Tickets are $15 and available at metrocinema.org

Featured

SAT APR 27 | 11am

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

In Dark Places is the moving true story of a 17 year-old New Zealand Māori man imprisoned for over 21 years for a crime he did not commit, and an ex-cop's heroic battle to win him freedom.

A Creation Story

SAT APR 27 | 1pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

This story is based on an Elder’s story of creation that was passed down about the bear, buffalo, otter, eagle, mole and man & women.

Etatshimakant Aiasheu (The Legend of Aiasheu)

SAT APR 27 | 1pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

From the Innu legends of Northern Labrador, a story of love and a son's revenge for a wrong done years ago.

SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna (Edge Of The Knife)

SAT APR 27 | 1pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Edge of the Knife is a 2018 Canadian drama film co-directed by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown. It is the first feature film spoken only in dialects of the Haida language. Set in 19th-century Haida Gwaii, it tells the classic Haida story of the traumatized and stranded man transformed to Gaagiixiid, the wildman.

Giant Bear

SAT APR 27 | 4pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

ᓇᓄᕐᓗᒃ / Giant Bear A timeless Inuit legend about a solitary man, a giant bear and their daunting foes: each other. Centered on a confrontation between the last monster bear and an Inuit hunter, Giant Bear is a chilling short that brings an ancient story out of the North. In Giant Bear, we follow a hunter in the depths of starvation. The snow is thick, his dogs are mysteriously dying and food is nowhere to be found. A quest for answers leads him straight to a nanurluk, an iceberg-sized polar bear, setting up a “kill or be killed” battle that pits one man’s wits against a fearsome foe. A co-production between Taqqut Productions (Iqaluit) and e→d films (Montreal) this animated short film follows a lone Inuit hunter as he uses his wisdom, courage, and experience to find and confront his terrifying adversary -- a nanurluk (an iceberg-sized polar bear) in an epic battle for survival. Animated in a painterly, hybrid 2D and 3D style, some of the film was made using real time animation from Unity game engine, via the open source Scene Track plug-in. This traditional Inuit legend explores the power, beauty, and perils of nature through a meticulously handcrafted CG animation lens. The score, by composer Tyler Fitzmaurice in collaboration with singer Beatrice Deer, bassist Michael Felber, synth player Parker Shper, and electronic musician Greg Debicki (Woulg), features traditional northern singing techniques woven into an ethereal soundscape to bring the tundra to life.

Hant Quij Cöipaxi Hac (The Creation of The World)

SAT APR 27 | 4pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

The creation myth is adapted into an animated short film made by Seri Indigenous children and Elders.

BA'O - The Cannibal Giant

SAT APR 27 | 4pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

A young girl sits with her grandmother around the campfire where she learns cultural stories.

Akornatsinniitut - Tarratta Nunaanni (Among Us - In The Land Of Our Shadows)

SAT APR 27 | 4pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

This suspense-filled sci-fi adventure for all ages draws on Greenlandic culture, myth, folklore and legends, with a healthy dose of humour. When Nukappi (Casper Bach Zeeb) begins to have strange dreams he does not understand, he and his childhood friend Mio find themselves swept up in a world of Angakkoq (shaman), sorcerers, and evil spirits. When Nukappi is told he is one of the last remaining Angakkoq in Greenland, the stage is set for a future he never envisioned and a power he must learn to yield. After discovering the Tarratta Nunaanni, a dark parallel world that threatens their own, the guys become key players in an epic battle between good and evil with our reality hanging in the balance.

Don't Just Talk About It

SAT APR 27 | 7pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Learning more and getting connected to my culture created as sense of alignment and belonging. I felt purposeful and afraid in a good way. I woke up one morning excited, hopped out of bed and said to myself “Don’t Just Talk About It!” and there it was...the title was gifted to me in my sleep. The project is filled with bits of information I wish I would have known sooner about my culture, about life and the power we have over our own patterned thinking.

