July 24-28: Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival comes to Ottawa for the second year!

 

The Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival – http://asinabkafestival.org – is bringing powerful and thought-provoking art and film to Ottawa for another summer. The Festival, to be held July 24-28 2013, provides an opportunity for Indigenous peoples to tell their own stories and showcase their rich and vibrant culture in the National Capital Region.

This year, the Festival will feature a wide array of programming, including a series of films that examine deep spiritual connections to the land and the important role that women play in Aboriginal communities. The Festival will also focus on human rights and sovereignty issues raised by the Idle No More movement.

The Festival will revolve around strong programming with over 10 film screenings, including a delicious pre-festival “Dinner And A Movie” night at Mitla Café, an outdoor opening and film screening on Victoria Island, film programs at the National Gallery of Canada and Club SAW, and a “Gallery Crawl” with curated art exhibitions at Gallery 101 and Fall Down Gallery.

 

Highlights of the Festival include:

• A screening of the documentary “The People of the Kattawapiskak River” that exposes the housing crisis faced by 1,700 Cree in Northern Ontario. Director Alanis Obomsawin will be in attendance and participate in a Q & A session led by Journalist Waubgeshig Rice.

• An opening night outdoor screening on Victoria Island, showing the critically acclaimed film “The Lesser Blessed” by Director Anita Doron and award winning Writer/Producer Richard Van Camp.

• A “Gallery Crawl” event including the opening of two person art exhibition “In-Digital” at Gallery 101 with the artists Jason Baerg and Christian Chapman in attendance, followed by a “Misko (Red) Party” at Fall Down Gallery with artwork by local and emerging artists, and an evening of multi-disciplinary performance with spoken word, live painting, experimental video-art, and live music.

• A “Dinner & A Movie” Night at Mitla Café (July 18 & 19), serving authentic Oaxacan Cuisine prepared by Chef Ana, and screening Director Roberto Olivares Ruiz’s film “Silvestre Pantaleón”.

• A weeklong video production program called “Video Works”, facilitated by Indigenous Culture & Media Innovations (ICMI), and held at the SAW Video Media Art Centre. Work produced during the program will be screened on the final night of the Festival.

• A “Late Night” film program at Club SAW titled “Fabulous Fantasies”, screening 8 short films that are quirky, humorous, dystopian, futuristic, queer, and fabulous.

 

“This event promises to be an excellent venue for advancing works from emerging and established Indigenous artists, both nationally and internationally,” stated Asinabka Co-Directors Howard Adler and Chris Wong. “Such a festival also has the potential to help Canadians better understand the realities of Indigenous peoples lives and experiences.”

This year’s Asinabka Film & Media Art Festival will feature more free programming then ever before. A large proportion of the Festival’s programming will be offered free of charge, including three film programs in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada and its “Sakahàn: International Indigenous Art exhibition”. As a result, the Festival will highlight Indigenous films not only from Canada, but also from Brazil, Russia, Australia, and the United States.

 

For more information about the Festival, please go to: http://asinabkafestival.org

For more information about the Festival, please contact Howard Adler at asinabkafestival at gmail.com or 613.889.9559

 

The Asinabka Film & Media Art Festival would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario, as well as funding support from the City of Ottawa. We also thank our Festival Partners, the National Gallery of Canada, Saw Video, Gallery 101, Saw Gallery, ICMI, Wapikoni Mobile, Fall Down Gallery and Aboriginal Experiences.
 

Fundraising campaigns: Book, Film, Website Magazine

Greetings / ahneen / kwey kwey,

Today we are sending out information about three fundraising campaigns.

We hope you will take a look at them, and consider seeing if you can
support, and also if you can spread the word, to help these worthwhile
projects.

Miigwetch!

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QUICK LINKS:

Book: Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations v2
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-launch-of-honouring-indigenous-women-hearts-of-nations-vol-2

Film: The Sixties Scoop: A Hidden Generation documentary
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-sixties-scoop-a-hidden-generation-documentary–2

Website magazine: Intercontinental Cry – People Land Truth 2013
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/people-land-truth

… more info on each follows:

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Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations vol2 book

We are seeking funds to print 800 copies of this book in preparation for a
multi-city launch of this anthology for an Autumn 2013 release which
includes Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa and
Manistee. These launches will reach more people to whom we also would like
to share the wealth of knowledge and inspiration this book offers to
empower all peoples to tell and share their stories.

