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In Perspective: 11th Annual ImagineNative Film and Media Festival

By TO411 staff writer Daisy Maclean

Toronto has more film festivals than any other city in the world and because of our city’s movie bug, we are treated to many different niche festivals that expose us to special films from an all kinds of cultures and points of view. ImagineNative Film and Media Festival is one such event, each year presenting a selection of the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from around the world. 

The award for Best Dramatic Feature went to a film out of New Zealand called, Boy. 11-year-old Alamein, know as ‘Boy’ to everyone, has built the image of his long absent father up into heroic proportions. When his father comes home from prison it becomes apparent to everyone that Alamein senior has a lot of growing up to do. Boy’s fantasy meets harsh reality in this coming of age tale with a twist. A Brilliant and charming film that captures all the nuances of the disconnect between father and son, fantasy and reality. 

One of the strongest short documentary profiles I have seen all year was Reinprinsessen. It means Reindeer Princess and follows Anne Risten, the only female in the sport of competitive reindeer racing, and her final year of racing with Ena II, the fastest reindeer in the world. Norway’s indigenous people are called the Sami and they have occupied their lands for the last five thousand years. Reindeer husbandry has been a part of the Sami culture for a long time and is now legally protected in Norway as an exclusive Sami livelihood. When it comes to racing, the sleighs are for the tourists. The cowboys (and girl) actually race on skiis with two straps tied to their reindeer, one overtop and one underneath. Skiers speeds can reach upward of 60 kph. This short gracefully captures the magnificent landscape of Norway while introducing the viewer to the captivating world of reindeer racing and its princess. A must see. 

This year the Alanis Obomsawin Best Documentary Award went to Y El Rio Sigue Corriendo (And The River Flows On) directed by Carlos Perez Rojas. This documentary follows the campesino opposition to the Mexican government’s push to build the La Parota hydro-electric dam in Guerrero. The dam would mean flooding several communities south of Acapulco and dislocating the Indigenous people who live there. Fifteen communities are for the dam and only four communities oppose in a dispute that has already begun to claim lives. Director Rojas is a human rights advocate in Mexico and was awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award in 2005. In an interview with Gabriela Zamorano of the National Museum of the American Indian he talks of the importance of Native self-representation, “It’s important to say that there’s more than just hunger, pain and poverty in Native communities. Solutions are also being offered. And these are very creative proposals in cultural, political, economic, and social terms. Going back to self-representation, I’ve noticed that views from outside tend to show indigenous peoples as victims, the gaze is attracted to the sandals, the hungry people, the dirty child. That view falls short, in my opinion, of reflecting what’s happening inside the communities.”