Indigenous Stories by Indigenous Filmmakers at ALFF 2020

Indigenous stories by Indigenous filmmakers at available Light Film Festival 2020

Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre (KDCC)

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FRI JAN 31 YAC

RED SNOW

6pm Red Snow (Opening Film) DIR. MARIE CLEMENTS, 2019, BC/NWT, 100 MIN GALA EVENT CO-SPONSORS: TELEFILM CANADA + CANADA MEDIA FUND

Dylan, a Gwich’in soldier from the Canadian Arctic, is caught in an ambush in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His capture and interrogation by a Taliban Commander releases a cache of memories connected to the love and death of his Inuit cousin, Asana, and binds him closer to a Pashtun family as they escape across treacherous landscapes and through a blizzard that becomes their key to survival.

Filmed on location in Canada’s Northwest Territories and the desert interior region of British Columbia, Red Snow paints the story of a Gwich’in man who must contend with his past in order to find his way to freedom.

A story told in three languages – Gwich’in, Inuvialuktun and Pashtun – Red Snow binds two distant cultures together in this fast-paced thriller.

Winner of the Best Canadian Feature prize at the Edmonton Film Festival and nominated Best Film at the American Indian Film Festival.

Director Marie Clements and actor Asivak Koostachin in attendance.

Opening remarks by Yukon and visiting dignitaries.

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FRI JAN 31 YAC SAT FEB 1 KDCC

BLOOD QUANTUM

BEYOND HUMAN POWER

9pm Blood Quantum

Indigenous Cinema at KDCC

DIR. JEFF BARNABY, 2019, QC, 91 MIN

Presented in partnership with Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.

SCREENING SPONSOR: SHAUNAGH STIKEMAN BARRISTER AND SOLICITOR

The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’gmaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are immune to the zombie plague. In this future cult hit, Rhymes for Young Ghouls director Jeff Barnaby returns with a visceral zombie film that is whip-smart.

11:30am Stew and bannock lunch Provided by Council of Yukon First Nations.

Join us for an afternoon of Indigenous cinema and community sharing.

In the film, Traylor (Michael Greyeyes), the tribal sheriff, must protect his son’s pregnant girlfriend, apocalyptic refugees, and reserve riff raff from the hordes of walking white corpses. The film speaks volumes about colonialism and Indigenous erasure calling to mind the 1990 Oka Crisis in Quebec.

As the outbreak spreads, people rush to the Mi’qmaq reserve in search of a cure.

Meanwhile the community must reckon whether to let the outsiders in risking the extinction of not only their nation, but all of humanity.

SCREENING SPONSOR: CBC DOCS

Actor Michael Greyeyes and producer John Christou in attendance.

Recommended for ages 18+ for gore, graphic violence and strong language considered unsuitable for younger audiences.

12pm CBC Docs: NiiSoTeWak + Beyond Human Power FREE EVENT

NiiSoTeWak: Two Bodies One Heart JULES KOOSTACHIN, 2017, BC, 16 MIN

Ten-year-old identical twin brothers discover what it means to be a twin in their Cree culture. A CBC Short Docs film.

Beyond Human Power GORDON LOVERIN, 2019, BC, 43 MIN

Canada once jailed Indigenous peoples for dancing, but today new generations are finding inner balance through their dance cultures. Featuring the Yukon’s Kwanlin Daghalhaan k’e dance group and the Dakhká Khwáan Dancers with DJ Dash. A CBC Absolutely Canadian film.

Filmmakers Gordon Loverin, Pamela Jones, dancers in Beyond Human Power, subject Asivak Koostachin, Lesley Birchard (CBC Docs) in attendance.

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SAT FEB 1 KDCC

ELDERS

1:30pm International Indigenous Shorts FREE EVENT SCREENING SPONSOR: KWANLIN DÜN CULTURAL CENTRE

Short films by Indigenous filmmakers from around the world. Curated by Tr’ondek Hwech’in filmmaker, Kerry Barber.

Lake DIR. ALEXANDRA LAZAROWICH (CREE), 2019, AB, 5 MIN

Cree director Alexandra Lazarowich riffs off classic vérité cinema to craft a contemporary portrait of Métis women net fishing in Northern Alberta.

Elders DIR. TONY BRIGGS (YORTA YORTA/ WURUNJERI), 2019, AUS, 10 MIN

Two Elders feel that their grandson is old enough to start learning vitally important lessons that will equip him with the necessary tools to maintain the future survival of his culture. His classroom is the expansive country of his ancestors.

Now is the Time DIR. CHRISTOPHER AUCHTER (HAIDA), 2019, BC, 16 MIN

When internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he was instrumental in changing the history of his people forever. With help from his elders and his brother Reg, Davidson committed to carving the first new totem pole in Old Massett in almost a century.

