From 1885 to 1951, Canadian law banned the Indigenous Potlatch ceremony. Those who defied the ban were arrested, and masks and ceremonial objects were confiscated. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw nation has made it their quest to track down these sacred items. In some cases, the masks traveled across the country and eventually to Europe, finding their way into museums and private art collections, as well as ending up in the hands of surrealists like Max Ernst, André Breton, and Joan Miró. So Surreal: Behind the Masks traces the delightful confluence of the Yup’ik sensibility and the Western avant-garde movement and demonstrates the tremendous impact of Indigenous art in the most unexpected corners.
Neil Diamond and Joanne Roberton’s hugely entertaining film is part detective movie, part art doc. As it moves back and forth between Alert Bay, New York, and Paris, it provides an unusual and little-known perspective on art history, while highlighting the crucial work of redressing the cultural genocide perpetrated by Canadian and American authorities. Vital and vibrant, this film is an outstanding achievement.
Sept 29: Q&A with directors Neil Diamond & Joanne Robertson
Oct 1: Q&A with director Joanne Robertson
Presented by
Media Partner
Neil Diamond, Bill Cranmer, Juanita Johnston, Chuna McIntyre, John McIntyre
Canada
2024
English
Open to youth at SFU Woodwards
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Catherine Bainbridge, Ernest Webb
Producer
Daniel Morin
Screenwriter
Neil Diamond, Joanne Robertson
Cinematography
Glauco Bermudez, Yoan Cart
Editor
Rebecca Lessard
Original Music
Anaïs Larocque
Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond is a Cree filmmaker from Waskaganish, Quebec, on the coast of James Bay. Neil co-directed the award-winning feature documentaries, Reel Injun (2009) and the more recent Red Fever (2024) along with Cree Spoken Here (2001), One More River (2004), and Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec (2005). He is an award-winning photographer, and co-founder of The Nation, the first news magazine to serve the Cree of northern Quebec and Ontario.
Filmography: Cree Spoken Here (2001); One More River (2004); Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec (2005); Reel Injun (2009); Inuit Cree Reconciliation (2013); Red Fever (2024)
Joanne Robertson
Joanne Robertson grew up as a settler on the west coast on the lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish). Today she is a director, researcher, and creative producer. She began her work with Rezolution Pictures over 25 years ago, collaborating with Cree co-director Neil Diamond on such documentary projects as Cree Spoken Here (2001), Dab Iyiyuu (2004-2006), and One More River (2004). She has worked as a story producer on APTN’s Lands Enchanted (2024) and the award-winning documentary Red Fever (2024).
Filmography: À Table (2010)
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Image: © The New York Times
The Muppet Christmas Carol
VIFF Kids Club is our monthly family series with films, crafts and more! Doors at 10 am for activities, film at 11 am. Sir Michael Caine shines as Ebenezer Scrooge in this downright irresistible musical Muppet version of the Dickens yuletide favourite!
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A remarkable line up of artists come together to share their love for the great American singer-songwriter John Prine, including Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Kurt Vile and Kasey Musgraves.