The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, [1] held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First Peoples from around the world. The festival includes screenings, parties, panel discussions, and cultural events.
As an organization, imagineNATIVE supports the creation of new works through their commissioning program, and national outreach to and for Indigenous communities through various off-site programs throughout the year. imagineNATIVE also commissions industry reports on the status of Indigenous film production in Canada. [2]
Held in October each year for most of its history, in February 2024 the festival announced that it would not be held that year, and will shift to June in 2025. [3]
The festival was founded in 1998 by Cynthia Lickers-Sage in her capacity as the Aboriginal outreach coordinator for Vtape as a venue for the exhibition of short film and video work by Aboriginal artists. While initially operated through Vtape, the festival subsequently became an independent organization. [4] An early programmer for the festival was Ojibway critic and journalist Jesse Wente, [5] who continued in his role as programmer through 2010. [6] In 2010, Jason Ryle took on the role of the festival's executive director; [7] he was succeeded in 2020 by Naomi Johnson. [8] Ryle was subsequently named the winner of the Toronto Film Critics Association's Clyde Gilmour Award for his contributions to the Canadian film industry, [9] and joined the Toronto International Film Festival as lead programmer for Indigenous films. [10]
In May 2023, Lindsay Monture was named the new festival director. [11]
The 2001 winner for Best Film went to Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk. [12] This film was the first feature dramatic film in an Indigenous language by an Inuit director. [13]
The 2016 festival focused on Inuit and northern films, with a special focus on films from Greenland. [14] Award winners for that year included Bonfire, a film by Russian Sakha director Dmitry Davydov, for Best Dramatic Feature; Searchers (Maliglutit) by Zacharias Kunuk for Best Indigenous Language Production; and Angry Inuk , directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, which won Best Documentary Feature. [15]
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up | Tasha Hubbard | |
2020 | Brother, I Cry | Jessie Anthony | |
2021 | Run Woman Run | Zoe Leigh Hopkins | [16] |
2022 | Rosie | Gail Maurice | [17] |
2023 | Café Daughter | Shelley Niro | [18] |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | |||
2001 | |||
2002 | |||
2003 | Moccasin Flats | Randy Redroad | |
2004 | Memory | Cedar Sherbert | |
2005 | There's No 'I' in Hockey | Dennis Jackson | |
2006 | Hawaikii | Mike Jonathan | |
2007 | Shooting Geronimo | Kent Monkman | |
2008 | Sikumi (On the Ice) | Andrew Okpeaha MacLean | |
2009 | Tungijuq | Zacharias Kunuk | |
2010 | Redemption | Katie Wolfe | |
2011 | Salar | Nicholas Greene | |
2012 | Throat Song | Miranda de Pencier | |
2013 | Abalone | Tracey Rigney | [19] |
2014 | The Underground | Michelle Latimer | |
2015 | Stoerre Vaerie (Northern Great Mountain) | Amanda Kernell | |
2016 | UFO | Gregory King | [20] |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | 133 Skyway | Randy Redroad | |
2007 | The Colony | Jeff Barnaby | |
2008 | A Small Thing | Adam Garnet Jones | |
2009 | Shi-Shi-Etko | Marilyn Thomas | |
2010 | Lumaajuuq | Alethea Arnaquq-Baril | |
2011 | Amaqqut Nunaat (The Country of Wolves) | Neil Christopher | |
2012 | A Red Girl's Reasoning | Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers | |
2013 | Mohawk Midnight Runners | Zoe Hopkins | [19] |
2014 | Indigo | Amanda Strong | |
2015 | Clouds of Autumn | Trevor Mack | |
2016 | God's Acre | Kelton Stepanowich | [20] |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | I Will Always Love You Kingen | Amanda Kernell | |
