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Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry it On

Director Madison Thomas (Ojibwe/Saulteax)
Year 2022
Run Time 90min
Genre Documentary
The story of musical icon Buffy Sainte Marie is told through interviews with her peers, those she inspired and, of course, Buffy herself. For over five decades, Buffy has demonstrated a commitment to her principles that not only sets her apart from her peers, but has also allowed her to have an impact felt around the world. This musical journey looks over her career, celebrating the brilliance of her composition, writing and fearless activism.

A must-see for both lifelong and new fans of her work, this exceptional documentary premiered at TIFF in 2022 and was nominated for the DGC Allan King award for Best Documentary Film. 
 

Director

Madison Thomas (Ojibwe/Saulteax)

Writer

Andrea Warner

Cast

Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree)

Producer

Stephen Paniccia

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Eagle Vision

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Beans

Director Tracey Deer (Mohawk)
Year 2020
Run Time 92min
Genre Drama

Beans takes place at the height of the 1990 Mohawk Resistance at Kanehsatà:ke (also known as the Oka Crisis), a 78-day standoff between Indigenous land defenders, Quebec police, the RCMP and the Canadian military, over the proposed expansion of a golf course on to a Mohawk burial ground. Twelve-year-old Tekehentahkhwa (nicknamed “Beans”, played by Kiawentiio) is forced into an early coming of age by these events, as her innocence turns to anger over the treatment of her people.

Drawing from her own experiences as a child, director Tracey Deer provides a poignant and engaging chronicle of these real-life events that shook the nation, as well as a much-needed look at how the traumatic events impacted youth in the community.

Beans premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the 2021 Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture.

Content Note: This film includes coarse language, violence, and thematic elements that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Director

Tracey Deer (Mohawk)

In 2008, Deer won a Gemini Award in Best Documentary Writing, for Club Native. Her debut doc was the award-winning Mohawk Girls, which she adapted into a TV series that ran for five seasons and was nominated for seven CSAs. Beans has won eleven awards, including Best Picture at the CSAs. Most recently, she directed episodes of the series Three Pines, and is currently working on the feature Thorpe, about Native American Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe.

 

Writers

Tracey Deer (Mohawk), Meredith Vuchnich

Cast

Kiawentiio (Mohawk), Dawn Ford, Violah Beauvais (Mohawk), Rainbow Dickerson (Rappahannock), Brittany Leborgne (Mohawk)

Producer

Anne-Marie Gélinas

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

Mongrel Media

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Trick or Treaty?

Director Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
Year 2014
Run Time 84min
Genre Documentary

One of the masters of Canadian documentary cinema, Alanis Obomsawin has spent decades chronicling the injustices visited on First Nations communities, creating a remarkable body of work. In her latest film, she digs into the difficult history of Treaty 9, the infamous 1905 agreement in which First Nations communities allegedly relinquished their sovereignty over their traditional lands.

Setting the film against the recent resurgence of First Nations activism (Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike and the Idle No More movement), Obomsawin interviews legal, historical and cultural experts — as well as people whose ancestors were present when the treaty was signed — to explore some fundamental questions about Canada’s relationship with our First Nations.

“Obomsawin’s documentaries inform, inspire and shock us. Trick or Treaty? is no different.” — Nadya Domingo, Toronto Film Scene

Director

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Legendary Abenaki filmmaker Obomsawin has made over 50 documentaries on issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, Trick or Treaty?, Is the Crown at War with Us?, Our People Will Be Healed and Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger. Her most recent film is the short documentary Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair. Next, she is set to appear in an episode of Marie Clements' Bones of Crows: The Series.

Writer

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Producers

Annette Clarke, Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Environment, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open

Directors Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Kathleen Hepburn
Year 2019
Run Time 105min
Genre Drama

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 (Violet Nelson), to flee her home.

Àila (Tailfeathers) swiftly offers her shelter, and as their intimate yet challenging encounter develops, the women weave a fragile bond, and must face their own unique struggles with the complexities of motherhood, class, race, and the ongoing legacy of colonialism.

Directors

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Kathleen Hepburn

Writers

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Kathleen Hepburn

Cast

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Violet Nelson (Kwakwakaʼwakw)

Producers

Alan Milligan, Tyler Hagan, Lori Lozinski

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

Canadian Distributor

levelFILM

The Grizzlies

Director Miranda de Pencier
Year 2019
Run Time 106min
Genre Drama

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 ongoing epidemic of teen suicide. Russ introduces a lacrosse programme and gradually wins the trust of his students. Together, the youth find a sense of pride and purpose in themselves and their community.

The Grizzlies was called “transcendently moving” by The Hollywood Reporter and has won multiple awards and been screened to acclaim at film festivals around the world. Cast members Paul Nutarariaq and Anna Lambe earned Canadian Screen Award nominations for their performances.


