Films 2004 ticket information

Caracoles: New Path of Resistance

Spanish with English subtitles

Caracoles is a celebration of the death of the Caracoles and the good Government Assemblies. Various members of the Zapatista leadership discuss how these changes will affect internal political and economic processes, gender relations, and their relationship to international civil society. The video is an open call to join with the Zapatista communities in their struggle for recognition of their autonomy and in their fight against neo-liberal economic policies and globalization.

Director:Alexandra Halkin

Producer:Chiapas Media Project

Friday, June 25

11:00 a.m.

PMA Auditorium

Screens with: Water and Autonomy

Discuss the film Caracoles: New Path of Resistance

Connected by Innate Rhythms (Video Installation)

A video art piece showing how the traditional and contemporary forms of dance and song with our people are inherently connected. The installation piece will explore the necessity of song and dance to us and how it will forever be practiced. Although different in form it will always remain same in spirit

Discuss the video installation Connected by Innate Rhythms

Cowboys and Indians: The Killing of J.J. Harper

Cowboys and Indians: The Killing of J.J. Harper tells the powerful story behind the 1988 shooting of Manitoba Native leader John Joseph Harper by Winnipeg Police Constable Robert Cross, and the struggle to uncover the truth behind the police cover-up of the facts. This startling event shocked the nation. Protests from the Native community led to the establishment of the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, which revealed an extensive cover-up by Winnipeg police. On the day he was to testify, Inspector Ken Dowson, the officer who coordinated the cover-up, committed suicide, compounding the tragedy. The film explores, through characters on both sides of the divide, the often painful relationship between Native and Non-Native peoples in Canada today.

Cowboys and Indians is based on the award-winning book, Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story, by Winnipeg Free Press columnist, Gordon Sinclair Jr., who first broke the story of police negligence and a possible cover-up of the facts of the shooting.

Discuss the film Cowboys and Indians: The Killing of J.J. Harper

Diet of Souls

Diet of Souls completes a film trilogy that is both a personal quest and an exploration of three aspects of the Inuit mind. If Songs in Stone could be said to see the Inuk as Artist, and the second film, Nuliajuk, Mother of the Sea Beasts, to look at the Inuk as Storyteller, then the third will explore the Inuk as Hunter. Diet of Souls is a fitting conclusion to the Artic trilogy, for what journey of discovery in the Inuit world would be complete without seeking to comprehend the hunter's complex relationship with the animal?

Discuss the film Diet of Souls

Dreamkeeper

Old Pete Chasing Horse, or Grandpa, is the storyteller of the Pine Ridge Reservation. Nearing a century old, it is Grandpa’s duty to share the legends of his people. One boy who could use the wisdom of the stories is 17-year-old Shane Chasing Horse. A member of a Native American street gang, Shane is a world apart from his Elders. At the request of his mother Janine, the boy’s given a chance to prove himself worthy of his honourable heritage by delivering Grandpa to the All Nations ceremony in New Mexico. Shane agrees, but only because he owes money to his gang. Getting out of is town is a good idea, even if it is with an old man and a broken-down pick-up truck (aka Many-Miles-With-No-Muffler). Dreamkeeper won the Best Film Award at the 28th Annual American Indian Film Festival last year.

Dreamkeeper was filmed throughout Alberta, as well as in Arizona, New Mexico, and the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Discuss the film Dreamkeeper

Found Voices

Why Hip Hop? What is it about this cultural form of expression that appeals to the youth of our communities? This powerful short takes a look at the growing popularity of Hip Hop and Rap music among Aboriginal youth. In their own words, young artists talk about the appeal of the musical genre and how it impacts their day-to-day realities.

Discuss the film Found Voices

If the Weather Permits

In the vastness of northern Quebec, on the edge of the Artic Ocean, lies the village of Kangirsujuaq, in Nunavik. Here, tradition and modernity intersect on a daily basis. Teenagers lap up “southern” culture and play golf on the tundra. Their elders many of them former nomads and hunters — are trying to get used to the strange feeling of staying put.