My Lyric I Never Knew

SAT APR 27 | 7pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

SHERITA, a young Indigenous woman, and up-and-coming singer in Canada, who has emerged anew from a turbulent youth—one of drug abuse, and a violent romantic relationship which resulted in her comma and the forced adoption of her baby— is set to take the stage tomorrow with her new song called “My Lyric, I Never Knew”, about the child she never knew. Moments before she is to perform, she is seized with fear about whether she should reveal her vulnerabilities before the public, but while backstage, she sees the excitement in the eyes of a fan of hers, a NATIVE CHILD in the studio audience. Sherita takes the stage and performs her song of imaginations about how the tragic episode of her youth has resulted in a happier life than she would have been able to offer to “her Lyric” (daughter).

Falls Around Her

SAT APR 27 | 8pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Exhausted by years of touring the world with her band, renowned Anishinaabe musician Mary (Tantoo Cardinal) comes home to Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation in northern Ontario. She returns to the land to restore herself, but her past success makes her a commodity to some, and she finds it difficult to hide from the demands of the outside world. Her sister Betty (Tina Keeper) senses there may be more to Mary’s need for isolation and urges her to reconnect with family and old friends. As Mary gets out more and even starts dating, new possibilities arise. However, the past has a way of catching up, and when Mary starts to hear disturbing noises around her cabin, she becomes paranoid that someone may be after her. In spite of the trauma in Mary’s past, writer-director Darlene Naponse refuses a narrative of victimhood, and instead explores the multiple facets of resilience. Mary knows how to survive, but she also deserves to thrive — and that means gathering the ability to be open to the healing that comes from love, self-expression, family, community, and, especially, the land.

Okichitaw - Refeathering the Warrior

SUN APR 28 | 11:30am

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

A documentary film featuring the Plains Cree martial art Okichitaw and the man who assembled it all, Okimakahn George Lepine. Master George tells the story of his forty years of research into the ancient warfare techniques of his ancestors and how he structured Canada's first Indigenous martial art form. Featuring Elder Vern Harper and the Nehiyawak (worthy people) who practise Okichitaw, this documentary takes the audience on a journey of empowerment as students rediscover the gifts of their Indigenous culture and traditional teachings.

Sembradoras De Vida (Mothers of the Land)

SUN APR 28 | 1:15pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Mothers of the Land accompanies five women from the Andean highlands in their daily struggle to maintain a traditional and organic way of working the land. In the Andean worldview, women and the earth are strongly interrelated. Both, a women’s body and the earth’s soil are capable of giving and nurturing life. In the context of an ever-growing industrialisation of agriculture, the use of chemical pesticides and genetically modified seeds it is women, who, connected to the earth through bonds of sisterhood, take on the role of protectors.

The Crossing

SUN APR 28 | 2:45pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Every year, hundreds of Tibetans make the perilous journey across the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range, into India - fleeing the persecution they face in their homeland, which has been occupied by China for more than 60 years.

Wiñaypacha (Eternity)

SUN APR 28 | 2:45pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Nestled over 5,000 metres above sea level a day’s journey from the nearest town, the modest farmhouse near the peaks of the Andes is the only place Willka and Phaxsi have called home. Elderly but still mobile, the couple tends to their beloved herd of sheep as they live a near-solitary existence of subsistence, with only themselves and their animals for company. As the passage of time and circumstance leave their lives hanging in a fragile balance, the couple yearn for their long-absent son to return home from the city. Wiñaypacha is a deeply emotional experience and features stunning cinematography that must be seen on the big screen. This landmark film is the first feature filmed entirely in the Aymara language and has swept awards at festivals around the world. The story of Willka and Phaxsi (Sun and Moon in Aymara) will touch your heart and soul.

Esperanza del Oriente (Hope of the East)

SUN APR 28 | 2:45pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

The Esperanza del Oriente boat sets sail from Riberalta to provide medical care for the Indigenous people of the village of Portachuelo.

