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Indigenous Cinema

Árru

Dir. Elle Sofe Sara
95 min

Set against the mountains and fjords of northern Norway, Árru follows reindeer herder Maia as a proposed copper mine threatens her Sámi community, forcing her to fight to protect both her community and the land that sustains it.

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6:00 pm
Thu Oct 01
SFU Woodwards
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
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3:30 pm
Fri Oct 02
Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island
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1:00 pm
Wed Oct 07
Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
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Whispers in May

Dir. Dongnan Chen
95 min

Whispers in May follows Qihuo and her friends in China’s Liangshan Mountains as childhood gives way to womanhood. It blends close observation and scenes of the girls' search with animated fragments of Yi oral myth to create a hypnotic coming-of-age film.

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1:00 pm
Fri Oct 02
International Village 10
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9:00 pm
Wed Oct 07
SFU Woodwards
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A Distant Call

Dir. Andrea Suwito
99 min

In the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia, Eka, one of the few remaining bissu — spiritual leaders who embody the aspects of all genders — struggles to reconcile their identity with community expectations and their own devout Muslim faith.

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1:15 pm
Fri Oct 02
International Village 8
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8:30 pm
Wed Oct 07
International Village 10
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Seventeen

Dir. Justin Ducharme
88 min

Seventeen takes us through a rough day in the lives of three Indigenous sex workers, shining a light on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and telling a story of solidarity and love.

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8:45 pm
Fri Oct 02
The Rio Theatre
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
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3:45 pm
Sun Oct 04
Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
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9:00 pm
Sun Oct 11
International Village 8
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Where the River Begins

Dir. Juan Andrés Arango
102 min

This immersive, hypnotic film follows an Indigenous mother and daughter on a journey from the slums of Bogotá to their true home in the jungle, joined by a young gang member with an especially urgent reason to flee.

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8:45 pm
Fri Oct 02
Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
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12:45 pm
Sun Oct 04
International Village 8
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Short Forum 2: Anthropomaxx

112 min

Dogs, frogs, hogs, and more!

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3:15 pm
Sat Oct 03
International Village 8
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10:30 am
Sun Oct 04
International Village 8
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How We Stand

Dir. Marie Clements
107 min

How We Stand follows three Indigenous sisters separated after their family relocates to Los Angeles under Native American Relocation Program in the 1950s. Twenty years later, they navigate identity, trauma, and very different lives.

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6:15 pm
Sat Oct 03
Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island
Hearing Assistance
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3:00 pm
Sun Oct 04
The Rio Theatre
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3:15 pm
Sun Oct 11
Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island
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Smudge the Blades

Dir. Cody Lightning
96 min

This rousing hockey drama centres on the Treaty 6 Blades, a team of Indigenous youth on a quest for redemption. Blessed with a terrific cast, this is a crowd-pleaser in which victory is about much more than winning the game.

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6:15 pm
Sat Oct 03
The Rio Theatre
Hearing Assistance
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3:00 pm
Mon Oct 05
International Village 9
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TAKKUUK

120 min

Arctic Indigenous artists reckon with culture, colonialism, and a rapidly changing world in this visually explosive film, featuring a hypnotic Bicep score. With live performances from Inuit throat-singing duo Silla and Greenlandic rapper Tarrak.

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8:30 pm
Sat Oct 03
SFU - Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre
U18 May Attend
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In the Heart of the South

Dir. Nyla Innuksuk
95 min

In the Heart of the South brings North of North co-stars Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunaq back together for a propulsive, psychological meta-thriller about an Inuk multimedia writer possessed by her own narrative that carves deep into themes of appropriation.

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9:15 pm
Sat Oct 03
Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
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3:00 pm
Sun Oct 04
International Village 9
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Ceremony

Dir. Banchi Hanuse
84 min

Powerful and evocative, Ceremony follows the disappearance of the ooligan in Bella Coola, revealing a story of cultural survival, environmental stewardship, and the enduring relationship between the Nuxalk Nation and the land.

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5:45 pm
Sun Oct 04
SFU Woodwards
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
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1:00 pm
Tue Oct 06
International Village 10
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12:00 pm
Sat Oct 10
Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island
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Our Mr. Matsura

Dir. Beth Harrington
97 min

Part of the first wave of Japanese immigrants to the United States, Frank Matsura's photographs in Okanogan County created a regional legacy that endures a century later. Our Mr. Matsura is a joyful celebration of life revealed through photography.

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5:45 pm
Sun Oct 04
International Village 10
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10:30 am
Mon Oct 05
International Village 10
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