Embers of Queer Joy

Short

Derik Lynch, a Yankunytjatjara person, journeys from the confines of city life in Adelaide back to their Anangu community in Aputula, seeking healing through sacred Inma, traditional storytelling and reconnection with ancestral memory and spiritual strength.

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An Indigenous woman, Sarah, recounts to her grandson Devin a story from her time in Residential School, when she was believed to be possessed by a demon.

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A lyrical portrait of Nikyle Begay, a non-binary shepherd and weaver, preserving their way of life through the traditional art of weaving.

Short

In the near future, Dove, a gender fluid person, discovers the powers and perils of their Inkwo (Indigenous medicine) while defending the living against a horde of ravenous monsters, testing their courage, resilience, and connection to the Earth.

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Organza, a broke artist in a distant galaxy, travels across the stars to seek revenge on her ex-lover in an attempt to cure her mysterious illness.

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This documentary explores Indigeneity in prairie settings, highlighting feelings of disconnection and the desire for kinship with the Land. Through contrasting experiences and landscapes, it reflects on cultural dispossession and the ongoing journey to reconnect with one’s roots.

Short

In the near future, Dove, a gender fluid person, discovers the powers and perils of their Inkwo (Indigenous medicine) while defending the living against a horde of ravenous monsters, testing their courage, resilience, and connection to the Earth.

Short

An Indigenous woman, Sarah, recounts to her grandson Devin a story from her time in Residential School, when she was believed to be possessed by a demon.

Feature

The latest from Gail Maurice, the director of Rosie (Opening Film, I+N35, 2022), Blood Lines is breath-taking and evocative, bringing visibility to the lives of indigenous adoptees. Set in a remote Métis village, this woman-centric tale braves the nuances of intergenerational trauma with not only courage but humour. Director Gail Maurice delivers a poignant cameo as Leonore, seeking amends for her disappearance from her daughter Beatrice’s life. Meanwhile, Beatrice (clerk of the Eager Beaver gas station) meets Chani (a new transplant from the city in search of her birth family) but from here: a love story that’s anything but typical. With dialogue in the Michif language, which has less than 1200 speakers left, this urgent film shows the various ways women support one another—in particular, how Leonore’s closest friends “The Grannies” bring joy (and perhaps a bit of mischief) to each day despite hardships, past and present. Whether through sharing laughter, breaking bread, or extending an olive branch, it’s by their grace the next generation can see how patriarchy and colonialism have disempowered them and then held them to blame—until now, when stories finally fall on ears that listen.

Short

Derik Lynch, a Yankunytjatjara person, journeys from the confines of city life in Adelaide back to their Anangu community in Aputula, seeking healing through sacred Inma, traditional storytelling and reconnection with ancestral memory and spiritual strength.

Short

A lyrical portrait of Nikyle Begay, a non-binary shepherd and weaver, preserving their way of life through the traditional art of weaving.

Short

This documentary explores Indigeneity in prairie settings, highlighting feelings of disconnection and the desire for kinship with the Land. Through contrasting experiences and landscapes, it reflects on cultural dispossession and the ongoing journey to reconnect with one’s roots.

Feature

The dangers of the past come in many forms. Two estranged Mi’kmaw siblings confront old animosities in an ancient forest, both in desperate need of healing. In their quest to rid themselves of the lingering evil that haunts them, they encounter the trail of their ancestors—and of their former selves. Mise’l (Blake Alec Miranda) is working a grueling shift when the jukebox warbles to life and an ominous presence from their childhood reveals itself, still capable of inflicting its wounds. Desperate, they seek out their younger brother, Antle (Forrest Goodluck). A task that requires them to part from their supportive partner and return home after many years away. Begrudgingly, their brother agrees to the journey, worried for his daughter’s safety if he does nothing, and they set out on a time-spanning mission. Elders are consulted. Strange creatures stalk them. Kinship is tested. The two heading deeper and deeper into nature at its most nurturing, and most menacing. From Bretten Hannam, the Two-Spirit L'nu filmmaker behind 2021’s acclaimed Wildhood (Opening Film I+N34, 2021), this is a ghost story of the highest order—equal parts eerie and edifying, and utterly unforgettable.

DocumentaryVIRTUAL EXCLUSIVE

Uniting from across continents to bring representation to the sport they love, Indigenous Rising laces up their skates to claim their space on the roller derby track. Indigenous Rising is the first team in roller derby history to break the barriers of representing a single country at the Roller Derby World Cup—igniting a movement that pulsates throughout the sport and within each other. Rising Through the Fray follows the team as it welcomes a new generation of players determined to change the face of roller derby—an inclusive, female-empowering sport still lacking diversity. With a compassionate, candid lens, Courtney Montour weaves energetic on-track game play with tender moments in teammates’ daily lives as skaters from over 30 Indigenous Nations navigate and learn each other’s play styles at tournaments and find strength within each other to compete and skate onto the track with pride. Intimate portraits of teammates Sour Cherry, Krispy and Hawaiian Blaze reveal stories of displacement and disconnection from their culture and identities and the journey of finding belonging within team Indigenous Rising. Rising Through the Fray offers a poignant exploration of resiliency, healing and reconnection of a roller derby family with a bond that goes beyond sport.

Short

Organza, a broke artist in a distant galaxy, travels across the stars to seek revenge on her ex-lover in an attempt to cure her mysterious illness.

FeatureVIRTUAL EXCLUSIVE

“Ladies and well … gender is a spectrum.” Eddie Starwalker aka Star (Dillan Chiblow) is an Oji-Cree call boy whose life takes a fateful turn when he meets handsome Levi (Jeffrey Michael Follis), then watches his drag show at the House of Borealis, awakening the call to his two-spirit identity. Corey Payette’s musical delivers dynamic performances with Indigenous storytelling and drumming songs craftfully weaved among themes of queer joy, resilience, and self-determination. Contrasted by the rainy climate and industrial scenes of East Vancouver, the campy magic of the fictional drag club—run by Mother Borealis (Stewart Adam McKensy)—burns bright with punchy numbers featuring its star, Star, learning how to apply make-up and shop for dresses, proud despite the scornful gaze of shopkeepers. Then, the stage lights give way to some of the darker shadows of drag life—from addiction, to backstage rivalry, to discrimination from the health care system—as tragedy strikes Star’s newfound home and he begins to collapse under the pressure. Faced with his past—namely, the trauma of racism—Star longs to reconnect with his roots, and also to learn, for the first time, what it means to show up for family.