2018 | Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) | Amanda Strong | [22] |
2019 | Moloka’i Bound | Alika Maikau | [23] |
2020 | Njuokčamat (The Tongues) | Marja Bål Nango and Ingir Bål Nango | |
2021 | Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman's Apprentice | Zacharias Kunuk | [24] |
2022 | |||
2023 | Nigiqtuq (The South Wind) | Lindsay McIntyre | [25] |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Nikamowin (Song) | Kevin Lee Burton | |
2008 | L'Amendement | Kevin Papatie | |
2009 | The Wind and the Water (Burwa Dii Ebo) | Vero Bollow Igar Yala Collective | |
2010 | File Under Miscellaneous | Jeff Barnaby | |
2011 | Samson & Delilah | Warwick Thornton | |
2012 | Throat Song | Miranda de Pencier | |
2013 | The Script (Baybayin) | Kanakan Balintagos | [19] |
2014 | This May Be the Last Time | Sterlin Harjo | |
2015 | Bulunu Milkarri | Sylvia Nulpinditj | |
2016 | Searchers (Maliglutit) | Zacharias Kunuk Natar Ungalaaq | [20] |
2017 | Bowhead Whale Hunting With My Ancestors | Carol Kunnuk, Zacharias Kunuk | [21] |
2018 | Eternity (Wiñaypacha) | Oscar Catacora | [22] |
2019 | The Book of the Sea | Aleksei Vakhrushev | [23] |
2020 | Kapaemahu | Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu | |
2021 | Matuna, la sombra del Guerrero | Rafael Roberto Mojica Gil | [26] |
2022 | Məca | Ritchie Norman Hemphill | |
2023 | The Bull of Cold | Alexander Moruo | [25] |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | |||
2001 | |||
2002 | |||
2003 | Thorn Grass | Robin Hammer | |
2004 | Wagon Burner | Terrance Houle | |
2005 | My Big Brother (Su naa) | Helen Haig-Brown | |
2006 | Women in Canada: A Trilogy | Marnie Parrell | |
2007 | Nikamowin (Song) | Kevin Lee Burton | |
2008 | Tsu Heidei Shugaxtutaan 1 | Nicholas Galanin | |
2009 | Horse | Archer Pechawis | |
2010 | Burnt | Alejandro Valbuena | |
2011 | The Gift | Terril Calder | |
2012 | Her Silent Life | Lindsay McIntyre | |
2013 | He Who Dreams | Dana Claxton | [19] |
2014 | Covered | Tara (Beier) Browne | |
2015 | Tai Whetuki - House of Death | Lisa Reihana | |
2016 | Dolastallat | Marja Helander | [20] |
2017 | Three Thousand | Asinnajaq | [21] |
2018 | Birds in the Earth (Eatnanvuloš Lottit) | Marja Helander | |
2019 | The Creation of the World (Hant Quij Cöipaxi Hac) | Antonio Coello | [23] |
2020 | Suodji (Shelter) | Marja Helander | |
2021 | Puisi | Pilutaq Lundblad | [26] |
2022 | The Original Shareholder Experience | Petyr Xyst | |
2023 | Aykuo | Ayaal Adamov | [25] |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Wirriya (Small Boy) | Beck Cole | [27] |
2006 | Coureurs de nuit | Shanouk Newashish | |
2007 | The Vanishing Trace | Keesic Douglas | |
2008 | Le rêve d'une mère | Cherilyn Papatie | |
2009 | How People Got Fire | Daniel Janke | |
2010 | Do Not Tell (Ne le dis pas / Nika tshika uiten mishkut) | Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush | |
2011 | Spirit of the Bluebird | Jesse Gouchey, Xstine Cook | |
2012 | Songline to Happiness | Danny Teece-Johnson | |
2013 | Inuit Cree Reconciliation | Neil Diamond, Zacharias Kunuk | [19] |
2014 | Treading Water | Janelle Wookey, Jérémie Wookey | |
2015 | Nowhere Land | Bonnie Ammaq | |
2016 | Cree Code Talker | Alexandra Lazarowich | [20] |
2017 | Lelum' | Asia Youngman | [21] |
2018 | Fast Horse | Alexandra Lazarowich | |
2019 | The Boxers of Brule | Jesse Adler | [23] |
2020 | êmîcêtôcêt: Many Bloodlines | Theola Ross | |
2021 | Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again | Courtney Montour | [26] |
2022 | First Time Home | Noemi Librado-Sanchez, Esmirna Librado, Esmeralda Ventura, Heriberto Ventura | |
2023 | Grape Soda in the Parking Lot | Megan Kyak-Monteith, Taqralik Partridge | [25] |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | |||
2001 | |||
2002 | |||
2003 | Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole | Gil Cardinal | |
