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Tomson Highway: kipimâtisinaw tapâhpeyahk

Director Barry Bilinsky (Métis/Cree)
Year 2022
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary
Legendary Cree playwright Tomson Highway finds that his purpose in life always comes back to music, storytelling and laughter.
 

Director

Barry Bilinsky (Métis/Cree)

Writer

Barry Bilinsky (Métis/Cree)

Cast

Tompson Highway (Cree)

Producer

Chehala Leonard (Aseniwuche Winewak)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Cree

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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Hebron Relocation

Director Holly Anderson (Labrador Inuit)
Year 2022
Run Time 15min
Genre Documentary
Decades after being forcibly relocated from the town of Hebron, a community of Labrador Inuit reflect on the residual trauma of losing the connection to their ancestral home.

Director

Holly Anderson (Labrador Inuit)

Writer

Holly Anderson (Labrador Inuit)

Producers

Latonia Hartery, Katherine Baulu

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Female Filmmaker, 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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Boat People

Directors Kjell Boersma, Thao Lam
Year 2023
Run Time 9min
Genre Animation
Watching the resilience and determination of ants, Thao Lam sees parallels with the story of her own perilous journey from Vietnam to Canada.

Directors

Kjell Boersma, Thao Lam

Writer

Kjell Boersma

Producers

Jelena Popovic, Justine Pimlott

Genre

Animation

Interests

Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Newcomer Stories

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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Comme un fleuve (Flowing Home)

Director Sandra Desmazières
Year 2021
Run Time 15min
Genre Animation

Over the course of 20 years, two sisters try to remain connected through a series of letters after their family is pulled apart by the Vietnam War.

Content note: Depictions of war and violence (in animation)

Director

Sandra Desmazières

Writer

Sandra Desmazières

Cast

Linh Dan Pham, Sara Martins

Producers

Julie Roy, Dora Benousilio

Genre

Animation

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Newcomer Stories

Original Language

French

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR CC

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

La soeur de Margot (Margot’s Sister)

Director Christine Doyon
Year 2022
Run Time 17min
Genre Drama

A shy pre-teen struggles when her classmates begin to make fun of her sister’s disability, until she finds the courage within herself to stand up to them.

Director

Christine Doyon

Genre

Drama

Interests

Bullying, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

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Indigo

Director Amanda Strong (Michif)
Year 2014
Run Time 9min
Genre Experimental
Inspired by Indigenous stories and vividly-realized through stop-motion animation, a woman trapped in a cluttered space is freed by "Grandmother Spider," who still has some important webs to weave.

Director

Amanda Strong (Michif)

Writer

Daniel T. Fischer

Producers

Luke Sargent, Brett Long, Amanda Strong (Michif)

Genre

Experimental

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Vtape

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Honey For Sale

Director Amanda Strong (Michif)
Year 2009
Run Time 7min
Genre Documentary
The director focuses her camera on the tenuous life of a honeybee in this poetic and thoughtful meditation on the fragility of human existence.

Director

Amanda Strong (Michif)

Writers

Amanda Strong (Michif), John Sedore

Producer

Amanda Strong (Michif)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Environment, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Vtape

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Against The Grain

Director Curtis Mandeville (Métis)
Year 2009
Run Time 24min
Genre Documentary
Survivors of the Indian residential school system attempt to cope with its impact on their personal lives and communities. A good primer for discussions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.

Director

Curtis Mandeville (Métis)

Writer

Curtis Mandeville (Métis)

Cast

Simon Mutabazi

Producers

Curtis Mandeville (Métis), Eileen McCord

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

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Kajutaijuq: The Spirit That Comes

Director Scott Brachmayer
Year 2014
Run Time 15min
Genre Drama, Thriller
Part Inuit legend, part thriller, an Arctic hunter tries to live by the traditional skills his grandfather taught him — but they are difficult for a modern man to apply, and the price of failure is high.

Director

Scott Brachmayer

Writer

Scott Brachmayer

Cast

Johnny Issaluk

Producer

Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk)

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Environment, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Inuktitut

Language Version

EN Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

North Creative Films Inc.

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Barefoot

Director Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)
Year 2012
Run Time 11min
Genre Drama
In a tight-knit Cree community in northern Saskatchewan, 16-year-old Alyssa enjoys the attention that comes with pregnancy — until her secret plan unravels.

Director

Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)

Danis Goulet is an award-winning Cree/Métis filmmaker from La Ronge, SK, now based in Toronto. Her films have screened at festivals worldwide including Sundance, Berlinale, TIFF, and MoMA. She has directed numerous short films, including Wapawekka, Barefoot, Wakening, Blind Spot, and others. Night Raiders was her first feature film. It premiered at TIFF 2021 and went on to win 14 awards, including six CSAs. She has also directed episodes of Reservation Dogs and North of North

Writer

Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)

Cast

Emily Roberts, Cole Ballantyne

Producer

Christine Kleckner

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Treeline Pictures

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Aviliaq (Entwined)

Director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)
Year 2014
Run Time 15min
Genre Drama, Romance
In the 1950s, two Inuit women attempt to protect their relationship when pressure from their community forces them to marry men.

