Ages 7+
These short films by seasoned and youth Indigenous filmmakers share powerful lessons from elders and insights from young people about their boundless love for their cultures and deep reverence for the earth and its creatures.
70 min.
Zoe Leigh Hopkins, Canada, 2017, 1h 30m
Ages 12+
** Co-presented with Longhouse Media as part of Northwest Film Forum’s ongoing Indigenous Showcase series! **
Fourteen-year-old Ella is determined to travel by kayak the length of the Inside Passage along the shores of the Great Bear Rainforest to testify against a proposed pipeline that would see oil tanker traffic traveling through her beloved homeland waters. She’s prepared to handle all of the challenges of the trip, but the greatest challenge of all is that she has to bring her dysfunctional family with her. Her neurotic aunt, her cranky uncle, her wayward cousin, as well as the memory of her late uncle all come along for the ride. From Tla’Amin to Klemtu, BC, this family navigates their blend of cultures and desires while their spirits honor the coast as a place for each of us to protect and call home.
Content advisory: Numerous instances of profanity and a graphic depiction of an injury to a boy’s hand. A dead grizzly bear is seen briefly.
Ages 9+. 53 min.
Presented with Longhouse Media! This program tells stories by Indigenous filmmakers throughout North America, including beautifully animated tales, charming traditional tales, and powerful and stirring documentaries.
The Mountain of SGaana
West Coast premiere! As a young fisherman cruises along a rugged shoreline, a tiny mouse in Haida regalia appears and starts to knit a blanket. A story unfolds on the blanket as it grows longer, illustrating the ancient tale of Haida master sea hunter Naa-Naa-Simgat and his beloved, Kuuga Kuns. Watch the trailer >
(Christopher Auchter, Haida Gwaii/Canada, animation, 2017, 10 min, nonverbal)
Ukaliq and Kalla Go Fishing
A lemming and an Arctic hare, decide to spend the day fishing. The lemming embodies the calm, thoughtful nature of traditional hunters and those who live in the Arctic. The hare, however, is a very impatient fellow.
(Nadia Mike, Canada, animation, 2017, 5 min, English)
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River
In this political and poetic documentary, two young Innu woman make a passionate plea to address the environmental dangers affecting Innu territory and protecting the rivers, the “ancestors’ highways,” which are so important to Aboriginal identity.
(Uapukun Mestokosho, Shanice Mollen-Picard, Canada, 2015, live-action, 6 min, French/Innu)
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Thunderbird Strike
US premiere! The ones who come as lightning answer the calls of help from the animals and the people, as a snake that threatens to swallow life whole tightens its grip on lands and waters running from the Alberta Tar Sands to the Great Lakes in North America.
(Elizabeth LaPensée, Anishinaabe/Métis/Canada, 2017, animation, 1:30 min, nonverbal)
My Father’s Tools
In honor of his father, Stephen continues the production of traditional baskets. He thus finds peace in his studio, in connection with the man who taught him the work.
(Heather Condo, Mi’gmaq/Canada, 2016, live-action, 6:23 min, nonverbal)
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Dislocation Blues
A portrait of reflections from Standing Rock. Cleo Keahna recounts his experiences entering, being at, and leaving the camp and the difficulties and the reluctance in looking back with a clear and critical eye. Terry Running Wild describes what his camp is like, and what he hopes it will become.
(Sky Hopinka, Ho-Chunk/USA, 2017, live-action, 19 min, English)
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ZAASAAKWE (Shout with Joy)
In this uplifting celebration of life, a young woman calls upon Indigenous people to embrace their history while coming together to strengthen their ties within the community.
(Madison Thomas, Ojibwe/Saulteaux/Canada, 2017, live-action, 5 min, English)