July 13, 2015 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will premiere new shorts by four of this country’s renowned Aboriginal filmmakers at the Aboriginal Pavilion, a 19-day arts, culture and sports festival being held during the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, July 10–26 and August 7–9, 2015. The film series entitled Souvenir is presented as an installation in the mixed-media exhibit Gazing Back, Looking Forward, opening today at the Fort York National Historic Site’s Visitor Centre.
Produced by Anita Lee from the NFB’s Ontario Centre, Souvenir features works by Jeff Barnaby (Mi’gmaq), Michelle Latimer (Algonquin/Métis), Kent Monkman (Cree) and Caroline Monnet (Algonquin). Each of these four artists were invited by the NFB to craft a film addressing Aboriginal identity and representation by reworking material in the NFB’s archives—outtakes from the more than 700 NFB films with Aboriginal themes, dating back to 1939—and scoring their creations with tracks from acclaimed musicians Tanya Tagaq and A Tribe Called Red. Barnaby, Latimer, Monkman and Monnet’s fearless and innovative works slice through nationalistic mythology with clarity and truth, shifting our perspective on history.
“The NFB has a long-standing commitment to Aboriginal filmmaking and has been instrumental in supporting the production of a comprehensive body of films about the Aboriginal experience, made from an Aboriginal perspective,” said Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson.
Souvenir provides distinct perspectives on the chronicles of colonial identity and the representation of Aboriginal peoples. Jeff Barnaby’s Etlinisigu’niet (Bleed Down) destroys any remaining shreds of the mythology of a fair and just Canada. Latimer’s Nimmikaage (She Dances for People) deconstructs the layers beneath the recorded pageantry of Canadian nationalism. Monkman’s Sisters & Brothers draws parallels between the annihilation of the bison and the devastation inflicted by the residential school system, and Monnet’s Mobilize navigates the tension between the traditional and the modern experienced by a people moving ever forward.
Gazing Back, Looking Forward will be on display until September 27, 2015.
–30–
For the NFB
Jennifer Mair
Publicist, NFB
Tel.: 416-954-2045
Cell: 416-436-0105
E-mail: j.mair@nfb.ca
Twitter: @NFB_Jennifer
For the Aboriginal Pavilion
Dalton Higgins
Tel.: 416-964-9087
Cell: 647-880-2355
E-mail: daltonhiggins@gmail.com
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) creates groundbreaking interactive works, social-issue documentaries and auteur animation. The NFB has produced over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 14 Canadian Screen Awards, 11 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