2004 | The Ghost Riders | V. Blackhawk Aamodt | |
2005 | Mohawk Girls | Tracey Deer | |
2006 | Waban-aki: People from Where the Sun Rises | Alanis Obomsawin | |
2007 | Water Flowing Together | Gwendolen Cates | |
2008 | March Point | Cody Cayou Nick Clark Tracy Rector Annie Silverstein Travis Tom | |
2009 | C.B.Q.M. | Dennis Allen | |
2010 | And the River Flows On (Y el rio sigue corriendo) | Carlos Pérez Rojas | |
2011 | The Tall Man | Tony Krawitz | |
2012 | My Louisiana Love | Monique Verdi | |
2013 | Who Will Be A Gurkha? | Kesang Tseten | [19] |
2014 | My Legacy | Helen Haig-Brown | |
2015 | The Price of Peace | Kim Webby | |
2016 | Angry Inuk | Alethea Arnaquq-Baril | [20] |
2017 | Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier | Shane Belcourt | [21] |
2018 | Marks of Mana | Lisa Taouma | |
2019 | Mothers of the Land (Sembradoras de vida) | Alvaro Sarmiento, Diego Sarmiento | [23] |
2020 | Compañía | Miguel Hilari | |
2021 | Warrior Spirit | Landon Dyksterhouse | [24] |
2022 | Šaamšiǩ – Great Grandmothers Hat | Anstein Mikkelsen, Harry Johansen | |
2023 | Mama | Xun Sero | [25] |
Year | Title | Director |
---|---|---|
2000 | ||
2001 | ||
2002 | ||
2003 | Music is the Medicine | Randy Redroad |
2004 | Slangblossom: Possibly | Daybi Slangblossom |
2005 | Tamara Podemski: Meegwetch | Bruce McDonald |
2006 | The Dust Dive: A Minor Disturbance | Blackhorse Lowe |
2007 | Punassiun | Spencer St-Onge Francis Grégoire Carl Grégoire Jean-Christophe Gabriel James Chescappin Marco Bentz Jonathan Germain Wendy Germain Nicolas Paradis Jean Philippe Robertson |
2008 | Warrk Warrk | Tommy Lewis Julia Morris |
2009 | Ariana Tikao: Tuia (Stitched) | Louise Potiki Bryant |
2010 | Haunted | Shane Ghostkeeper |
2011 | I Lost My Shadow | Nanobah Becker |
2012 | Sides | Mosha Folger |
2013 | Row | Houston R. Cypress |
2014 | Haida Raid 3: Save Our Waters | Amanda Strong |
2015 | Nitahkôtân (I Have Arrived) | Moe Clark |
2016 | We Are Still Here | Sofia Jannok |
Year | Genre | Title | Director |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | |||
2001 | |||
2002 | |||
2003 | The Aboriginal Music Experience: A Radio Documentary Series | ||
2004 | Great Indian Bus Tour | Andre Morriseau | |
2005 | Red Album Radio Show | Richard Hunter | |
2006 | Charles Shoots the Enemy | Native Vibes | |
2007 | Red Moon | Dawn Dumont | |
Documentary, Current Affairs & Talk | Good Medicine Radio Show: Tobacco Show | Rita Chretien Wanbdi Wakita | |
2008 | Arts & Entertainment | The Plex Show | Doug Bedard |
Documentary, Current Affairs & Talk | ReVision Quest : "Alcohol" | Kim Ziervogel | |
2009 | ReVision Quest | Wab Kinew | |
2010 | ReVision Quest: "What's So Funny About Being Native?" | Kim Ziervogel | |
2011 | Bring Your Drum | Janet Rogers | |
2012 | Trailbreakers: Cindy Blackstock | Angela Sterritt | |
2013 | Native Waves Radio: Resonating Reconciliation | Janet Rogers |
Year | Title | Director |
---|---|---|
2000 | ||
2001 | ||
2002 | ||
2003 | Moccasin Flats | Stacey Stewart Curtis |
2004 | Kunuk Family Reunion | Zacharias Kunuk |
Year | Film | Director |
---|---|---|
2000 | ||
2001 | ||
2002 | ||
2003 | Daybi | |
2004 | Fire This Time | Kokonda Dub |
2005 | HorizonZero Issue 17: Tell | Cheryl L'Hirondelle |
2006 | Wepinasowina | Cheryl L'Hirondelle |
2007 | An Indian Act: Shooting the Indian Act | Archer Pechawis |
2008 | Rabbit and Bearpaws | Chad Solomon |
2009 | Time Traveller | Skawennati Fragnito |
2010 | Otsì:! Rise of the Kanien'kehá:ka Legends | Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC) |
2011 | God's Lake Narrows | Kevin Lee Burton |
2012 | Sense of Home | Leena Minifie |
2013 | Skahiòn:hati / Rise of the Kanien'kehá:ka Legends | Skins 3.0 Collective |
2014 | Uhke | Cheyenne Scott |
Year | Film | Director |
---|---|---|
2014 | The Soul of Darwin: The Centenary of the Kahlin Compound | Lorena Allam |
2015 | Reach For the Stars | Crystal Favel |