When the Honouring Indigenous Women campaign was launched in 2011, many
Indigenous women praised this initiative as it was creating a place for
Indigenous women’s voices while offering a complimentary space to allies
and alliances. Indigenous women recognized the importance of this space as
their voices were not marginalized or on the peripheral. As we have
learned, the mainstream media often reinforces stereotypes and patriarchal
thinking towards Indigenous women in their stories, and often does not
portray the whole picture.

This anthology is a re-presentation of Indigenous women by Indigenous
women by  sharing lived experiences, realities and offering unique
perspectives of each contributors’ worldview.

It is a celebration and a practice of freedom for both its creators and
readers.

Fund it: http://igg.me/at/HIW-vol-2
Website: http://thesoundofmyheart.weebly.com/

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The Sixties Scoop: A Hidden Generation documentary film

Q&A with Filmmaker, Colleen Cardinal

Q. Why did you embark on this project?

A. There needs to be an awakening in Canada to the realities of Indigenous
peoples—especially us telling our own stories to raise awareness, educate
and support our own healing journeys. My lived experiences include being
caught up in a deliberate attempt at cultural genocide—death by social
policy. When I first learned there were thousands of adoptees that went
through similar experiences of cultural loss, loneliness and abuse as I
did, I wanted to support them and make sure their stories were validated
and shared.
…

We will share what it was like to grow up in non-Indigenous families,
without their culture, language, lands, identity and relations. This
deliberate attempt at assimilation of Indigenous people in Canada and
enforced federal policy through Children’s Services or Children’s Aid
Societies left the survivors feeling disconnected from themselves and
their people. Robert Commanda will also lend his voice and insights about
a class action lawsuit against the Ontario provincial government that he
has been fighting in the courts for the past four years. The documentary
will also include my son Sage Hele, who will speak about how
inter-generational trauma, abuse and discrimination shaped his own life. I
am grateful to those involved with this project for their resilience,
passion and openness to sharing their stories and healing journeys.

Q: Why is this documentary so important NOW?

A: I feel this is important because of the growing need for understanding,
awareness and education for mainstream Canadian audiences. The Idle No
More movement and the resurgence of Indigenous culture and awareness has
Indigenous people asking questions and awakening their need to reclaim
their identity. I also feel this documentary needs to be shared so that
other 60′s Scoop survivors know they are not alone.

Fund it: http://igg.me/p/456883
Film website: http://ahiddengeneration.wordpress.com
Videos of speakers from trailer launch / community gathering:
http://equitableeducation.ca/2013/the-sixties-scoop

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People Land Truth 2013 – Intercontinental Cry magazine

Intercontinental Cry (IC) Magazine needs your help. As an independent,
volunteer-run magazine, we are proudly funded by our readers; however, we
are currently facing some financial difficulties that threatens the
continuation of our work, including the publication of our 9th anniversary
magazine, PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 2013

Now in its 9th year online, Intercontinental Cry (IC) is one of the only
grassroots online publications dedicated to the world’s Indigenous
Peoples. So far we’ve written stories for 497 Indigenous Nations in 190
countries; authored 74 monthly reports and highlighted more than 400
outstanding videos and films. What’s more, we’ve done it all for free.

In an effort to highlight some of our work, we decided last June to bring
the best of IC to paper with an anniversary magazine called PEOPLE LAND
TRUTH (PLT).  In the spirit of sharing, we made an eBook version that was
free to the public; the print version, meanwhile, was available for a
modest donation. We did the same thing six months later with INDIGENOUS
STRUGGLES 2012: DISPATCHES FROM THE FOURTH WORLD, our first annual
briefing on the global indigenous movement.

Fund it: http://igg.me/at/people-land-truth
Alt fund it: http://intercontinentalcry.org/donate/
Website: http://intercontinentalcry.org/
Publications: http://intercontinentalcry.org/publications/

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