Territoire Ishkueu Territoire Femme (Ishkueu Territory Woman Territory)

SUN APR 28 | 4:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Eight native women storytellers, writers and poets performing live at the Atalukan Storytelling and Legends Festival in Mashtueiatsh (Pointe-Bleue), Quebec. Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau tells the genesis of her relations to the Bears; her paintings illuminate the documentary. Joséphine Bacon and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine give us their vision of the world while Marie-Andrée Gill delivers poems of brute force. Sonia Robertson, director of the festival, Alice Germain, adventure guide and Telesh Bégin, shaman, make us discover their territory while Kathia Rock offers beautiful chants in Innu and French.

Quilombo Mata Cavalo

SUN APR 28 | 4:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

In quilombo Mata Cavalo, quilombolas residents of six communities resist to preserve their cultural traits, maintain community integration and conquer the regularization of lands inherited from their ancestors.

Three Feathers

SUN APR 28 | 7pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

When harm is done, justice must heal. After committing a shocking crime that devastates the innocence of their small community, Flinch, Bryce and Rupert are sent to live on the land for 9 months to explore the power of restorative justice. The Elders reconnect them to a life that was taken from them long ago, but it’s up to the boys to acquire the humility needed to return home and face their past.

This showing will be followed by a panel.

Out of Nothing

SUN APR 28 | 9pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

This experimental documentary examines parallels between Western science’s “Big Bang” and the creation story of the Shinnecock Nation to engage with the ever fascinating question: “Where do we come from?”

Fast Horse

SUN APR 28 | 9pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

FAST HORSE is a rare look at the world of bareback horse racing through the experience of one Siksika horseman, Alison RedCrow, as he strives to build a team and take on the best riders in the Blackfoot Confederacy. This old tradition is alive and well.

Just One Word

SUN APR 28 | 10pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Kim Morin is a successful Metis lawyer surrounded by luxury, security and Contemporary Native Art. Inner peace? Not so much. Kim needs things to be perfect. She wants the wrongs in her community and her family to be right. So when she finally tracks down her half-sister Asha who is scarred from years of foster care, carrying bundles of abandonment issues and drinking like a fish, Kim brings out the old Just One Word board game she loved as a child and makes her “to die for” cupcakes. Kim’s plan? An intervention for Asha using the board game Just One Word. But Kim and Asha’s idea of a party are as far apart as the upbringing they both experienced. So when Asha arrives for the party with her own personal supply of scotch and beer chasers, Kim’s vision of a smooth and successful intervention soon being to unravel as she discovers that Asha is not the only one who has issues that need healing and not even a board game and love filled cupcakes may be enough to help reconcile generations of pain.

Moa Ma Le Pinko (Chicken and Bingo)

SUN APR 28 | 10pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Two random strangers at a cemetery have an unlikely connection recounting the deaths of their loved ones and sharing stories of chicken and bingo. Moa Ma Le Pinko was created as part of the third Native Slam, bringing international Indigenous directors together in a 72-hour film challenge.

Dirt McComber: Last Of The Mohicans

MON APR 29 | 1pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Eric “Dirt” McComber is a rugged individualist who provides for his large family by hunting and fishing the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory near Montreal. But he must straddle two worlds to accomplish his many business, family, and societal functions. Adding to this is his passion and dedication to the sport of lacrosse, not just because of its modern-day significance, but also because it is the spiritual practice founded by his ancestors, the Iroquois of North America, who for centuries played the game to honor the Creator as well as for the wellness of their native communities. Life was running smoothly, and through bartering and selling their food at powwows, the McCombers were able to maintain a good lifestyle. But when disaster struck, and struck hard, Dirt’s entire way of living and supporting his family were threatened. The McCombers are now forced to reevaluate their way of living and become even more resilient during a harsh Quebec winter as well as prioritize what is truly important to them.