2016 | The Story She Carries | Angela Sterritt |
2017 | Elcrys | Michael Wilson |
2018 | Trans Mountain Pipeline, B.C. Wolf Cull and Dog Sled Massacre | Crystal Favel |
Year | Film | Director |
---|---|---|
2015 | Sky Pets | Shandiin Woodward |
2016 | Ch’aak’ S’aagi (Eagle Bone) | Tracy Rector |
2017 | Thunderbird Strike | Elizabeth LaPensée |
2018 | Aeasi | Amie Batalibasi |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Biidaaban: First Light | Lisa Jackson | [22] |
Year | Award | Film | Director |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | ||
2001 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | ||
2002 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | ||
2003 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Geoffery Parenteau | |
2004 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Swallow | Ariel Lightningchild |
2005 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Meskanahk (My Path) | Kevin Lee Burton |
2006 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Eggs Instead | Lena Recollet |
2007 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Fighter | Erica Lepage |
2008 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Mémere Métisse | Janelle Wookey |
2009 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Nia's Melancholy | S.F. Tusa |
2010 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Redemption | Katie Wolfe |
2011 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Amaqqut Nunnat (The Country of Wolves) | Neil Christopher |
2012 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Scar | Tiffany Parker |
2013 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | El Último Consejo (The Last Council) | Itandehui Jansen |
2014 | Jane Glassco | Sumé - Mumisitsinerup Nipaa (Sume - The Sound of a revolution) | Inuk Silis Høegh |
Cynthia Lickers-Sage | |||
2015 | Jane Glassco | The Routes | James McDougall |
Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Le Dep | Sonia Boileau | |
2016 | Jane Glassco | Ohero:kon – Under the Husk | Katsitsionni Fox |
2017 | Jane Glassco | Morit Elena Morit | Inga-Wiktoria Påve |
2018 | Jane Glassco | ANORI (Wind) | Pipaluk Kreutzmann Jorgensen |
Year | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Kurt-E: In My Blood | Kurt Filiga | |
2011 | The Dimming | Ippiksaut Friesen | |
2012 | Le Joie de vivre | Jérémy Vassiliou | |
2013 | Before She Came, After He Left (Før Hun Kom, Etter Han Dro) | Marja Bål Nango | [19] |
2014 | #nightslikethese | Amber Midthunder, Shay Eyre, Hannah Macpherson | |
2015 | Lo que quiero decirte | Raquiel Palomino Ochoa | |
2016 | Smoke That Travels | Kayla Briët | |
2017 | RAE | Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs | [21] |
2018 | A World of Our Own | Morningstar Derosier | |
2019 | The Cursed Harp | Peter Hiki | [23] |
Year | Jury | Film | Director | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Sun | Sunday Fun Day | Dianna Fuemana | [21] |
Moon | Birth of a Family | Tasha Hubbard | ||
2018 | Sun | Edge of the Knife (Sgaawaay K'uuna) | Gwaai Edenshaw, Helen Haig-Brown | [22] |
Moon | My Friend Michael | Ian Leaupepe, Samson Rambo | ||
2019 | Sun | nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up | Tasha Hubbard | [23] |
Moon | Ribadit | Elle Sofe Sara | ||
2020 | Sun | Mooz Miikan | Evelyn Pakinewatik | |
Moon | Pilluarneq Ersigiunnaarpara | Nivi Pedersen | ||
2021 | Sun | Hiama | Matasila Freshwater | [26] |
Moon | Run Woman Run | Zoe Leigh Hopkins | ||
2022 | Sun | Night | Ahmad Saleh | |
Moon | Kikino Kids | Barry Bilinsky | ||
2023 | Sun | Tautuktavuk (What We See) | Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk | [25] |
Moon | Cu-Ckoo | Lindsay McIntyre |
Named in memory of actor August Schellenberg, the August Schellenberg Award of Excellence is a lifetime achievement award honoring indigenous actors. The award was presented for the first time in 2015.
