Join us for an intimate dialogue between legendary Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin and Michif/Métis Artist Amanda Strong, rising star in film and animation, as they discuss their artistic practices, the importance of intergenerational connection, and story telling. Centered around the screening of their latest works, the conversation between these two powerful cinematic voices will discuss the joys and challenges of making film for youth.
This Talk will feature a sneak peek of Alanis Obomsawin’s latest short film My Friend the Green Horse. Often feeling lost and alone, the young Alanis found solace and companionship in the Animal World. Told with joyfulness and imbued with the spirit of happy childhood memories, My Friend the Green Horse offers rare insight into the early life of one of the world’s great documentary directors through a beautiful blend of live-action footage and stop-motion animation.
Amanda Strong’s animated short Inkwo: For When the Starving Return is the story of Dove, a young, enigmatic, gender-shifting warrior, who discovers the gifts and burdens of their Inkwo (medicine) to defend against an army of hungry, ferocious monsters. Dove’s courage, resilience and alliance with the Earth culminates in a battle against these flesh-consuming creatures, who become stronger with each body and soul they devour.
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Oct 5
2:00 pm
VIFF Centre, Vancity Theatre
Open to youth!
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Guests
Alanis Obomsawin
One of the most acclaimed Indigenous directors in the world, Alanis Obomsawin came to cinema from performance and storytelling. Hired by the NFB as a consultant in 1967, she has created an extraordinary body of work—50 films and counting—including landmark documentaries like Incident at Restigouche (1984) and Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993). The Abenaki director has received numerous international honours and her work was showcased in a 2008 retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. “My main interest all my life has been education,” says Obomsawin, “because that’s where you develop yourself, where you learn to hate, or to love.”
Bush Lady is the only recording ever made by Alanis Obomsawin, who began her artistic career as a singer-songwriter in the 1960s. Amidst her burgeoning film career, Bush Lady was born of sessions sponsored by CBC Radio in 1984. Unsatisfied with these recordings, Obomsawin reclaimed the master tapes, remade the album, and issued it on her own private press in 1988. This unique and profound record had been out of print and gaining cult status ever since, until Constellation Records reissued a newly remastered version of the album in 2018.
Amanda Strong
Amanda Strong is a Michif/Métis artist, writer, producer, director, filmmaker and mother. As the owner and executive producer of Spotted Fawn Productions Inc., her collaborative creations serve to amplify Indigenous storytelling and ideologies. Strong’s work has received Canadian Screen Award and Emmy nominations, and her films—which include Biidaaban (2018) and Four Faces of the Moon (2016) —have been shown worldwide at venues such as TIFF, the Cannes film market, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the American Museum of Natural History.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Choral
Yorkshire, 1916. Dr Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) is entrusted with the role of chorus master — despite his suspicious ties with Germany. As conscription papers arrive, the community is thrown into chaos, but music proves a worthy distraction.
All That's Left of You
Jordan's submission for the Academy Awards, All That's Left of You makes the most of its epic format to chronicle seven decades of Palestinian history while tracking the psychological impact of cycles of exile and oppression on three generations.
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
Sun Ra: Do the Impossible
Whether he was a man, a musician, or an emissary from Saturn (as he claimed), Sun Ra was one of the unique visionaries of the 20th century. Christine Turner’s documentary explores the legacy of this iconoclastic who turned his life into a work of art.
The Love That Remains
Anna and Magnús have separated, leaving her to raise their three children as he spends long stretches at sea, working as a fisherman. As the seasons pass, their emotions ebb and flow. A richly conceived story with unexpected delight and humour.