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NFB documentary and animation on display at the Edmonton International Film Festival. Courtney Montour’s Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again, Sheona McDonald’s Into Light and Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art showcased at EIFF.

PRESS RELEASE
09/09/2021

September 9, 2021 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Three National Film Board of Canada produced and co-produced short films are being featured at the Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF), with in-person screenings October 1 through 10, and virtual screenings available across Alberta from October 4 at 9 a.m. to October 31 at 9 p.m.

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again by Courtney Montour (34 min)

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again shares the powerful story of Mary Two-Axe Earley, who fought for more than two decades to challenge sex discrimination against First Nations women embedded in Canada’s Indian Act, and became a key figure in Canada’s women’s rights movement. Using never-before-seen archival footage and audio recordings, Mohawk filmmaker Courtney Montour engages in a deeply personal conversation with the late Mohawk woman, who challenged sexist and genocidal government policies that stripped First Nations women and children of their Indian status when they married non-Indian men.

Montour speaks with the late Cree activist Nellie Carlson, Mary’s lifelong friend and co-founder of Indian Rights for Indian Women, and meets with Edmonton’s Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse and her daughter Isabella in Mary’s kitchen in Kahnawà:ke to honour the legacy of a woman who galvanized a national network of allies to help restore Indian status to thousands of First Nations women and children.

Award: Best Director, 2021 Weengushk International Film Festival

Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/mary-two-axe-earley-i-am-indian-again

Into Light by Sheona McDonald (19 min)

When a child reveals who they truly are on the inside, how does a parent set aside their own expectations to help them become their most authentic self? Set against the northern landscape of Yellowknife, Sheona McDonald’s new documentary captures a season of change as a mother and child navigate the complexities of gender identity together.

Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/into-light-short-film

Affairs of the Art by Joanna Quinn and Les Mills (16 min)
Co-produced by Beryl Productions International and NFB

The first co-production between Beryl Productions International and the NFB, Affairs of the Art features Quinn’s signature hand-drawn animation with attitude and Mills’ raucously humorous scenarios, in an endearing romp through one family’s eccentric addictions.

The film comes to Edmonton after a tour of some of the world’s major festivals, garnering distinguished honours: Special Jury Distinction for Direction – Short Film, 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival; Award for Best Animation – International Competition, 2021 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival; Jury Award in the Comedy category, 2021 Aspen Shortsfest; Award for Best Short Film, 2021 Kaboom Animation Festival, Amsterdam.

Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/affairs-of-the-art

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Associated Links

Edmonton International Film Festival
Beryl Productions International

French version here | Version française ici.

Media Relations

  • About the NFB

    The NFB is Canada’s public producer and distributor of award-winning documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories and participatory experiences, working with talented creators across the country. The NFB is taking action to combat systemic racism and become a more open and diverse organization, while working to strengthen Indigenous-led production and gender equity in film and digital media. NFB productions have won more than 7,000 awards, including 12 Oscars. To access this unique content, visit NFB.ca.