NFB/imagineNATIVE Interactive Partnership was started in 2012 for the commissioning and production of new digital and interactive works by established Indigenous artists. Works produced through this program include De Nort (2012) by the ITWE Collective, Similkameen Crossroads (2013) by Tyler Hagan, Ice Fishing (2014) by Jordan Bennett and Red Card (2016) by Cara Mumford. Ice Fishing was subsequently selected to represent Canada at the 2015 Venice Biennale. [30]
The Stolen Sisters Digital Initiative (SSDI) was a 2012 imagineNATIVE artistic commission and national exhibition of four, one-minute digital works by award-winning Canadian Indigenous filmmakers. The commissioned works were created to reflect and respond to the Stolen Sisters, a term adopted by the Aboriginal community and larger social justice organizations of the struggle to find answers for the hundreds of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women across Canada. The four commissioned works were:
This was the first time the Festival partnered to present a simultaneous national exhibition. Working with Amnesty International Canada and Pattison Onestop, a national media company, the short videos were exhibited throughout Toronto's subway system, on display screens in 33 shopping centres across Canada, at the Calgary International Airport, and at the TIFF Bell Lightbox leading up to and during the 2012 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. [31] [32]
In 2009, the festival commissioned Zwei Indianer Aus Winnipeg, a short film by Saulteaux filmmaker Darryl Nepinak. The film subsequently screened at the 2009 Berlinale. [33] [34]
In March 2008, imagineNATIVE formed the Embargo Collective, an international group of seven Indigenous artists for the purposes of collaborating and challenging one another to create seven new films. Collective members included Helen Haig-Brown, Heiltsuk/Mohawk filmmaker and actress Zoe Leigh Hopkins and Anishnaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson. The resulting films were subsequently screened at the 2010 Berlinale. Following this, Brown's The Cave was awarded a top-ten recognition at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was screened at the 2011 Sundance Festival, while Jackson's Savage won a 2011 Genie Award for best live action short drama. [35]
In 2014, Embargo Collective II focused on women filmmakers. It was curated by Danis Goulet, and included Hopkins, Blackfoot/Sami filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Caroline Monnet. Among the films produced that year was Roberta. [7]
The imagineNATIVE Film + Video Tour provides regional and remote communities access to Indigenous-made film and video from Canada and abroad. In addition to bringing a Festival-favourite feature presentation to these communities, the Tour encourages youth to explore the creation of film and video through a Youth-focused film and video program, discussion and hands-on video-making workshops. The video-making workshops assist and lead youth to create and edit short videos using readily-available technology such as cellphones and webcams. The videos are featured on imagineNATIVE's website and open to public voting, sending the winner to Toronto for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
The indigiFLIX Community Screening Series, presented by imagineNATIVE, is hosted in cultural and community centres to reach a broader First Nations, Métis, Inuit and non-Native audience beyond the annual Festival in Toronto. Films are selected from past imagineNATIVE Festivals in an effort to keep these important films alive and accessible to the Indigenous community. imagineNATIVE is committed to supporting artists through payment of industry-standard artist fees for all works presented.
The Canadian Indigenous Film Producer Mini-Lab was started as a program to develop skills and talent for emerging Indigenous producers. Among its alumni are Cara Mumford, Michelle Latimer and Jeremy Torrie. [36]
In 2023, imagineNATIVE and Netflix partnered on the Jeff Barnaby Grant, a granting program for emerging indigenous speculative fiction filmmakers created in memory of film director Jeff Barnaby following his death in 2022. [37] The inaugural recipients, announced in May 2023, were Bronwyn Szabo, Walter Scott, Kristina Fithern-Stiele, Gavin Baird and Tank Standing Buffalo. [38]
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is a 2001 Canadian epic film directed by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk and produced by his company Isuma Igloolik Productions. It was the first feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language.
