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NFB works by Indigenous creators Ossie Michelin, Jennie Williams, Asinnajaq and Jerry Evans amplify culture and tradition at the Spirit Song Film Showcase. FREE screening includes two in-person premieres by Newfoundland and Labrador directors.

PRESS RELEASE
18/11/2021

November 18, 2021 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Four National Film Board of Canada (NFB) works by Indigenous filmmakers will screen on November 22 in St. John’s at the Spirit Song Film Showcase, in a special evening of Indigenous short cinema. The free event starts at 7:30 p.m., with tickets available through the Arts and Culture Centre.

The Spirit Song Festival is a celebration of Indigenous Arts and Culture that has been running annually in St. John’s since 2013.

From the Labrador Doc Project

The Film Showcase features the Newfoundland and Labrador in-person premieres of two films from the NFB’s Labrador Doc Project, which works with Labrador Inuit filmmakers to create and share stories from Inuit perspectives.

An adventurous seven-year-old boy and his determined mother share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. After generations of silence, the rhythm of the traditional Inuit drum has returned to Labrador, and young Evan is part of the new generation that will keep its heartbeat strong. The first-ever film on Labrador Inuit drum dancing, Evan’s Drum is a joyful visit to a family’s loving home and an uplifting story of cultural pride.

Fun fact: Also appearing in the film is Jennie Williams, director of Nalujuk Night, who is also a drum maker.

Nalujuk Night is an up-close look at an exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, Labrador Inuit tradition. Every January 6, from the dark of the Nunatsiavut night, the Nalujuit appear on the sea ice. They walk on two legs, yet their faces are animalistic, skeletal and otherworldly. Snow crunches underfoot as they approach their destination: the Inuit community of Nain. Rarely witnessed outside of Nunatsiavut, the event is an exciting chance for Inuit, young and old, to prove their courage and come together as a community to celebrate culture and tradition.

Fun fact: Nalujuk Night was named Best Atlantic Short Documentary at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and is making its US premiere at DOC NYC from November 10 to 18.

Named Best Experimental Work at imagineNATIVE 2017, this acclaimed film plunges us into a sublime imaginary universe of luminescent, archive-inspired cinema that recasts the past, present and future of Inuit in a radiant new light. Diving into the NFB’s vast archive, Asinnajaq parses the complicated cinematic representation of Inuit, harvesting fleeting truths and fortuitous accidents from a range of sources, conjuring up a vision of hope and beautiful possibility.

Combining archival photos with new and found footage, Red Ochre presents a personal, impressionistic rendering of what it’s like growing up Mi’kmaq in Newfoundland while living in a culture of denial. The film was produced in 2009 as part of Vistas, a collaborative project between the NFB and APTN featuring 13 short films on Nationhood by Indigenous filmmakers from St. John’s to Vancouver.

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Associated Links

Spirit Song Film Showcase
Animiki See Digital Productions
APTN

French version here | Version française 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.