For the Innu people, Nitassinan is far more than their ancestral territory; it is a living entity that nourishes their language, guides their traditions, and forms an intrinsic part of their collective identity. Moving across past, present, and future, Nitassinan offers an intimate testimony to an unbreakable bond with the land that sustains the Innu, even in their dreams. Attentive to the rhythms of the territory and the voices of those who know it intimately, the film unfolds as a quiet act of listening.
Celebrated Innu poet Joséphine Bacon reunites with acclaimed filmmaker Kim O’Bomsawin, who previously directed Call Me Human (Je m’appelle humain, VIFF 2020) about Bacon, for this lyrical portrait of a people’s enduring relationship with their homeland. Capturing expansive landscapes with a patient, observational eye, Nitassinan becomes both an expression of love and gratitude and a meditation on what it means to inherit, remember, and carry a culture forward.
Nitassinan will be preceded by the short film, Haboolm Ksinaalgat (Soul Catcher) by Amanda Strong and Pamela Post. In Haboolm Ksinaalgat (Soul Catcher), teenager Lu’oo’ya is visited by an ancient shaman, who opens a portal using an ooligan-greased mirror. Together, the two traverse space and time to confront and heal the colonial history still haunting their ancestors.
Oct 8 & 9: Filmmaker Q&A for short film Haboolm Ksinaalgat (Soul Catcher)
Supported by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Canada
2026
In French and Innu with English subtitles
Open to youth
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits & Director
Producer
Kim O’Bomsawin, Elodie Pollet
Screenwriter
Joséphine Bacon, Carlos Ferrand, Émilie Porry
Cinematography
Hugo Gendron, Maxime Pilon-Lalande
Editor
Annie Leclair, Mélanie O’Bomsawin
Original Music
Wyler Wolf
Kim O'Bomsawin
Kim O’Bomsawin is an Abenaki filmmaker from Odanak. She directed and scripted the feature length documentary Je m’appelle humain (2020), a sensitive portrait of Innu poet Joséphine Bacon, and directed the four-part documentary series Telling Our Story, selected at TIFF in 2023. In 2024, she won the Best Canadian Documentary Award at VIFF and the Magnus Isacsson Award at the Montreal International Documentary Festival for her film Ninan Auassat: Nous, les enfants. Since 2020, Kim has been a producer and the president of Nikan Productions (formerly Terre Innue).
Photo by Christinne Muschi
Joséphine Bacon
Joséphine Bacon, born 1947, is an Innu poet from Pessamit. A filmmaker and lyricist, she is considered a leading author in Quebec and has worked as a translator and interpreter with elders. She has written several poetry collections, including Nipishapui nete mushuat/Un thé dans la toundra (2013), which was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal, and Uiesh/Somewhere (2018), which earned her the 2019 Booksellers’ Prize. In 2023, she received the prestigious Molson Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts for her invaluable contribution to literature.
Filmography: Tshishe Mishtikuashisht – Le petit grand Européen: Johan Beetz (1997)
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