Alanis Obomsawin, is an Abenaki American-Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films. Born in New Hampshire, United States and raised primarily in Quebec, Canada, she has written and directed many National Film Board of Canada documentaries on First Nations issues. Obomsawin is a member of Film Fatales independent women filmmakers.
Zacharias Kunuk is a Canadian Inuk producer and director most notable for his film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, the first Canadian dramatic feature film produced entirely in Inuktitut. He is the president and co-founder with Paul Qulitalik, Paul Apak Angilirq, and Norman Cohn, of Igloolik Isuma Productions, Canada's first independent Inuit production company. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), the first feature film that was entirely in Inuktitut was named as the greatest Canadian film of all time by the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival poll.
Isuma is an artist collective and Canada's first Inuit-owned (75%) production company, co-founded by Zacharias Kunuk, Paul Apak Angilirq and Norman Cohn in Igloolik, Nunavut in 1990. Known internationally for its award-winning film, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, the first feature film ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language, Isuma was selected to represent Canada at the 2019 Venice Biennale where they screened the film One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, the first presentation of art by Inuit in the Canada Pavilion.
Natar Ungalaaq is a Canadian Inuk actor, filmmaker and sculptor whose work is in many major collections of Inuit art. Before playing the lead roles in Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) and The Necessities of Life (2008), Ungalaaq played major roles in other Canadian and American films, including Kabloonak (1995), Glory & Honor (1998) and Frostfire (1994). He is also a producer and director of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation.
Vtape is a Canadian artist-run centre located in Toronto, Ontario. It is Canada's largest distributor of video art, and the world's largest distributor of Indigenous and First People's film and video. The organization is run as a not for profit and is known for video art distribution, media preservation, exhibition programming, and training programs.
Reel Injun is a 2009 Canadian documentary film directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, and Jeremiah Hayes that explores the portrayal of Native Americans in film. Reel Injun is illustrated with excerpts from classic and contemporary portrayals of Native people in Hollywood movies and interviews with filmmakers, actors and film historians, while director Diamond travels across the United States to visit iconic locations in motion picture as well as American Indian history.
Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers is a Canadian filmmaker, actor, and producer. She has won several accolades for her film work, including multiple Canadian Screen Awards.
Jeff Barnaby was a Mi'kmaq and Canadian film director, writer, composer, and film editor. He is known for his films Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum.
Roxann (Karonhiarokwas) Whitebean is an independent film director and media artist from the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake (Canada).
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril is an Inuk filmmaker, known for her work on Inuit life and culture. She is the owner of Unikkaat Studios, a production company in Iqaluit, which produces Inuktitut films. She was awarded the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross, in 2017 in recognition of her work as an activist and filmmaker. She currently works part-time at the Qanak Collective, a social project which supports Inuit empowerment initiatives.
Lisa Jackson is a Canadian Screen Award and Genie Award-winning Canadian and Anishinaabe filmmaker. Her films have been broadcast on APTN and Knowledge Network, as well as CBC's ZeD, Canadian Reflections and Newsworld and have screened at festivals including HotDocs, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Melbourne, Worldwide Short Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.
Searchers is a 2016 Inuktitut-language Canadian drama film directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Natar Ungalaaq, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Based in part on the 1956 John Ford film The Searchers, the film is set in Northern Canada in 1913. It centres on Kuanana, a man who returns from hunting to discover that much of his family has been killed and his wife and daughter have been kidnapped.
Jesse Wente is a First Nations Canadian arts journalist and chairperson of the Canada Council for the Arts. He is an Ojibwe member of Serpent River First Nation.
Bretten Hannam is a Canadian screenwriter and film director.
Ervin Chartrand is a Canadian and Pine Creek First Nation director, writer and producer. He is best known for directing the films 504938C (2005) and First Stories: Patrick Ross (2006).
Biidaban: First Light is a Canadian immersive virtual reality film, created by Lisa Jackson and released in 2018. The film places viewers in an immersive vision of a Downtown Toronto that has been reclaimed by nature, with vegetation and animals living freely inside the urban landscape, with narration in the indigenous Wendat, Mohawk and Ojibwe languages.
Danis Goulet is a First Nations (Cree-Métis) film director and screenwriter from Canada, whose debut feature film Night Raiders premiered in 2021.
Saqpinaq Carol Kunnuk is an Inuk actress and filmmaker from Canada, noted for her work with both Arnait Video Productions and Isuma Studios.