Indigenous Peoples Month
imagineNATIVE Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Month
The history of Canada has always been favourable to a colonial narrative of how the country came to be. The rich histories of Indigenous Nations have been stifled by the country’s efforts to assimilate our people into Canadian colonial society for generations.
June is Indigenous Peoples Month, a time for the country to celebrate the rich history of our Indigenous people, in our own words, in our own narratives.
imagineNATIVE is dedicated to uplifting Indigenous narrative sovereignty and celebrate authentic Indigenous storytelling, every day.
Every year for Indigenous Peoples Month, imagineNATIVE showcases a series of public programming that invites audiences to visit with Indigenous Cinema and artists throughout the month. This includes, but is not limited to, screenings, artist profiles, masterclasses, panels, exhibitions, and game jams!
The imagineNATIVE Tour Presents: For The Grandbabies at Woodland Cultural Centre
Event Description:
Bring your grandbabies to see works of whimsical animations, calls for action for future generations, and lessons to listen to your elders. More information to come!
Featured Films:
Starlight Sojourn (Director: Chantal Rousseau, Darcy Tara McDiarmid)
Follow (Director: Brent Owen Beauchamp)
Ni Wapiten – I see (Director: Noémie Echaquan, Julie Ottawa)
Home (Director: Barry Bilinsky)
Whistling Woods (Director: Barry Bilinsky)
Date + Time:
June 21, 2024 | 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET
Location:
In-Person | Woodland Cultural Centre
184 Mohawk St, Brantford, ON N3S 2X2
Ticket Information:
Visit canadahelps.org/en/charities/woodland-cultural-centre/events/-nipd/ for FREE tickets.
Indigenous Shorts Screening + Q&A
Event Description:
Co-presented by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and co-curated by imagineNATIVE’s Creative Coordinator, Kikki Guerard.
This year’s Indigenous Shorts program celebrates the intersection between both Indigenous Peoples Day, and Pride Month. The Future of Film Showcase (FOFS), imagineNATIVE, and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television have curated a retrospective program of short films that looks back on select articulations of what has been coined, by participating artist Theo J Cuthand, as Indigiqueer films. These works share 15 years of expressive and heterogenous explorations of identity as it is imagined, imposed, and lived.
Featured Films:
Dance to Miss Chief (Director: Kent Monkman)
Thirza Cuthand Is an Indian Within the Meaning of the Indian Act (Director: Theo Jean Cuthand)
First Stories — Two Spirited (Director: Sharon A. Desjarlais)
Aviliaq: Entwined (Director: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril)
Positions (Director: Justine Ducharme)
Extractions (Director: Theo Jean Cuthand)
Date + Time:
June 21, 2024 | 5:30 PM – 6:45 PM ET
Location:
In-Person | Paradise Theatre Toronto
1006 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6H 1M2
Ticket Information:
Visit fofs.ca/2024festivalprogramming to purchase tickets.
The Intersection of Identity + Artisanship
Event Description:
Co-presented by imagineNATIVE and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.
This panel discusses the interactions between marginalized and/or disenfranchised identities and the arts worlds they enter into. How did you find comfort when entering these spheres? What was the process of cultivating confidence in self-expression? How have you seen the environment change since you’ve first announced yourself as an artist, and how have you seen yourself change since then?
Featured Panelists:
Tyler Sloane
Selena Vyle
Theresa Cutknife
Haley Robinson
Date + Time:
June 21, 2024 | 7:15 PM – 8:15 PM ET
Location:
In-Person | Paradise Theatre Toronto
1006 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6H 1M2
Ticket Information:
Visit fofs.ca/2024festivalprogramming to purchase tickets.
BACKSPOT at the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show
Event Description:
Join imagineNATIVE for an unforgettable evening as we co-present the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show screening of Backspot, with the short films Club Kid Alley and Fast Horse at Fort York.
