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nfb.ca celebrates National Indigenous History Month as part of a diverse selection of online programming in June

PRESS RELEASE
30/05/2023

May 30, 2023 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will be highlighting National Indigenous History Month as part of a wealth of online programming on nfb.ca that celebrates the rich diversity of Canada and key events in June.

The NFB will showcase online premieres of two feature docs filmed in the North: Fritz Mueller’s Voices Across the Water (June 12) and Tanya Tagaq and Chelsea McMullan’s Ever Deadly (June 16). nfb.ca will highlight three channels of Indigenous works, including the debut of a new channel of films from the Wapikoni collective, founded in 2003 with the support of the NFB, which works with francophone Indigenous filmmakers across Quebec.

For Pride Month, nfb.ca will offer a selection of films exploring the multitude of 2SLGBTQI+ realities and experiences in Canada and abroad.

And to mark World Refugee Day, June 20, nfb.ca will showcase a range of films that shed light on the struggles experienced by people who are forced to leave their countries.

In all, nfb.ca now features more than 6,000 online films, as well as a collection of over 100 interactive works.

Starting June 1 | National Indigenous History Month channels

On the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Wapikoni collective, a new Wapikoni Mobile channel at nfb.ca will honour its commitment to raising awareness and informing audiences about Indigenous arts, rights and cultures. Featured in the 15-film collection is Mathieu Vachon’s feature Wapikoni – Encounter in Kitcisakik, accompanying this celebrated studio on wheels as it travels through Indigenous communities, providing production training to youth.

Two other Indigenous channels will also be spotlighted:

  • Transmission of Indigenous Knowledge looks at Indigenous knowledge, practices and traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation since time immemorial. This 18-film collection includes three films by legendary director Alanis Obomsawin, as well as Jennie Williams’ Nalujuk Night, an award-winning glimpse into an exhilarating and sometimes terrifying Nunatsiavut tradition.
  • Indigenous-Made Animation Films is a selection of 22 animated short films made by Inuit, First Nations and Métis filmmakers at the NFB. Highlights include such recent award winners as Terril Calder’s stop-motion Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics and Asinnajaq’s luminous Three Thousand.

Starting June 1 | Pride Month

The NFB is featuring a wide range of stories about identity, family, community and everyday life. The sweeping 42-film 2SLGBTQI+ channel includes such classics as Aerlyn Weissman and Lynne Fernie’s landmark Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives, along with recent award winners like Diane Obomsawin’s animated short I Like Girls and Sheona McDonald’s short doc on a mother and child navigating the complexities of gender identity together, Into Light.

Starting June 12 | Online premiere

  • Featuring Alaskan Tlingit carver Wayne Price and francophone Yukon artist Halin de Repentigny, Fritz Mueller’s Voices Across the Water follows two master boat builders as they practise their art.
  • nfb.ca will also feature a Director’s Note from Mueller about the film, starting June 22.

Starting June 16 | Online premiere

  • Directed by Tanya Tagaq and Chelsea McMullan (Sundance selection My Prairie Home), Ever Deadlyweaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and songs with pain, anger and triumph—all through the expressions of avant-garde Inuk throat singer Tagaq, one of the most innovative musical performers of our time.

June 20 | World Refugee Day

The NFB marks World Refugee Day with 21 powerful documentary and animated works exploring the experiences of people who’ve had to leave their countries because of discrimination, persecution or violence—and then adapt to a new home. Titles include such recent award winners as Michelle Shephard’s The Perfect Story, following the decade-long relationship between a Canadian journalist and a young Somali refugee, and Unspoken Tears (Trauma Through Words), Hélène Magny’s new documentary on how children integrate into school after experiencing the unthinkable.

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French version here | Version en français ici.

Media Relations

  • 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.