SCREENING IN THE BERNARD OSHER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM
“Obomsawin flips the content of the traditional ethnographic documentary and deftly reminds us that this is an ongoing history of displacement and disappearance.”
119 minutes (followed by panel discussion). Rated PG. Directed by Alanis Obomsawin. In English. DCP.
NOTE: Refreshments at 11 a.m. Film program begins at 11:30 a.m.
The Wabanaki Film Festival, co-programmed by Mali Obomsawin and Lokotah Sanborn, will put in dialogue two feature films, Kahnasetake: 270 Years of Resistance and Harvest of Empire, spotlighting the impacts of western imperialism on Indigenous and Latino communities across our hemisphere. Short film and panelist selections will emphasize ways of resistance, providing critical analysis and Indigenous insights that have allowed resistances to survive and succeed. Refreshments will be provided. This event is co-sponsored by Bomazeen Land Trust and Presente! Maine. See schedule below.
Kahnasetake: 270 Years of Resistance:
In July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness. Director Alanis Obomsawin—at times with a small crew, at times alone—spent 78 days behind Kanien’kéhaka lines filming the armed standoff between protestors, the Quebec police and the Canadian army. Released in 1993, this landmark documentary has been seen around the world, winning over a dozen international awards and making history at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it became the first documentary ever to win the Best Canadian Feature award. Jesse Wente, Director of Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office, has called it a “watershed film in the history of First Peoples cinema.”
Wabanaki Film Festival Schedule
11 am: Free refreshments and mingling
11:30 am: Greeting and introduction
11:45 am: Screening of Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
1:45 pm: Q&A and panel discussion
30-45min break
2:45 pm: Wabanaki Short Films Block
Putep Qotatokot-te Elewestaq (The Whale was Speaking) (4:29) (directed by Mihku Paul)
Bay of Herons (8:00) (directed by Jared Lank)
Otherworld (9:57) (directed by Lokotah Sanborn)
Q&A with filmmakers
3:30pm: Screening of Harvest of Empire
5pm: Q&A and panel discussion
