• Own Voice

Awaskinawason (Children of Earth)

Director Antony Dubé (Atikamekw)
Year 2015
Run Time 3min
Genre Animation, Drama
Awaskinawason is made up of the Atikamekw words awacic (child), aski (earth) and takonawason (having the responsibility for). A plea to respect the great circle of life.

Director

Antony Dubé (Atikamekw)

Writer

Antony Dubé (Atikamekw)

Genres

Animation, Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Environment, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Other Language

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles

O Canada

Director Jerry Popowich
Year 2017
Run Time 2min
Genre Animation
Mercury Filmworks created this charming animated version of the national anthem for National Canadian Film Day 150. It screened at over 1,800 events around the world and became a classic.

Director

Jerry Popowich

Genre

Animation

Interest

Arts and Culture

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

What Are You?

Director Richard Pierre
Year 2019
Run Time 20min
Genre Documentary

The mixed-race identity is explored through a series of interviews recounting the isolation, discrimination and self-discovery that come from being stuck between two cultures.

Director

Richard Pierre

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Volta

Director Ryan Mullins
Year 2009
Run Time 13min
Genre Documentary

In this gorgeously shot documentary, Ryan Mullins is guided by a former projectionist on a tour of a derelict movie theatre in rural Ghana that is now serving as a make-shift school. 

Director

Ryan Mullins

Producers

Noah Dumahasi, Ryan Mullins

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

  • Own Voice

Ute Kanata (Here in Canada)

Director Virginie Michel (Innu)
Year 2016
Run Time 2min
Genre Documentary

This poignant take on “O Canada” adapts the national anthem to the reality of the First Nations of Canada, and provides a rallying song for all peoples.

Director

Virginie Michel (Innu)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

Other Language

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles

  • Own Voice

To Wake Up the Nakota Language

Director Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree)
Year 2017
Run Time 6min
Genre Documentary

At 69 years old Armand McArthur is one of the last fluent Nakota speakers in Saskatchewan, but he has dedicated his life to passing down his teachings so that the language and culture survive for generations to come.

Director

Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree)

Writer

Louise BigEagle (Nakota/Cree)

Producer

Jon Montes

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Take Me to Prom

Director Andrew Moir
Year 2019
Run Time 21min
Genre Documentary

The high school tradition of prom is explored through a series of interviews with LGBTQ+ students over the years, sharing their own diverse stories and perspectives.

Director

Andrew Moir

Producer

Andrew Moir

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Fast Horse

Director Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)
Year 2018
Run Time 14min
Genre Documentary
At the Calgary Stampede, Cody BigTobacco competes in his first Indian Relay, a fast-paced and dangerous horse race where jockeys ride bareback and switch horses.

Director

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Producer

Niobe Thompson

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Sports

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Lake

Director Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)
Year 2019
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary
Two Métis women demonstrate their process of ice fishing on a cold lake in northern Alberta.

Director

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Writer

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree)

Producer

David Christensen

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Hyphen: Gabriela’s Story

Director Gabriela Warrior Renaud
Year 2016
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary

Renaud explores her hyphenated identity through a portrayal of the complexities of her multiracial family.

Director

Gabriela Warrior Renaud

Writer

Gabriela Warrior Renaud

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker

Original Languages

English, French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

  • Own Voice

Hard Learning

Director Daniel Fortin
Year 2017
Run Time 7min
Genre Documentary
With no high school in her northern community of Wapekeka, 14-yearold Miranda must move 500 km away for Grade 9. This touching doc reveals the challenges faced by many northern Indigenous youth.

Director

Daniel Fortin

Writers

Paul Neary, Daniel Fortin

Producer

Daniel Fortin

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Mni Wiconi: Mitakuyelo (Water is Life)

Director Victoria Anderson-Gardner (Ojibwe)
Year 2019
Run Time 12min
Genre Documentary
Indigenous youth leaders from the Standing Rock protests reflect on the experience of living at the camp as well as the importance and lasting impact that it had on their lives.

Director

Victoria Anderson-Gardner (Ojibwe)

Producers

Victoria Anderson-Gardner (Ojibwe), K.J. Edwards, Tash Naveau

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

De Face Ou De Profil (Face or Profile)

Director Sharon Fontaine (Innu)
Year 2014
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary
Told from 16-year-old Sharon’s point of view, this charming short uses her wit and humour to reflect on society’s use of online avatars.

Director

Sharon Fontaine (Innu)

Writer

Sharon Fontaine (Innu)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

  • Own Voice

Cry Rock

Director Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)
Year 2016
Run Time 29min
Genre Documentary
Fewer than 15 Nuxalk-language speakers and storytellers are left in Bella Coola, B.C. This thoughtful film explores what is lost from a culture when a language threatens to go extinct.

Director

Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)

Writer

Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)

Producer

Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Languages

English, Other Language

  • Own Voice

Throat Singing in Kangirsuk

Directors Manon Chamberland (Inuk), Eva Kaukai (Inuk)
Year 2019
Run Time 3min
Genre Experimental

A mesmerizing duet between two Inuit throat singers forms the soundtrack for this journey through the four seasons of the Arctic.

Directors

Manon Chamberland (Inuk), Eva Kaukai (Inuk)

Genre

Experimental

Interests

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

Original Language

Inuktitut

  • Own Voice

Nous Nous Souleverons (We Will Rise Up)

Director Natasha Kanapé Fontaine (Innu)
Year 2015
Run Time 4min
Genre Experimental

Through a performance of her own powerful poem, Innu poet Natasha Kanapé Fontaine invites us to rise up and bring light to the world.

Director

Natasha Kanapé Fontaine (Innu)

Genre

Experimental

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

French

  • Own Voice

When the Children Left

Director Charlene Moore (Cree)
Year 2019
Run Time 13min
Genre Documentary

With no high school in their community, the people of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation must send their children away from home at only 14 years old in order to access educational opportunities.

Director

Charlene Moore (Cree)

Producers

Charlene Moore (Cree), Ryan Cooper

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Language

English

Lost Action: Trace

Directors Philip Szporer, Marlene Millar, Crystal Pite
Year 2011
Run Time 3min
Genre Animation

The horror and devastating consequences of war are explored through contemporary dance in this visually-stunning animation.

Directors

Philip Szporer, Marlene Millar, Crystal Pite

Writers

Crystal Pite, Philip Szporer, Marlene Millar

Producer

Kat Baulu

Genre

Animation

Interests

Arts and Culture, Global Experiences, History

Original Language

No Dialogue

I’m Scared Too

Directors Nadia Lakhdari, Caroline Lavergne
Year 2017
Run Time 2min
Genre Animation
In the days following the attack on a Quebec City mosque, directors Lakhdari and Lavergne sought out stories from Quebecers of all walks of life, revealing the same emotions that unite rather than divide us.

Directors

Nadia Lakhdari, Caroline Lavergne

Writer

Nadia Lakhdari

Genre

Animation

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

  • Own Voice

Thunderbird

Director Erin Collins (Anishinaabe)
Year 2018
Run Time 3min
Genre Documentary

The amazing story of Steven Collins, a First Nations ski jumper who competed in the Olympics when he was only 15 years old.

Director

Erin Collins (Anishinaabe)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Sports

Original Language

English