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Alanis Obomsawin’s acclaimed feature doc Trick or Treaty? screens May 24 at 7:00 p.m. in Moyse Hall, McGill University. Obomsawin, one of Canada’s most distinguished artists, in attendance.

PRESS RELEASE
20/05/2016

TrickOrTreaty-AO

May 20, 2016 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

On May 24, Montrealers will have a chance to see Alanis Obomsawin’s multi-award-winning National Film Board of Canada (NFB) documentary Trick or Treaty? on the big screen and to meet this legendary filmmaker at a special presentation starting at 7:00 p.m. in Moyse Hall, McGill University Arts Building, 853 Sherbrooke Street West.

About Trick or Treaty?

In 1905, the British Crown and the Canadian government entered into an agreement with the Cree and Ojibway in Ontario and Manitoba: the James Bay Treaty, or Treaty No. 9. Signed over 100 years ago, the treaty is still called into question today by a number of Indigenous people and Canadians who want to set the record straight.

Trick or Treaty? follows the journey of Indigenous people in their quest for justice as they seek to establish dialogue with the Canadian government. By tracing the history of their ancestors, they want to raise awareness about the issues that concern them: respect for and protection of their lands and their natural resources, and the right to hunt and fish so that their society can prosper.

Released in 2014, this feature documentary was the first film by an Indigenous filmmaker ever selected to screen in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Masters program. Trick or Treaty? also received the Audience Choice Award at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and the Mark Haslam Award at the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival.

About Alanis Obomsawin

A member of the Abenaki Nation and an Officer of the Order of Canada, Obomsawin is one of Canada’s most distinguished artists. Throughout a legendary career at the NFB spanning more than four decades, she’s directed documentaries that chronicle the lives and concerns of First Nations people and explore issues of importance to all.

Obomsawin has received numerous awards for film and social activism. In 2015 alone, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Valdivia Film Festival in Chile and the Career Achievement Award from Artistes pour la Paix, and was named a Companion of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec. She is currently in production on two upcoming NFB documentaries, Children’s Court Case (2016) and Norway House (2017).

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  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.