Speaking to their Mother

MON APR 29 | 3pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

During the summer of 1992 Marjorie Beaucage invited artist Rebecca Belmore to bring her performative artwork Ayum-ee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to Their Mother to the Mother Earth Wiggins Bay Blockade in Northern Saskatchewan.

Naketuenita (Respect)

MON APR 29 | 4pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

The Innu Nation were among the last nomadic people in North America. They homeland was a vast territory called Nitassinan in Labrador Pressured by the Church and Governments the Innu were settled into communities in the middle of the 20th Century Then the Churchill Falls Hydro Project flooded vast areas of their land without permission. Their communities fell apart and into despair. Now the Innu are taking back control of their land, government, schools, social services and their resources which are overseen by the Environmental Guardians. This film tells their story.

The Blackfeet Flood

MON APR 29 | 5:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Butch New Breast left The Blackfeet Reservation in 1964 when a flood washed away his home, his parents and sister. He returns 50 years later "to see if I can still get that feeling, like I am Blackfeet.”

MA'OHI NUI, in the heart of the ocean my country lies

MON APR 29 | 7pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Tahiti, French Polynesia. Between the runway of the international airport and a small mound of earth lies a district called the Flamboyant. Over there, one says ""district "" as not to say ""shantytown"". There is another face of contemporary colonisation born of the thirty years of French nuclear tests in Polynesia. By confronting the Ma'ohi spirit with its nuclear history and its fractured existence, the film shows the face of contemporary colonisation and the vital impetus of a people trying not to forget themselves and who, silently, are seeking the path of independence.

Beyond Climate

MON APR 29 | 9:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Narrated by David Suzuki, Beyond Climate explores the human and environmental impacts of climate change in British Columbia, and is a timely contribution to the province and country as we grapple with climate change, the paramount issue of our time.

Living Culture Speaking Truth Language Revitalization in our Communities

TUES APR 30 | 1:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Today there are 70 Indigenous languages in Canada, many of which have seen a decline in transmission from generation to generation. “Living Culture, Speaking Truth: Language revitalization in our communities” is an insightful documentary that looks through the lens of 7 Indigenous communities who have taken initiative by employing their own unique strategies, challenging this decline and are on the forefront of strengthening and revitalizing their languages. In uplifting, inspiring accounts of resiliency, these communities epitomize the value and significance language has on the Indigenous People’s of Canada.

Featured

Respect Your Elders Chum

TUES APR 30 | 1:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Chum, learns a lesson respecting his Elders.

Waniska

TUES APR 30 | 1:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

In an extraordinary display of resilience, a group of Elders out on the land address the importance of Indigenous knowledge. These residential school Survivors shine a light on a future where this traditional knowledge system may be called upon to assist humanity. Filmed in the fields and forests of First Nations lands across Saskatchewan, Waniska was envisioned and directed by the Elder’s Circle of the First Nations University of Canada with participation from students. Waniska means ‘to awaken’ in Cree.

Huahua (Child)

TUES APR 30 | 3:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

A young aboriginal couple faces an unexpected pregnancy that will make them questioned about their identity and the world in which they will raise their child.

Retablo

TUES APR 30 | 6:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

The life of a 14-year-old boy in an isolated Peruvian village is turned upside down when he accidentally discovers his troubled father's secret.

Rainbow Warriors Collection Spring/Summer 2019

TUES APR 30 | 8:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

The ancient prophecy foretelling of the Rainbow Warriors was recounted by many Indigenous Nations across North America, including the Hopi and Zuni in the southwest, the Cree in the far north, the Cherokee in the southeast and Sioux Indians from the Plains.These Nations prophesied that people of different colours, classes and creeds will unite to spread the wisdom of living in harmony with each other, all creatures and the land at a time when the Earth is ravaged by the powerful effects of greed and destruction. This diverse group of people will be called the Rainbow Warriors and their actions and deeds will reestablish balance in the world, in turn renewing the planet with health, integrity and spiritual prosperity.