Discuss the film If the Weather Permits

I'm a Lucky One (Tru Rez Crew)

The video for I'm a Lucky One was shot entirely on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve. The song is about being thankful for your family and friends, and about making the right decisions in life. It's about looking towards the future and trying hard to succeed no matter the circumstances. “Even though we may have grown up poor on the rez we can still succeed if we try…” — Jonathan Garlow, Producer of Tru Rez Crew.

Discuss the music video I'm a Lucky One

Kinja Iakaha: A Day in the Village

Six Indians of different Waimiri and Atroari villages, located in the Amazon, document the day-to-day life of their relatives in the Cacau village. These images, stitched together in “a day in the village”, transport us to intimate scenes of their lifestyles and their intense relationship with nature.

Discuss the film Kinja Iakaha: A Day in the Village

Lonely Boy Richard

Richard Wanambi is about to go to prison for a long time. He knows what it’s like. He’s been there before. In Australia’s Northern Territory three-quarters of the people behind bars are Indigenous men. Lonely Boy Richard is an intimate account of one man’s journey to jail. In Richard’s home of Yirrkala, like elsewhere, alcohol abuse and violence are threatening family and community life. Although his people are doing what they can, it’s not enough to save Richard from himself or his community from him.

A Film Australia National Interest Program. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Discuss the film Lonely Boy Richard

Mervin

Mervin is a comical look at the coming-of-age story of a 14 year old youth. When young Mervin enters a writing contest that could win himself five-hundred dollars and a chance to go out with the hottest babe in town named Candy. Chance would have it that his essay gets stolen! Now, with the help of his good friend Zald, it’s up to Mervin to find his essay. Mervin features spectacular special-effects by CGI wizard Wenetilo Diabo, a funky soundtrack by Dega Lazare and selected songs by the great guitarist Dean Gaspardo. As the soda starts pouring, the fun doesn’t stop. From Kung-fu action, great comedy and the eeriest dream sequence ever filmed, Mervin will make you laugh, touch your heart and poke it really hard.

Discuss the film Mervin

On the Corner

Angel (Alex Rice) rediscovers the notion of family and responsibility after her teenage brother Randy (Simon Baker) comes to stay with her. Struggling to feed her drug addiction, Angel begins to make changes in her life as Randy slips further into her former world of drug abuse. Alex Rice, Simon Baker and Gordon Tootoosis, give heartrending performances in this dramatic presentation of life in the downtown eastside of Vancouver.

Discuss the film On the Corner

Pikutiskwaau (Mother Earth)

Cree with English subtitles

A feature-length documentary tracing the James Bay Cree philosophy of Mother Earth and the responsibilities of the Cree people to honor her and those who continue to give life to the Cree people. Shirley Cheechoo is an award winning actress, writer, producer, director, and visual artist. She first gained national attention in the theater in 1992 with her play, Path With No Moccasins. Her film directorial debut is the acclaimed short film, Silent Tears, which has won several film festival awards for Best Short Film. It was screened at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Telefilm Canada/Television Northern Canada Award for Best Canadian Aboriginal Language Television Program. As one of a select group of promising filmmakers, Shirley was invited to attend the prestigious Sundance Institute led by Robert Redford, where she workshopped and filmed scenes of Bearwalker (a.k.a. Backroads) with accomplished creative advisors including Robert Redford. Shirley is the first, First Nation woman to write, produce, direct, and act in a feature length film (Bearwalker) from Canada. Shirley has also appeared on several Canadian film and television series and programs, including The Rez.

This poignant documentry was shown a the Tucson International Film Festival. Cheechoo was named Independent Filmmaker of the year. The documentry also clinched the Best International Director Award at the Windsong Film Festival in Indiana.