Featured Films:
Backspot (Director: D.W. Waterson)
Club Kid Alley (Director: Tyler J. Sloane)
Fast Horse (Director: Alexandra Lazarowich)
Date + Time:
Monday, June 24, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET / showtime at sundown (approx. 9:00 PM ET)
Location:
“Walled Fort” of Fort York National Historic Site – entry at west gates of 100 Garrison Road
250 Fort York Blvd, Toronto, ON M5V 3K9
Ticket Information:
This is a free event, no ticket is required to attend. Visit https://www.topictureshow.com/backspot for more information!
Screenings + Q&A at The Well Toronto
Event Description:
To close out our programming for Indigenous Peoples Month, imagineNATIVE will be screening two feature films at The Well Toronto. More information to come!
Featured Films:
Rosie (Director: Gail Maurice)
Slash/Back (Director: Nyla Innuksuk)
Date + Time:
June 28, 2024 + June 29, 2024
Location: In-Person | The Well Toronto
486 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5V 0V2
Ticket Information:
Visit goelevent.com/imagineNATIVE/e/Search to purchase tickets.
imagineNATIVE Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Month
In recognition of Indigenous Peoples Month, imagineNATIVE is excited to share our programming at-a-glance for June!
Be sure to keep an eye out for more exciting updates to come!
FLOW
As part of a special commissioning project, six Indigenous artists have created audio works that connect distant listeners to bodies of water through sonic storytelling. These artists meditated on sites such as lakes, rivers, bays, glaciers, ponds and seas. These works use sound to explore ancestral ontologies at the intersections of water, geographies and Indigenous bodies.
WEEK 1 | Sunday, June 12th, 2022 | 10:00 am EST Release
Suzanne Morrissette
Morrisette is an artist, curator and scholar living in Toronto. She is guided in her work by her roles as a daughter, partner, mama, sister, niece, aunt, granddaughter, friend and colleague.
Casey Koyzen
Koyzen is a Tlicho Dene interdisciplinary artist from Yellowknife, NT that uses various mediums to communicate how culture and technology can grow together so we can develop a better understanding of who we are, where we come from and who we will be in the future.
WEEK 2 | Sunday, June 19th, 2022 | 10:00 am EST Release
Marc Fussing-Rosbach
Fussing-Rosbach is an award-winning Inuk filmmaker, CEO and Founder of FUROS IMAGE. As an independent filmmaker, Marc does everything from start to finish working on feature films, short films, music videos and trailers.
Tom McLeod
An Inuvialuit Storyteller from Aklavik, Northwest Territories in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. A former radio personality, Mcleod told stories of traditional Inuvialuit and Gwich’in activities such as hunting, trapping, fishing, and traveling his traditional lands across the NWT and Yukon.
WEEK 3 | Sunday, June 26th, 2022 | 10:00 am EST Release
Pamela Palmater
Palmater is an award-winning podcaster who produces and hosts the Warrior Life Podcast and the Warriors Kids Podcast. Pam is also a lawyer, professor and human rights advocate who has won many awards for her community-based work in relation to Indigenous rights, human rights, social justice and climate action.
Laura Ortman
Ortman (White Mountain Apache) is a soloist musician, composer and vibrant collaborator who creates across multiple platforms including recorded albums, live performances and filmic and artistic soundtracks.
Check weekly on the iNdigital Space for new releases.
LAND JAM
June 22-26th, 2022
imagineNATIVE is putting on the second iteration of LAND JAM: our very own Indigenous game jam. Much like a hack-a-thon, Indigenous creatives will team up to make original works from scratch.
LAND JAM will take place over 5 days, from Wednesday June 22nd to Sunday June 26th. Creatives from different disciplines will work in teams to develop original video games and interactive works. LAND JAM takes place virtually on Discord, and welcomes all Indigenous creatives. We’ll be providing meals, mentorship sessions, virtual goodie bags, cash prizes and a fun closing party!
All works created during LAND JAM will be presented as part of a special showcase during the imagineNATIVE Festival in October.
To register for LAND JAM, please fill out a form found below by June 10th. For more information on this event and how it works, please see the attached booklet.
**This is a closed event for artists who have registered**