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RIBADIT (PULLING IN THE BELT)

What If DIR. DANIEL KING (INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN), 2019, AUS, 8 MIN

Floating in a timeless space, five Victorian community members contemplate what if a treaty was signed in 1788?

Moloka’I Bound DIR. ALIKA MAIKAU (HAWAIIAN), 2019, USA, 9 MIN

A wayward young man, recently released from prison, struggles to reconnect with his son and Hawaiian heritage.

Tawaw? DIR. TRISTIN GREYEYES

(MUSKEG LAKE CREE NATION), SK, 3 MIN

A young Indigenous couple moves into their new house. While unpacking, the nosey neighbourhood welcoming committee pops by with friendly chit-chat and food with a side of racism.

Ribadit (Pulling in the Belt) DIR. ELLE SOFE SARA (SAMI), 2019, NOR, 10 MIN

Ribadit/Pulling in the belt was a tradition in Sápmi. In this film we meet two elders who orchestrate this ancient tradition to life with energetic young people and dancers.

Presented with the support of Government of Yukon, Arts Fund.

SAT FEB 1 KDCC

JORDAN RIVER ANDERSON: THE MESSENGER

3pm Jordan River Anderson: The Messenger DIR. ALANIS OBOMSAWIM, 2019, QC, 66 MIN FREE EVENT SCREENING SPONSOR: KWANLIN DÜN CULTURAL CENTRE

In her latest film, celebrated Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin tells the story of Jordan River Anderson, whose short life led to thousands of Indigenous children receiving the same standard of social, health and education services as the rest of Canadians.

While the governments of Canada and Manitoba argued over who was responsible for paying for Jordan’s care, Jordan was deprived of the appropriate medical attention he needed. This eventually initiated a battle between Jordan’s family and the government which led to the creation of Jordan’s Principle in Canada.

The very timely Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger completes, on an optimistic note, the film cycle devoted to the rights of Indigenous children and peoples that began with The People of the Kattawapiskak River.

Opening remarks by Shadelle Chambers, Executive Director, Council of Yukon First Nations.

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SAT FEB 8 YAC

THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN

12:30pm The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open

Screens with: Cedar Tree of Life

DIR. ELLE-MÁIJÁ TAILFEATHERS, KATHLEEN HEPBURN, 2019, BC/NOR, 105 MIN

Expressionist documentary, exploring the relationship between Cedar and three Indigenous women who work with it, weave with it, and live with it. Three Salish women hold knowledge of Cedar passed down from their grandmothers and mothers.

They commune with this sacred tree as they practice and share their culture and art in both traditional and contemporary contexts.

SCREENING SPONSOR: COUNCIL OF YUKON FIRST NATIONS

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open is a brilliant, poignant collaboration between two of Canada’s brightest – and boldest – filmmakers. Tailfeathers, a member of the Kainai First Nation as well as Sámi from Norway, triples as lead, co-writer, and co-director. She shares writing and directing with Kathleen Hepburn, whose 2017 film Never Steady, Never Still was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten. Using 16mm and presenting their narrative in ‘real time,’ the filmmakers craft a delicate intimacy, which lends emotion to this remarkable story of two women’s resilience, strength, and mutual support.

Recommended for ages 12+, mature themes.

Taking its title from an essay by Indigenous poet Billy-Ray Belcourt, and based on a watershed moment in Tailfeathers’ life, this story of a chance encounter between two women – living in the same Vancouver neighbourhood, but coming from distinct worlds of class and lived experience – reveals the necessity for Indigenous people to look out for each other in a society that’s too often indifferent to their existence. ~Toronto International Film Festival 6

CEDAR TREE OF LIFE

DIR. ODESSA SHUQUAYA, 2018, BC, 10 MIN

Odessa Shuquaya is an Indigenous filmmaker from the Kluane First Nation in Yukon and has been making her home in the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples in Vancouver, BC for the last 20 years.

SUN FEB 9 YAC

WIK VS QUEENSLAND

10:30am Wik vs Queensland DIR. DEAN GIBSON, 2018, AUS, 83 MIN

A powerful insight into the High Court’s decision to grant native title to the Wik people in 1996, and the dramatic political and cultural fallout that followed. With unique access to never-before screened archival footage, this uncompromising feature documentary forensically explores the racism, fearmongering and political manoeuvring that occurred in the lead up to the case, and its aftermath. Told from the very personal Wik Peoples’ perspective.

Selected and introduced by ALFF 2020 Guest Curator, Kerry Barber.

Presented with support from Government of Yukon, Arts Fund.

The film closes with a quote from Stanley Ngakyunkwokka: “We’ve got to learn to fight. Not fight with fists but with our tongues. Because everybody has their feelings for their land within their heart.”

Which is where the greatest strength of Wik vs Queensland sits, serving as a reminder that this is not an issue of property rights but one of justice.

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