Discuss the film Pikutiskwaau (Mother Earth)

Spin

Shot in black in white, this short piece takes us into the mind and self-image struggle of a music fan. It is a tale of truth and honesty, the black and white of feeding your soul or facing isolation. This short film works well as it contrasts the self with the image, the now with the passion, and the music of the 70’s and 21st century.

Discuss the film Spin

The Spirit of Annie Mae

In 1975, Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, a 30-year-old Nova Scotia born-Mi'kmaw, was shot dead, execution style, on a desolate road in South Dakota. Nearly three decades later the crime remains a mystery. Aquash was highly placed in the American Indian Movement (AIM), a radical First Nations organization that took up arms in the 1970s to fight for the rights of their people. The Spirit of Annie Mae is the story of Aquash's remarkable life and her brutal murder. It is a moving tribute from the women who were closest to her: the two daughters who fled with their mother when she hid from the FBI; the young women she inspired to embrace Native Culture; and the other activists, including Buffy Sainte-Marie and investigative journalist Minnie Two Shoes, who stood in solidarity with her. All are still trying to understand why she met such a violent death. Follow them on their journey as they celebrate the life of a woman who inspired a generation of First Nations people.

Discuss the film The Spirit of Annie Mae

Spirit of the Game

“I feel the spirit of the People and a connection with mother earth in my heart when I run.” These are the thoughts of 16-year-old Veronica Charter, also a gold medallist at the North American Indigenous Games. Award-winning filmmaker Annie Frazier Henry follows an elite handful of Aboriginal athletes from BC for two years as they make their way to the 2003 North American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 6,000 young Aboriginal sportsmen and women from across Canada and the United States compete in these games every three years. The film opens with backdrops that include the majestic Stein Valley, the rugged beauty of the Fraser Canyon and the coastal landscape of Vancouver Island- the athletes' homes and communities. Athletes are tracked through their training, the Qualifying tournaments and in their cultural and traditional surroundings as they attempt to go the distance. The final scenes unfold at the games in Winnipeg, where all the months of preparation and practice are put to the test. Frazier fully captures the flush of excitement and pride experienced by athletes and spectators alike at the games. Spirt of the Game is an inspiring tribute to First Nations athletes, coaches, advocates and communities.

Discuss the film Spirit of the Game

The Walk: A Path to Healing

A group of Sahtu Dene from the Northwest Territories embark upon a historic trek along a forgotten trail in search of their cultural identity.

Discuss the film The Walk: A Path to Healing

Water and Autonomy

Spanish and Tzeltal with English subtitles

Many of the indigenous communities in Chiapas have no access to potable water. Water and Autonomy looks at this serious problem and how the Zapatista communities are solving it. Through solidarity and training from internationals many communities are now building their own water systems. Members of the communities speak about ways the water project fits into their autonomous process, helps fight sickness, has provided a means of reflection for how to protect existing water sources and represents another means of resistance to globalization projects like the Plan Puebla Panama.

Discuss the film Water and Autonomy

White Buffalo Burgers

An Aboriginal Youth pilot variety and talk show starring international sensational MC manik1derful interviewing and celebrating various local Aboriginal youth.

Discuss the film White Buffalo Burgers

Young Enough (George Leach)

George Leach was raised in the Sta'atl'imx Nation, located in the mountains of Lillooet, British Columbia. He is a multi-disciplined artist who has achieved success as a musician, actor and visual artist.

At the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards 2000, he won Best Male Artist of the Year and Best Rock Album and was nominated for Best Song Writer.

Discuss the music video Young Enough

Being a Successful Native Writer is not an Oxymoron

In this workshop/lecture, Drew Hayden Taylor will discuss his adventures as a scriptwriter and a playwright. In a humourous fashion, he will talk about the secrets of the profession that he has learned for success, and the substantive differences that go into being a native writer. Whether its storytelling for the campfire, or writing an episode of television, many of the principles are the same.

Discuss the workshop Being a Successful Native Writer is not an Oxymoron