Alanis Obomsawin’s incredible legacy of Indigenous filmmaking and activism—now more accessible than ever at NFB.ca. NFB’s free online collection of Obomsawin films more than doubles, with over 20 films recently added.

News release

October 15, 2019 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The remarkable cinematic legacy of world-renowned filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin is more accessible than ever at the National Film Board of Canada’s online screening room, NFB.ca, with over 20 films recently added.

There are now more than 40 works by Alanis Obomsawin available for free streaming at NFB.ca—spanning over a half-century of storytelling and activism.

Already home to an unparalleled collection of films by Indigenous directors via its Indigenous Cinema webpage, NFB.ca today becomes an even more indispensable destination for powerful, groundbreaking Indigenous cinema.

A member of the Abenaki Nation and one of Canada’s most distinguished filmmakers, Obomsawin devotes herself to chronicling the lives and concerns of First Nations people and exploring issues of importance to all—with a particular focus on the well-being of children.

Her concern for the lives of young people is on vivid display in award-winning works now available online for the first time, including her uplifting Our People Will Be Healed, taking viewers inside a unique school in the Cree community of Norway House, north of Winnipeg, where students develop a sense of pride in who they are and a hope for the future, as well as her moving Hi-Ho Mistahey!, chronicling “Shannen’s Dream,” a national campaign to provide equitable access to education in safe and suitable schools for First Nations children.

There are also classics from deeper inside Obomsawin’s incredible body of the work, with short films from the 1970s like Amisk and her early series L’il’wata and Manawan.

These newly featured works join landmark films already online, such as Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child, Incident at Restigouche and more.

Ms. Obomsawin’s latest work is Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger—her 53rd film, completed in the 52nd year of her legendary career—which is being acclaimed at film festivals across Canada this fall. In addition to being a filmmaker and activist, Obomsawin is an accomplished visual artist and performer whose work was featured this past summer at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. She was also recently named a Companion of the Order of Canada—its highest honour.

About the NFB

The NFB is Canada’s public producer of creative documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories, and immersive experiences. Since 1968, the NFB has produced over 300 works by First Nations, Métis and Inuit filmmakers—an unparalleled collection that pushes past dominant narratives and provides Indigenous perspectives to Canadian and global audiences. Guided by the recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the NFB is implementing an action plan with commitments that include devoting a minimum of 15 percent of overall production spending to Indigenous-led productions and making these works more accessible via Indigenous Cinema, a new destination on NFB.ca, and its apps for mobile devices.

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Contacts

Jennifer Mair
NFB Publicist
C.: 416-436-0105
j.mair@nfb.ca | @NFB_Jennifer

Katja De Bock
NFB Publicist
C.: 778-628-4890
k.debock@nfb.ca@NFB_Katja

Lily Robert
Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
C.: 514-296-8261
l.robert@nfb.ca

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