Majur

TUES APR 30 | 8:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Meet Majur, LGBTQ +, chief of communication of an Indigenous village located in the interior of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The documentary shows a year of his life.

Make Me

TUES APR 30 | 8:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

An erotic poem is recited while candles, sage, and honey are used in a performative ceremony, inviting our suitors to love us well, and love us better.

Positions

TUES APR 30 | 8:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

A simple and naturalistic approach to a day in the life of a two-spirit, male sex worker as he visits his clients. Positions is an unapologetic and realist exploration of sexual desire, the quest for financial stability, and the pursuit of agency over one’s own body.

Broken Jaw

WED MAY 1 | 4:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

This story is based on an Elder’s recollection of a story passed down about Jacob Johnstone (Broken Jaw). Who was shot in the face he was fifteen years old. He became chief by Mistawasis, was a medicine man and an Elder.

The Epic Journey

WED MAY 1 | 4:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

This film is based on a Elder’s story of a journey that a group of Ojibowe took to move away from the Europeans that were coming into the new world in the 1800’s.

Treaty Day On The Rez

WED MAY 1 | 4:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

This film is based on an Elder’s memory of going to pick up Treaty money and Tuberculosis.

Dead Bolt

WED MAY 1 | 4:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

A young woman pays a terrible price for leaving her door unlocked when a stranger takes over her apartment and locks her out.

聞こえない声―アイヌ遺骨問題もうひとつの150年― (Colonized Voices - The Repatriation of Ainu Remains: Another Perspective on the History of the Last 150 Years)

WED MAY 1 | 5:30pm

Metro Cinema, 8712 109 St NW

Let us show you a history that the Japanese have hidden from the world. It is the story of a northern Indigenous people called the Ainu. They are a people with a rich culture that have lived peacefully with nature, never using violence. The Japanese deprived them of everything. But nobody knows what happened between the Japanese and the Ainu. You will witness a history even the Japanese do not know. This documentary follows the history of the colonization of Hokkaido by the Japanese government and the ensuing struggle of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Japan. In the 19th century, the Japanese government annexed the northern island, Hokkaido, traditionally inhabited by the Ainu, as a strategy against the advancement of the Russian Empire from the north. The 150-year history of Hokkaido, which is regarded as “development”, is also the history of “colonization,” during which the Japanese government tormented the Ainu through discriminative policies that still affect the Ainu people’s lives to this day. In particular, the repatriation of Ainu remains presents serious concerns as researchers stole Ainu bones from their graves in the late 19th century, and most of them have not been returned to their original sites. The research was conducted in unethical ways without the consent of the Ainu, while the remains have been stored and managed poorly in research institutions. The government and universities neglected appeals for dialogue from the Ainu. In response to that, the Ainu decided to take the case to court in order to have their ancestors returned to their native land. In addition, gaps in the legal system for the repatriation have become a hindrance to the respectful return of the remain as the current laws have been written and applied without consideration for the Ainu burial culture. The colonial practices led by the Japanese government also caused the disappearance of Ainu traditions, ontology and language that have been cultivated over generations. The Ainu are now working to protect and hand down their ancestors’ teaching to the next generations. Some Ainu are sharing traditional foods or Ainu language with children. Others are trying to restore Ainu traditional techniques such as woodcarvings or grave-marker making. In the field of tourism, some Ainu are exploring original ways to promote Ainu culture. What does the future hold for the harmonious cohabitation of the Ainu and the Japanese? This documentary introduces the voices of the Ainu telling of their struggle with living in this modern era and their hope for a better future. Like the Ainu, there are large Indigenous populations around the world that continue to struggle against persistent colonial practices by states or governments. It is now a collective challenge shared worldwide to recognize the negative impact of colonial practices oppressing Indigenous peoples. The Ainu voices in this documentary ask the audience what is “ethnic harmony“ in the truest sense of the term.

Dreamspeakers International Film Festival 2019