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

Dallas Varcoe

Cast

Miali Buscemi, Malaya Qaunirq Chapman

Producers

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk), Miriam Levin-Gold, Anne-Marie Stuart

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interests

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

Original Language

Inuktitut

Language Version

EN Subtitles

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Assini

Director Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis)
Year 2015
Run Time 13min
Genre Drama
Seven-year-old Assini and her friends often play Cowboys and Indians. But when Assini discovers that she herself is an "Indian," the game takes a new turn.

Director

Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis)

Maurice is a fluent Cree/Michif speaking actor and an award-winning filmmaker who founded her own company, Assini Productions, to tell stories that highlight strong Indigenous female leads. She has directed several shorts, including Smudge and Assini, as well as the feature film ROSIE, which she also wrote and produced. Her acting credits include Falls Around Her, Night Raiders, Bones of Crows, Aberdeen, and many other films and television series. 

Writer

Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis)

Producers

Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis), Melanie Bray

Genre

Drama

Interests

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

Original Language

English

Language Version

None

Canadian Distributor

Vtape

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Indian

Director Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux)
Year 2008
Run Time 2min
Genre Comedy
In this amusing and powerful short, the etymology of the world "Indian" is deconstructed at the Canadian National Spelling Bee.

Director

Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux)

Writer

Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux)

Cast

Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux)

Producer

Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux)

Genre

Comedy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, History, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Winnipeg Film Group

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Fighting Chance

Director Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)
Year 2011
Run Time 9min
Genre Animation, Family
An Indigenous youth with a family history of residential schooling, 13-year-old Joey is arrested and put into a group home where he gets a chance to turn his life around.

Director

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Writers

Karl Giroux, Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree), Lewaa Nasserdeen

Cast

Tanner Bornowsky, Karl Giroux

Producer

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

BearPaw Legal Education

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Empty

Director Jackie Traverse (Anishinaabe)
Year 2009
Run Time 5min
Genre Animation, Documentary, Drama
Set to a song by Little Hawk, this animated story is a daughter's starkly honest tribute to her estranged mother.

Director

Jackie Traverse (Anishinaabe)

Writer

Jackie Traverse (Anishinaabe)

Producer

Joe MacDonald

Genres

Animation, Documentary, Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Winnipeg Film Group

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Birchbark

Director John Hupfield (Anishinaabe)
Year 2008
Run Time 4min
Genre Animation, Family
Symbols of traditional knowledge come alive and find themselves inside the pages of a book.

Director

John Hupfield (Anishinaabe)

Writer

John Hupfield (Anishinaabe)

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Vtape

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Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves

Director Neil Christopher
Year 2011
Run Time 12min
Genre Animation, Drama
It begins as a hunting trip out on the ice for two Inuit hunters. However, soon they find themselves lost and the only safe haven to be found for miles is a mysterious village filled with the sounds of drum dancing and revelry. Unfortunately, this village turns out to be even more dangerous than the frigid ocean as the men realize that in this strange land, men can change into wolves.
 

Director

Neil Christopher

Writer

Neil Christopher

Producers

Neil Christopher, Louise Flaherty (Inuk)

Genres

Animation, Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Inuktitut

Language Versions

EN Dub, EN Subtitles

Canadian Distributors

Inhabit Media, Taqqut Productions

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Dancers of the Grass

Director Melanie Jackson (Métis/Saulteaux)
Year 2009
Run Time 2min
Genre Animation, Family
Spectacular stop-motion animation breathes life into a traditional dance.

Director

Melanie Jackson (Métis/Saulteaux)

Writer

Melanie Jackson (Métis/Saulteaux)

Producers

Dennis Jackson (Cree), Melanie Jackson (Métis/Saulteaux), Anand Ramayya

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

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Aboriginality

Directors Dominique Keller, Tom Jackson (Cree)
Year 2007
Run Time 5min
Genre Action/Adventure, Animation
A young boy is transported through his television set to the scene of a traditional Indigenous hoop dance, encountering his family's cultural heritage in a new way. Includes spoken word rap in English and in Cree.

Directors

Dominique Keller, Tom Jackson (Cree)

Writer

Dominique Keller

Cast

Dallas Arcand (Kipohtakaw)

Producers

Dominique Keller, Bonnie Thompson

Genres

Action/Adventure, Animation

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

No Dialogue

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

Big Drive

Director Anita Lebeau
Year 2011
Run Time 9min
Genre Animation, Family

Stuck in a seemingly endless car ride with nothing to do, four sisters use their imagination to create something amazing together.

Director

Anita Lebeau

Writer

Anita Lebeau

Cast

Nathalie Daudet, Emma Collins, Annie Rose Daudet, Maggie Collins, Anita Lebeau

Producer

Derek Mazur

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)