Indigenous Short Films


from Turtle Island


Saturday, July 22, 2017 imagineNATIVE @ Sauble Beach


This collection of shorts films – made by Indigenous filmmakers from Canada and the USA – takes
us on a journey from first contact to the future! Using humour and drama, these shorts tell remarkable stories of resilience, love, cultural pride, and community empowerment. As nations of storytellers, Indigenous filmmakers are increasingly gaining recognition on the national and global
stages; each of their films reminds us of the power of stories…to make us laugh, to make us cry,
and to make us think the world can be a better place.

First Contact
USA, 2 mins, 2015, Animation/Comedy
Director: Steven Paul Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw)
Two Indigenous fellows debate on whether to let strangers from across
the big water come ashore.

Indian
Canada, 2 mins, 2008, Short Comedy
Director: Darryl Nepinak (Saulteaux)
At the Canadian National Spelling Bee speller Darryl Nepinak struggles
to spell a seemingly familiar word.

One of Granny Lil’s Amazing Stories
Canada, 2 mins, 2014, Animation/Comedy
Director: Alex Hueman (Gwa’Sala/’Nakwaxda’XW)
A grandmother retells a riveting and suspenseful story with a surprise
ending that will leave you buckled over with laughter!

Other
USA, 5 mins, 2015, Short Comedy
Director: Rodrick Pocowatchit (Comanche/Pawnee/Shawnee)
A Native American man finds himself in a long line of applicants waiting to apply for a job. While filling in the application, he notices a glaring omission on the form and decides to point out to the interviewer
what is hopefully only an error.

Ronnie BoDean
USA, 13 mins, 2015, Short Drama/Comedy
Director: Steven Paul Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw)
Ronnie BoDean (film star Wes Studi) is the ultimate anti-hero: hungover, streetwise and badass, with a hustler’s heart of gold. When Ronnie faces his greatest challenge yet – babysitting his jailed neighbour’s precocious kids – the results are both hilarious and life affirming.

Being Brown
Canada, 2 mins, 2012, Short Documentary
Director: Ziibi Cameron (Ojibway) This heartfelt story showcases youth dancer and filmmaker Ziibi Cameron – from the Saugeen First Nation – and his reflections on cultural life as a powwow dancer.

Repercussions
Canada, 4 mins, 2013, Animation Director: Terril Calder (Métis)

Repercussions examines the link Indigenous people have to the land and how we can hear its power if we only choose to listen.

Cree Code Talker
Canada, 14 mins, 2016, Short Documentary
Director: Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) During the Second World War, the Allied Forces utilized Indigenous language speakers to transmit coded messages that could not be broken. The contributions of Charles “Checker” Tomkins are revealed in thisinsightful look into how the Cree language was used as a vital secret weapon in combat.

The Grandfather Drum
Canada, 13 mins, 2016, Animation
Director: Michelle Derosier (Ojibway)
Revered for its healing powers by the Anishinabek of the upper Berens River, Naamowin’s drum can restore life. This stunning animation reveals
the true story of how a drum designed to heal became trapped by colonial forces designed to disrupt the delicate balance between the world
above and the world below.

God’s Acre Canada, 15 mins, 2016, Short Drama
Director: Kelton Stephanowich (Métis)
Lorne Cardinal stars in this unsettling, powerful short of a man determined to protect his land at all cost. As the water slowly rises in a frighteningly familiar future, the man must choose to abandon all that he knows or give in to the rising tide

Wakening
Canada, 9 mins, 2013, Short Drama
Director: Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)
In the near future, the environment has been destroyed and society suffocates under a brutal military occupation. Weesakechak, a lone Cree
wanderer and freedom fighter, searches an urban war zone to find the ancient and dangerous Weetigo in a desperate attempt to get the powerful being to help in the fight against the occupiers.