* Please note that this film has Indigenous producers, but not an Indigenous director. imagineNATIVE defines an Indigenous-made film as one directed or co-directed by an Indigenous person.
 

Director

Miranda de Pencier

De Pencier is a director and producer whose first short film Throat Song won four awards including a CSA for Best Live Action Short. The Grizzlies won the DGC’s Outstanding Directorial Achievement Feature Film Award. She has produced several films, including Cake, Beginners and Thanks for Sharing and episodes of Anne With an E. She is currently producing the film The Chocolate Money.

Writers

Graham Yost, Moira Walley-Beckett

Cast

Emerald MacDonald (Inuk), Paul Nutarariaq (Inuk), Anna Lambe (Inuk), Ben Schnetzer, Ricky Martin-Pahtaykan (Plains Cree/Stoney Nakoda)

Producers

Stacey Aglok MacDonald (Inuk), Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk), Damon D'Oliveira, Miranda de Pencier, Zanne Devine

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Sports

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

Canadian Distributor

Mongrel Media

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Angelique’s Isle

Directors Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe)
Year 2018
Run Time 90min
Genre Drama

In the midst of the 1845 mining boom on the shores of Lake Superior, newlywed Anishinaabe woman Angelique (Julia 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 conditions and a quickly dwindling food supply.

As hunger sets in, Angelique – a devout Christian – struggles with her faith and must rely on the teachings she received from her grandmother in order to survive. A testament to the strength and resilience of Indigenous women, Angelique’s Isle also stars Tantoo Cardinal and Aden Young.

Based on the novel Angelique Abandoned by James R. Stevens and the true story of 17-year-old Angelique Mott, Angelique’s Isle is a beautiful and harrowing true tale of perseverance and survival.

Directors

Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe)

Writers

Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe), James R. Stevens

Cast

Julia Jones (Choctaw/Chickasaw), Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis), Aden Young, Charlie Carrick

Producers

Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe), Amos Adetuyi, Dave Clement, Floyd Kane

Genre

Drama

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

Canadian Distributor

levelFILM

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Angry Inuk

Director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)
Year 2016
Run Time 85min
Genre Documentary
We all know about the terrible “brutality” of the Arctic seal hunt — or do we? Turns out there are other sides to this story: it's the story of families that need to be fed, the story of a hunting practice that began centuries ago and the story of a tradition that is central to the economy and food security of Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic. Angry Inuk contains 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, Inuk filmmaker Arnaquq-Baril equips herself and her community with the powers of social media — and yes, #sealfies — to reframe a controversial topic as a cultural issue in this 2016 Audience Award–winning Hot Docs hit.

Angry Inuk delivers important information about an issue we tend to think we know everything about, and delivers a powerful emotional punch.”
—Susan G. Cole, NOW Magazine

Director

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)

Arnaquq-Baril is an award-winning Inuk filmmaker whose work has screened on CBC, APTN, and at festivals like Hot Docs, imagineNATIVE, TIFF and many others. Her credits include the award-winning doc Angry Inuk, Aviliaq, Inuit High Kick, Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos and The Embargo Project. She also produced the award winning film The Grizzlies, the 2022 film Slash/Back, and co-founded the Inuit production company Red Marrow Media. She is currently producing the documentary Twice Colonized.

Writer

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)

Producers

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk), Bonnie Thompson

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Environment, ESL, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, Inuktitut

Language Versions

EN CC, FR CC

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

Director Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
Year 2001
Run Time 172min
Genre Drama
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 only his fate, but that of his people. Atanarjuat won 20 awards, including eight Genies and the Caméra d’Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

“I am not surprised that The Fast Runner has been a box office hit in its opening engagements. It is unlike anything most audiences will have ever seen, and yet it tells a universal story.”
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Director

Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)

In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which was nominated for two CSAs. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.

Writer

Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk)

Cast

Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq (Inuk), Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk), Natar Ungalaaq (Inuk), Sylvia Ivalu (Inuk)

Producers

Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk), Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Germaine Ying Gee Wong

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Classics, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Inuktitut

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

Vtape

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Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes

Director Dennis Jackson (Cree)
Year 2011
Run Time 72min
Genre Animation, Family
Life is changing in the Cree community of Wapos Bay, SK as Chief Big Sky gets elected National Chief, forcing the Marasti family to move to the big city. Unwilling to leave without a fight, Raven (Brass) secretly enters her dad into the race to be the new chief, much to the surprise of presumed frontrunner Jacob (Cardinal). Her lie quickly gets out of hand, and she must figure out how to stop it before it’s too late!

Maintaining the hilarious and heart-warming tone as well as the unique style of the award-winning Wapos Bay tv series, Long Goodbyes went on to win the Kidscreen award for Best TV Movie.

