TORONTO – The Toronto International Film Festival featured a record number of films made by Indigenous creators in Canada this year, a milestone artists say reflects growing recognition for voices long sidelined by the industry.
Several premieres featuring Indigenous talent sold out, according to TIFF, signalling what filmmakers hope is sustained audience interest rather than a one year moment.
“Our voices have always been there, and people just haven’t been listening. And now there is space for that,” said Bretten Hannam, a L’nu filmmaker based in Nova Scotia.
Hannam, who identifies as two spirit, recalled being asked early in their career to change the race or sexuality of Indigenous characters or shift focus away from Indigenous stories altogether. “It’s been a long journey, a long struggle,” they said.
Their film, Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts), follows two brothers seeking to avenge spirits that have haunted them since childhood, while exploring Mi’kmaw culture and the colonial history of Canada’s east coast.
TIFF’s international programmer of Canadian features, Kelly Boutsalis, said the lineup, which includes two short films and eight feature films by Indigenous directors, marks a significant step forward.
“It feels really good for the state of Indigenous film that it can be this robust,” said Boutsalis, who is Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve. “We tried to take the best, but there are so many more.”
The Indigenous Screen Office, Canada’s main advocacy and funding body for Indigenous screen content, supported all eight feature films shown at the festival.
Actor Dana Solomon, an Anishinaabe member of Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba, stars in Gail Maurice’s Blood Lines, which centres on a lesbian romance and celebrates Métis culture.
Solomon learned to speak Michif for the role, a language spoken by about 1,100 people worldwide. “Maybe young Métis people are going to be inspired to learn and speak it,” Solomon said.
Métis artist Val Vint, 74, known in her community as “Deadly Auntie,” appears in Rhayne Vermette’s experimental film Levers. She said the film reflects a wider range of Indigenous experiences.
“I’m so tired of films that are all about crying and sadness. We have joy, and I think this expresses more of that,” Vint said, adding that the attention at TIFF felt long overdue recognition of Indigenous land and culture.
