Trickster

Director Michelle Latimer
Year 2020
Run Time 264min
Genre Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
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.

Director

Michelle Latimer

A filmmaker and actor, Latimer’s first short, Choke, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her credits include several documentaries and dramatic shorts, such as The Underground and Nuuca. She has directed the television series Rise, Burden of Truth and Trickster.

Cast

Crystle Lightning (Cree), Joel Oulette (Cree/Métis), Kalani Queypo (Blackfoot), Anna Lambe (Inuk)

Genres

Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Our People Will Be Healed

Director Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
Year 2017
Run Time 97min
Genre 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

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)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Language

English

Mother of Many Children

Director Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
Year 1977
Run Time 58min
Genre Documentary

In this first feature from legendary documentarian Alanis Obomsawin, she examines the role of motherhood in Indigenous society and how it has developed in the modern era. In examining the lives of women from birth to old age and all maturing in between, Obomsawin gives an intimate view into the customs, cultures and oral traditions that define these matriarchal societies. Filled with compelling emotional moments, this documentary is a powerful and moving experience.

As the first feature length documentary by an Indigenous woman, Mother of Many Children represents a turning point in Indigenous film, as well as beginning the career of one of Canada’s most important and iconic filmmakers.

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)

Cast

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Producer

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Language

English

The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw

Director Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)
Year 2019
Run Time 96min
Genre Comedy
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!

Director

Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)

Writer

Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)

Cast

MorningStar Angeline (Navajo/Shoshone/Chippewa Cree/Blackfoot), Gary Farmer (Cayuga), Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis), Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis), Ajuawak Kapashesit (Ojibway/Cree)

Producers

Amos Adetuyi, Floyd Kane, Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)

Genre

Comedy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Languages

English, Other Language

Bootlegger

Director Caroline Monnet (Algonquin)
Year 2021
Run Time 81min
Genre Drama

Driven by a desire to spark change in her community, young activist Mani (Jacobs) returns to her reserve from the big city to promote the ending of alcohol prohibition on her reserve. When she runs into opposition from the local convenience store owner Nadine (Poupart), the two square off, forcing the divisive issue into the spotlight leading to unexpected consequences.  

This critically acclaimed first feature from Caroline Monnet is a thought-provoking and timely look at an ongoing debate that rarely gets the media attention it deserves. 

 

Director

Caroline Monnet (Algonquin)

Writers

Caroline Monnet (Algonquin), Daniel Watchorn

Cast

Pascale Bussières, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Mohawk), Joséphine Bacon (Innu), Joshua Odjick (Algonquin/Anishinaabe), Samian (Algonquin)

Producer

Catherine Chagnon

Genre

Drama

Interests

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

Original Languages

French, Other Language

Rise: Sacred Water – Standing Rock Part 1

Director Michelle Latimer
Year 2017
Run Time 45min
Genre Documentary

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.

Director

Michelle Latimer

A filmmaker and actor, Latimer’s first short, Choke, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her credits include several documentaries and dramatic shorts, such as The Underground and Nuuca. She has directed the television series Rise, Burden of Truth and Trickster.

Cast

Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot/Dene), Sarain Carson-Fox (Anishinaabe)

Producer

Jarrett Martineau (nēhiyaw/Dene Sųłiné)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Language

English

Je m’appelle humain (Call Me Human)

Director Kim O'Bomsawin (Abenaki)
Year 2020
Run Time 78min
Genre Documentary

After spending most of her life working as an Innu language translator and transcriber, Joséphine Bacon rose to fame late in life in her second career as an award-winning poet. This moving profile frames her life and work in a new context, offering a deeply personal look at an important literary figure in Canada.

Je m'appele humain premiered at the Quebec City Film Festival to great acclaim, and went on to receive four Prix Iris nominations, including Best Documentary.

Director

Kim O'Bomsawin (Abenaki)

Writers

Kim O'Bomsawin (Abenaki), Nathalie Gressin

Cast

Joséphine Bacon (Innu)

Producer

Andrée-Anne Frenette

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Languages

French, Other Language

Monkey Beach

Director Loretta Todd (Cree/Métis)
Year 2020
Run Time 105min
Genre Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

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.

Director

Loretta Todd (Cree/Métis)

Writers

Johnny Darrell, Andrew Duncan

Cast

Grace Dove (Secwépemc), Adam Beach (Anishinaabe), Nathaniel Arcand (Cree), Joel Oulette (Cree/Métis)

Producers

Loretta Todd (Cree/Métis), Paddy Bickerton, Jason James, Matthew O'Connor, Patricia Poskitt

Genres

Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

English

Ste. Anne

Director Rhayne Vermette (Métis)
Year 2021
Run Time 80min
Genre Drama, Experimental

Four years after leaving her daughter (d’Eschambault) to be raised by her brother (Theis) and his wife (Marion), Renée (Vermette) returns to find an entirely different life from the one she left behind. The tensions caused by her arrival simmer under the surface as Renée clumsily adjusts back into a maternal role despite her young daughter having no memory of her. 

Featuring members of Vermette’s own family and community, this lovingly made personal project went on to win Best Canadian Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021.

“More experiment than straight-ahead narrative, Ste. Anne rewards patient, careful attention. The rewards are great.” - Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail

Director

Rhayne Vermette (Métis)

Writer

Rhayne Vermette (Métis)

Cast

Isabelle d’Eschambault, Valerie Marion, Dolorès Gosselin (Métis)

Producer

Rhayne Vermette (Métis)

Genres

Drama, Experimental

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

French

Rise: Red Power – Standing Rock Part 2

Director Michelle Latimer
Year 2017
Run Time 44min
Genre Documentary

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.

Director

Michelle Latimer

A filmmaker and actor, Latimer’s first short, Choke, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her credits include several documentaries and dramatic shorts, such as The Underground and Nuuca. She has directed the television series Rise, Burden of Truth and Trickster.

Cast

Sarain Carson-Fox (Anishinaabe), Gitz Crazyboy (Blackfoot/Dene)

Producer

Jarrett Martineau (nēhiyaw/Dene Sųłiné)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

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

Original Language

English