Miles Morrisseau
ICT
Fifteen Indigenous films will premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival — the most in the history of the festival – in what organizers say reflects the power of Indigenous storytelling.
The festival, which opens Thursday, Sept. 4 and runs through Sept. 14, includes 13 Indigenous feature films, including eight from Canada and two from the United States, including the world premieres of films by acclaimed directors Sky Hopinka and Sterlin Harjo.The short-film program will feature two films from Canada that tell Indigenous stories.
Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office, or ISO, invested $3.5 million Canadian dollars in the development and production of eight feature films selected for the festival’s official program, which spotlights a list of talented emerging voices and award-winning established Indigenous filmmakers.
“Spanning across all the TIFF programming streams, these films are a powerful reflection of Indigenous talent, vision, and storytelling, and the impact of the ISO,” Kelly Swanson, CEO of the Indigenous Screen Office. “The ISO Story Fund has provided support for all eight of TIFF’s Indigenous feature films from Canada and we look forward to celebrating these new works with festival audiences.”
Jason Ryle, Anishinaabe from Lake St. Martin First Nation and an international programmer for the festival, said TIFF has long supported Indigenous cinema.
“It’s not just a commitment of goodwill or obligation,” said Ryle, who is the festival programmer for Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Global Indigenous Cinema.
“These are incredible films, incredible stories, incredible talents,” he told ICT. “And you can see that as they ricochet. They’ve won awards at the festival. They’ve won awards at other places after premiering here. You know, box office success, viewership success on broadcast.”
Kelly Boutsalis, Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River, who is also an International programmer for TIFF, said it is an exciting time for Indigenous film as filmmakers continue to grow and experiment as artists.
“That’s something that I am seeing,” Boutsalis told ICT. “For example, Darlene Naponse, who has done feature film and is now doing more experimental, really art-level documentaries. For her and somebody else like Tasha Hubbard, who has only done documentaries, to try drama and to get to do it on a big scale, it feels like the continuation of the work that they have been doing and getting to see them expand their talents. That’s really exciting.”
The feature-length Indigenous films at TIFF include eight from Canada, two from the United States and three other international films. The short films also include two that tell Indigenous stories.
Here are the highlights of the Indigenous films featured this year and the filmmakers.
CANADA FILMS
‘Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising’
Shane Belcourt and Tanya Talaga
Award-winning Métis filmmaker Shane Belcourt and acclaimed Anishinaabe investigative journalist Tanya Talaga collaborate in a new documentary about a forgotten and ignored Indigenous uprising in Canada. Their work, “Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising,” will have its world premiere at TIFF. It tells the stor of an Indigenous uprising in the year following the Wounded Knee occupation in 1973, which received widespread coverage in the United States and around the world. A youth-led Indigenous occupation north of the border, however, received little attention from the Canadian media. The Indigenous land-reclamation effort in a northwestern Ontario park drew more than 150 occupants for 90 days, but was documented in a mere eight minutes of film footage at the time. It is around these few found fragments of video that this story of resilience is brought to life.
‘Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts)’
Bretten Hannam
This genre-bending otherworldly drama from Canada and Belgium follows two Mi’kmaw brothers’ journey to avenge the spirits that haunt them from their childhood. Their journey includes a trip through the forest of Sk+te’kmujue’katik, where time collapses.
‘Levers’
Rhayne Vermette
In the much-anticipated follow-up to her award-winning film, “Ste. Anne,” Manitoban filmmaker and artist Rhayne Vermette tells the story of a community after a blast plunges them into a day of darkness, shaking their sense of stability.
‘Nika and Madison’
Eva Thomas
The solo directorial debut by Anishinaabe filmmaker Eva Thomas describes her film, “Nika and Madison, as “an Indigenous Thelma and Louise.” The film expands on her short film, “Redlights,” but adds the Indigenous experience and threats to the characters. “These White women [in ‘Thelma and Louise’ couldn’t go to the police. What if they were Indigenous and they really couldn’t go to the police?” Thomas told ICT. “That was a sparking point for this idea of both the short film and then the extended expansion feature.”
‘Aki’
Darlene Naponse
Renowned Anishinaabe filmmaker Darlene Naponse is back at TIFF with an immersive and deeply personal documentary, “Aki.” This is the director’s first feature-length documentary and follows her last two features, which premiered at the festival, “Falls Around Her.” starring Tantoo Cardinal in 2018m and the visually stunning “Steller,” in 2022. “Aki” tells the story of Naponse’s home community, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, formerly known as Whitefish Lake First Nation, in Northern Ontario, with image and sound. The film captures the land and water, the life and the living of plants, creatures and the people who maintain a beautiful and fragile existence in that territory.
‘Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)’
Zacharias Kunuk
The blurb on the TIFF website describes the film, as “a strange death, village upheavals, and swarming suitors lead to a love story gone awry.” The film by Oscar-nominated Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk’s is his latest imagining of ancient Inuit stories. “Uiksaringitara” is making its North American premiere at TIFF.
‘Blood Lines’
Gail Maurice
In her second feature, following the heartwarming and hard-hitting “Rosie,” which premiered at TIFF in 2022, Gail Maurice takes viewers on a personal journey into the Métis community and a blossoming same-sex romance. It is making its world premiere at TIFF.
‘Meadowlarks’
Tasha Hubbard
The film, “Meadowlarks,” marks the feature-film directorial debut by Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard. It is based on her 2017 documentary, Birth of a Family, and tells the story of a four siblings who are reunited after being separated since childhood in what is known as the Sixties Scoop, a government-sponsored program to take Indigenous children and put them into White homes. The film has an amazing cast with Michael Greyeyes, of “Rutherford Falls” and “Blood Quantum”; Michelle Thrush, “Little Bird” and “Prey”; Carmen Moore, “The Flash” and “The Birds who Fear Death”; and Alex Rice, “Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis” and “The Twilight Saga.”
US FEATURE FILMS
‘Powwow People’
Sky Hopinka
From the United States, acclaimed director Sky Hopinka’s “Powwow People” takes audiences into the powwow world, not as observers but as participants, a “celebration and a radiant assertion of sovereignty,” according to TIFF. Hopinka’s second feature immerses viewers in a globally iconic First Nations event. It is making its world premiere at TIFF.
‘The Lowdown’
Sterlin Harjo
“The Lowdown,” by another acclaimed director, Sterlin Harjo, tells the story of the owner of a rare bookstore who begins to investigate corruption in his community. Actor Ethan Hawke is executive producer and plays the lead character. The film is making its world premiere, and at only 59 minutes, will launch a series on FX.
OTHER FEATURE FILMS
‘Mārama’
Taratora Stappard
The film, “Mārama,” tells the story of a Māori woman who uncovers secrets in an English manor.
‘The Condor Daughter’
Alvaro Olmos Torrico
“The Condor Daughter,” from Bolivia, tells the story of a young Indigenous midwife who dreams of conquering her city with her voice.
‘A Sámi Wedding’ (Heajastallan – Bryllupsfesten)
Åse Kathrin Vuolab and Pål Jackman
The film, “A Sámi Wedding,” from Norway, tells the story of a Sámi family marrying up into a rich reindeer-owning Sámi family. It goes for the laughter while also teaching about the culture.
SHORT FILMS
The short-film program will premiere the films, “Klee” and “Niimi,” both from Canada.