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.