forms a deep bond with in spite of their cultural differences. Through their friendship, the stories of Piujuq’s grandmother, and their wanderings across the striking northern landscape, the girls are immersed in Inuit myth and magic. 

A heartwarming magical-realist fable about friendship and discovery, Tia and Piujuq is a delightful adventure for all ages. 

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 documentary weaves a narrative encompassing the filmmaker’s own family story, the history of colonialism on the Prairies, and a vision of a future where Indigenous children can live safely on their homelands.

Nîpawistamâsowin was the opening night film at Hot Docs 2019, where it won the prize for Best Canadian Documentary.

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 roots behind.

This inspiring doc shows that the strength of the community comes from the people within it, and provides a strong model for prosperity and renewal.

“Our People Will Be Healed breathes with hope for the future.” – Pat Mullen, POV Magazine

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.

With the reserve bully (Supernault) constantly at her heels and an old flame (Kapashesit) suddenly back in her life, she is grateful that her cousin (Martin) is there to help her in the fight to stay positive under trying circumstances. With a lot of laughs along the way, Mitzi embarks on a quest to get her family back on the right track!

In 2011, close to 4000 First Nation people in Manitoba were forced from their homes after artificially diverted floodwater swamped their communities to save the city of Winnipeg. Most of the evacuees, the majority from Lake St. Martin and Little Saskatchewan First Nations, checked into Winnipeg hotels, assuming they would return to their homes within a couple of weeks. Shockingly, nearly 7 years later over 1700 evacuees remain displaced and continue to be stranded in a political firestorm between First Nation band councils, the Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters, hotel owners and the federal and provincial governments. The displacement has triggered a rise in substance abuse and suicide rates. Plans for getting people home seem to be at a standstill. Interspersing intimate clips of everyday life with footage of heated political debates, this deeply intimate documentary tells the unexpected story of the real people behind the national headlines of the 2011 Manitoba flood.

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 Bonspille Boileau brings warmth and grace to this delicate depiction of a young girl forging a strong sense of identity while also contending with family tragedy. 

This powerful drama follows Dylan (Asivak Koostachin), a Gwich’in soldier from the Canadian Arctic, who is caught in an ambush while serving in Afghanistan. His capture and interrogation by a Taliban Commander releases a cache of memories connected to the love and death of his Inuit cousin, Asana (Miika Bryce Whiskeyjack), and binds him closer to a Pashtun family as they attempt to escape across treacherous landscapes.

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, Adiits'ii (York) wanders through the forest becoming driven mad by both natural and supernatural forces. As his loved ones, including best friend Kwa (Russ), set out to capture and cure him, Adiits’ii grows increasingly feral.

The first feature film made entirely in the critically endangered Haida language - fluently spoken by fewer than 20 people - the film is a spellbinding and mythical tale of pride, tragedy and love, set against the stunning backdrop of Canada’s Pacific northwest.

Made with a Haida cast and in collaboration with the Haida Council, this compelling film proves that cinema can be at once a powerful vessel for storytelling and a profound act of Indigenous language and culture revitalization.

A powerful and moving exploration of the horrors and lasting impact of the Residential School System, Bones of Crows follows Aline Spears (Dove), a Cree musical prodigy forcibly removed from her family as a young girl. Following her traumatic experiences, Aline serves her country as a Cree Code Talker in World War II, and thereafter tries to carve out a life for herself, but the memories of what happened to her and her siblings never leaves her. Finding that her story is one shared by hundreds of thousands displaced Indigenous people, she sets herself on a pursuit of justice for herself and future generations.

This courageous generation-spanning epic premiered at TIFF to rave reviews, and received five nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards including Best Original Screenplay.

“[It] should be required viewing for all Canadians.” – Kim Hughes, Original Cin