2006 Archive
| Title | Athabasca | Edmonton |
|---|---|---|
| Two Worlds Colliding Two Worlds Colliding chronicles the painful story of what came to be known as Saskatoon's infamous "freezing deaths," and the schism between a fearful, mistrustful Aboriginal community and a police force that must come to terms with a shocking secret. One frigid night in January 2000, a Native man, Darrell Night, finds himself dumped by two police officers in -20° C temperatures in a barren field on the city outskirts and finds shelter at a nearby power station. He survives the ordeal but is stunned to hear that the frozen body of another Aboriginal man is discovered in the same area. Days later, another victim, also Native, is found. When Night comes forward with his story, he sets into motion a chain of events: a major RCMP investigation into several suspicious deaths, the conviction of the two constables who abandoned him and the reopening of an old case, leading to a judicial inquiry. It remains to be seen whether the gulf between the two worlds can be bridged. | ||
| Between Two Worlds Unknown to most Canadians today, Joseph Idlout was once the world's most famous Inuit. The subject of films and books, Idlout was one of the Inuit hunters pictured for many years on the back of Canada 's $2 bill. Idlout became a symbol of his people, the heroic myth that fascinated the white imagination. In this film Idlout's son, Peter Paniloo, takes us on a journey through his father's life. Idlout, the great hunter, becomes a fox-fur trapper and guide. He gets caught up in the white world, trying to improve his family's fortunes. Finally, Joseph Idlout does not know who he is or where he belongs. He is 'between two worlds'. Joseph Idlout could never imagined the changes that would overwhelm his North. But he was one of its first casualties. | ||
| Story of the Coast Salish Knitters For almost a century, the Coast Salish knitters of Vancouver Island have produced Cowichan sweaters from handspun wool. Three generations of Aboriginal women tell their tale. | ||
| Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew Take complex issues like Native identity, politics and racism, then wrap them up with one-liners, guffaws and comedic performances. The result: Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew, director Drew Hayden Taylor's laugh-a-minute road trip through the world of Native humour. | ||
| If the Weather Permits and Keep the Circle Strong This film follows Mike Auger, a Cree Indian from northern Alberta , who embarks on a five-month journey to Bolivia to live and work with the Aymara Indians, Bolivia 's largest indigenous group. Through his journey, we witness the story of one man's quest to recover his Native culture as well as discover the striking parallels between two Native peoples. | ||
| The Spirit of Annie Mae This is the story of Annie Mae Aquash's journey, from a Mi'kmaq reserve in Nova Scotia to her brutal death 30 years later in South Dakota . Annie Mae had become a Native militant and a central figure in the American Indian Movement, but the FBI considered AIM a threat and infiltrated the movement. Paranoia spread and Aquash was shot dead in 1975 in Wounded Knee . We meet her two daughters and many activists she inspired, such as Buffy Ste. Marie. All are still trying to understand why and how this spirited woman met such a violent end. | ||
| Inuuyunga: I am Inuk, I am Alive Hockey, hip hop, hunting and midnight Ski-Doo rides. Welcome to Inukjuak. It's the final year of high school for eight teens at Innalik school in this remote town in northern Quebec . Through an initiative of the National Film Board, these eight students have been selected to document this pivotal year of their lives. To teach them some basics, the NFB has dispatched filmmakers Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin. The result of their collaboration is Inuuvunga, a vibrant and utterly contemporary view of life in Canada 's North. The students use their new film skills to address a broad range of issues, from the widening communication gap with their elders to the loss of their peers to suicide. Throughout, they reveal an unusual and fascinating mix of southern and northern cultures. Kids listen to hip-hop music and engage in traditional fox trapping. A schoolroom floor is the scene of the gutting of a freshly killed seal. Seamless and startling, Inuuvunga paints a rich portrait of coming of age in an Inuit town and helps to dispel the myths of northern isolation and desolation. Instead, we discover a place where hope and strength overcome struggle. |
Updated January 22, 2021 by Digital & Web Operations (web_services@athabascau.ca)