Director

Dennis Jackson (Cree)

Writers

Dennis Jackson (Cree), Melanie Jackson (Cree)

Cast

Raven Brass (Cree), Trevor Cameron (Métis), Lorne Cardinal (Cree), Gordon Tootoosis (Cree)

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

Empire of Dirt

Director Peter Stebbings
Year 2013
Run Time 99min
Genre Drama
When single mom Lena (Gee) realizes that her daughter may be in danger of succumbing to the same addiction issues she herself faced, she decides to leave the city with her and return home to her estranged mother (Podemski) in the rural 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.

Empire of Dirt tells a traditional mothers-and-daughters story in a new way by making their Cree heritage and the role it has in their lives and relationships the true heart of the drama.” — Linda Barnard, Toronto Star


*Please note that this film has an Indigenous producer and screenwriter, but not an Indigenous director. imagineNATIVE defines an Indigenous-made film as one directed or co-directed by an Indigenous person.

Director

Peter Stebbings

Stebbings’ directorial debut was Defendor, and his second film, Empire of Dirt, was nominated for five CSAs. As an actor, his numerous credits include Citizen Duane, The Borgias, Bates Motel, Counting for Thunder and his newest film Percy Vs Goliath. He recently directed The Disappearance, which garnered four CSAs, and episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries, The Sounds, and Killjoys. He is currently writing and directing the feature Running with Monsters.

Writer

Shannon Masters (Cree)

Cast

Cara Gee (Ojibwa), Shay Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho/Oglala Lakota/Mnicoujou Lakota), Jennifer Podemski (Anishinaabe, Leni Lenape, Métis), Luke Kirby

Producers

Jennifer Podemski (Anishinaabe, Leni Lenape, Métis), Bob Crowe, Bob Crowe, Heather K Dahlstrom, Geoff Ewart

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Language Version

None

Canadian Distributor

Mongrel Media

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Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance

Director Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
Year 1993
Run Time 119min
Genre Documentary
In July of 1990, the Oka Crisis was a critical moment in contemporary Canadian history and a turning point for Indigenous affairs. That summer, as the small Quebec community was thrust into the international spotlight, master filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin spent 78 nail-biting days filming the armed stand-off between the Mohawks of Kanehsatake, Quebec, the Quebec police and the Canadian army.

This powerful documentary takes you right to the heart of the action, painting a sensitive and deeply affecting portrait of the people behind the barricades.

Winner of the Toronto International Film Festival’s Best Canadian Feature Film prize.

Director

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Legendary Abenaki filmmaker Obomsawin has made over 50 documentaries on issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, Trick or Treaty?, Is the Crown at War with Us?, Our People Will Be Healed and Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger. Her most recent film is the short documentary Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair. Next, she is set to appear in an episode of Marie Clements' Bones of Crows: The Series.

Writer

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Producers

Wolf Koenig, Colin Neale, Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Classics, Environment, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, EN Subtitles, FR CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

Maïna

Director Michel Poulette
Year 2013
Run Time 102min
Genre Action/Adventure, Drama
An adventure story that is both epic and intimate, Maïna is set in the Far North, in the time before the arrival of the Europeans. During a bloody battle between the Innu and Inuit tribes, an 11-year-old boy, Nipki, is captured by the Inuit. Maïna (Supernault), the daughter of the Innu Grand Chief (Greene), promises her dying friend Matsii that she will rescue the boy, embarking on a dangerous mission that will forever change the course of her life.

Venturing north into enemy territory, Maïna is herself captured by Natak, the Inuit clan’s leader, and must navigate the perilous journey with him, to the “Land of Ice.”

Based on the novel by award-winning author Dominique Demers, this gripping and visually stunning film was nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Picture.

Director

Michel Poulette

Montreal writer/director Poulette’s film Louis 19, le roi des ondes earned the Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature as well as the Golden Reel Award. His feature Maïna was nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards and three Jutras. He directed Agent of Influence starring Oscar winner Christopher Plummer, several recent TV movies and the series Real Detective.

Writer

Pierre Billon

Cast

Uapeshkuss Thernish, Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis), Graham Greene (Oneida), Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis)

Producers

Yves Fortin, Karine Martin

Genres

Action/Adventure, Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Literary Adaptation

Original Languages

English, Inuktitut

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

Equinoxe Films

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Reel Injun

Director Neil Diamond (Cree)
Year 2009
Run Time 86min
Genre Documentary
Reel Injun is an enlightening documentary about the way Indigenous people have been depicted in film from the silent era to the present day.

Director Neil Diamond takes the audience on a trip through time to explore the history of the “Hollywood Indian” and offers a refreshing, candid and personal analysis, tracing how these cinematic images have shaped and influenced the understanding of Indigenous culture and history.

