NFB x ImagineNATIVE 2017

ImagineNATIVE kicks off today in Toronto, and we’re thrilled to have 13 projects at the festival this year.

At the opening gala tonight, Holy Angels, a film by Jay Cardinal Villeneuve, screens before the feature, Waru. The short film focuses on Elder Lena Wandering Spirit, as she recounts her time at Holy Angels Residential School.

Over the course of the next 5 days, both Alanis Obomsawin’s Our People Will Be Healed and Tasha Hubbard’s Birth of a Family will screen.

Our People Will Be Healed, Alanis’ 50th film, is an uplifting story of the Norway House Cree Nation and the incredible innovations they have instituted in their educational system. It plays on October 25th.

Our People Will Be Healed, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Tasha Hubbard’s film screens on October 19, and tells the story of how she and her siblings were removed from her mother as part of the Canada’s Sixties Scoop, and how they found their way back to each other again.

Birth of a Family, Tasha Hubbard, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

We’ve got 4 animated shorts playing as well. Three Thousand is what happened when artist Asinnajaq threw a creative net into our audiovisual archive. She wove historic footage of the Inuit into a stunningly original animation and it’s part of the Ambient Light program on October 22.

Also part of the Ambient Light program is Shaman, a short film based on a legend about a polar bear that’s transformed into an iconic mountain in Nain, Labrador. The film was made by Echo Henoche, who sold her first piece of art when she was 8 years old!

The Mountain of SGaana is part of The Land Within program, which runs on Sunday, October 22. The film is a Haida love story brought to life by the talented Chris Auchter.

The Mountain of SGaana, Christopher Auchter, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Diane Obomsawin’s I Like Girls features four women revealing the nitty-gritty about their first loves, and, fittingly, screens as part of the Love Stories program on October 21st.

I Like Girls, Diane Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

In the digital category, we’ve got 3 projects from our Legacies 150 series: The Cache, Xinona, and Tetepiskat. You can experience the complete project online, as well.

We also have Instagram project What Brings Us Here, which grew out of Katherena Vermette’s film, this river. In the VR department, we’re co-producing Jeff Barnaby’s West Wind VR.

this river, Erika MacPherson & Katherena Vermette, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Finally, closing out the festival will Marie Clements’ The Road Forward, her musical documentary about First Nations activism. It’s been garnering tons of praise from both critics and audiences throughout the festival season.

The Road Forward, Marie Clements, provided by the National Film Board of Canada