“Impeccably well researched and crafted, Reel Injun neatly walks the line in balancing entertainment and education.” — Todd Brown, Twitch Film

Director

Neil Diamond (Cree)

Cree filmmaker Diamond is known for several award winning documentaries that focus on Indigenous life and issues. His debut film, Cree Spoken Here, garnered the Telefilm/APTN award for Best Aboriginal Documentary. His most recent film was Inuit Cree Reconciliation with filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk and he is currently directing the documentary Red Fever.

Writers

Catherine Bainbridge, Neil Diamond (Cree), Jeremiah Hayes

Cast

Jesse Wente

Producers

Catherine Bainbridge, Linda Ludwick, Christina Fon

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, ESL, Global Experiences, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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Birth of a Family

Director Tasha Hubbard (Cree)
Year 2016
Run Time 79min
Genre Documentary
Four siblings, adopted as infants into separate families across North America, meet for the first time in this deeply moving documentary. 

Between 1955 and 1985, the federal and provincial governments in Canada took an estimated 20,000 Indigenous children from their homes and placed them in the child welfare system. Often referred to as the Sixties Scoop, this policy was part of the same trend of forced assimilation as residential schools.

Betty Ann was one of these children, and over several decades has worked tirelessly to track down her three siblings. As the foursome piece together their shared history, their family begins to take shape. 

This film tackles grief, redemption and discovery as it chronicles the family’s emotional reunion and captures an event that remains painfully elusive for many Indigenous people.
 
 

Director

Tasha Hubbard (Cree)

Hubbard is an award-winning filmmaker and an assistant professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of English. Her writing-directing project Two Worlds Colliding won a Gemini and a Golden Sheaf Award. She has also directed the short film 7 Minutes, and the feature docs Birth of a Family and nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, which won Best Canadian Documentary at Hot Docs and at the CSAs. She is currently directing the feature doc Singing Back the Buffalo.

Writers

Betty Ann Adam (Dene), Tasha Hubbard (Cree)

Producer

Bonnie Thompson

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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Rocks at Whiskey Trench

Director Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
Year 2000
Run Time 105min
Genre Documentary, Drama

On August 28, 1990, in the midst of the Oka crisis, dozens of cars were driven from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake over Montreal’s Mercier Bridge, where an angry mob met them with violence — and rocks. Obomsawin’s documentary gives the Mohawk rebels a voice.

Director

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Legendary Abenaki filmmaker Obomsawin has made over 50 documentaries on issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, Trick or Treaty?, Is the Crown at War with Us?, Our People Will Be Healed and Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger. Her most recent film is the short documentary Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair. Next, she is set to appear in an episode of Marie Clements' Bones of Crows: The Series.

Writer

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Producer

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Genres

Documentary, Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Environment, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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Kayak to Klemtu

Director Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Heiltsuk/Mohawk)
Year 2018
Run Time 91min
Genre Action/Adventure, Family

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 shores of the Great Bear Rainforest. Join this family on the adventure of a lifetime that reflects on the importance of protecting our lands for future generations.

Winner of the 2017 imagineNATIVE Audience Choice Award.

Director

Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Heiltsuk/Mohawk)

Hopkins is an alumna of the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, and has directed numerous shorts, including Button Blanket, Mohawk Midnight Runners, Impossible to Contain and a segment of The Embargo Project. She has directed the features Kayak to Klemtu and Run Woman Run, which won the Audience Choice award at imagineNATIVE 2021. She is currently writing and directing the series Little Bird. 

Writers

Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Heiltsuk/Mohawk), Michael Sparaga

Cast

Lorne Cardinal (Cree), Ta’kaiya Blaney (Tla'amin), Evan Adams (Tla'amin)

Producer

Daniel Bekerman

Genres

Action/Adventure, Family

Interests

Environment, ESL, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Mongrel Media

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Club Native

Director Tracey Deer (Mohawk)
Year 2008
Run Time 78min
Genre Documentary
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 asking quesitons about how we all understand who we are. 

With her own family as a poignant case study, Deer's film will strike a chord with anyone who's ever thought about ethnicity, culture or their place in the world.

Director

Tracey Deer (Mohawk)

In 2008, Deer won a Gemini Award in Best Documentary Writing, for Club Native. Her debut doc was the award-winning Mohawk Girls, which she adapted into a TV series that ran for five seasons and was nominated for seven CSAs. Beans has won eleven awards, including Best Picture at the CSAs. Most recently, she directed episodes of the series Three Pines, and is currently working on the feature Thorpe, about Native American Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe.

 

Writer

Tracey Deer (Mohawk)

Cast

Tracey Deer (Mohawk), Hilda Nicholas, Akwiratékha Martin (Mohawk)

Producers

Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick

Genre

Documentary

Interest

Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)