Cultural Celebrations

A Place Called Mimili

A Place Called Mimili

Directed by Simone Mazengarb
Australia  |  2008  |  14 min

A short documentary which follows a group of school children from Mimli Anangu School in the APY Lands as they prepare to compete in the annual Ernabella Dance Off.  Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) is a large Aboriginal local government area located in the remote north west of South Australia.

A Walk in the Forest

A Walk in the Forest

Directed by Diane Obomsawin
Canada  |  2009  |  3 min

This whimsical animation, reminiscent of NFB classics, follows medicine man Walk-in-the-Forest on a walk in the woods that leads to the discovery of an intriguing secret world.

Button Blanket (NFB)

Button Blanket (NFB)

Directed by Zoe Leigh Hopkins
Canada  |  2009  |  4 min

This impressionist documentary follows the creation of a Button Blanket by integrating the performance of a traditional dance with the art of the West Coast’s Heiltsuk people.

Crossing the Line

Crossing the Line

Directed by Tracey Deer
Canada  |  2009  |  3 min

Crossing the Line turns the politics and conflicts of a playground sandbox into an allegory for the way nations treat one another, where borders seem to do more harm than good.

Dancers of the Grass

Dancers of the Grass

Directed by Melanie Jackson
Canada  |  2009  |  2 min

A stunning display of a stop-motion animation, Dancers of the Grass vividly depicts the majesty of the hoop dance, a tradition symbolizing the unity of all nations.

Little Thunder (NFB)

Little Thunder (NFB)

Directed by Zoe Leigh Hopkins
Canada  |  2009  |  4 min

Inspired by a Mi’kmaq legend, this humorous animation follows Little Thunder as he reluctantly leaves his family and sets out on an exciting cross-country canoe trip.

Never Lose Sight (Nunavut) NFB

Never Lose Sight (Nunavut) NFB

Directed by Sarah McNair-Landry
Canada  |  2009  |  22 min

This short documentary presents the environmental challenges in Nunavut. Beneath the immaculate layer of snow, there are mountains of trash. Iqaluit’s two dumps are filled beyond capacity and the municipality has no plan to solve the problem. Throughout the film, we discover the problems faced by this isolated region and learn just how serious they are. But above all, we hear a call to action from the residents, who don’t want to see the North they love disappear.

Nunavut Animation Lab: Qalupalik

Nunavut Animation Lab: Qalupalik

Directed by Ame Siqiniq Papatsie
Canada  |  2008  |  6 min

Deep in the Arctic Ocean lives Qalupalik – a part-human sea monster that preys on children who do not listen to their parents or elders. That is the fate of Angutii, a young boy who refuses to help out in his family’s camp and who plays by the shoreline… until one day Qalupalik seizes him and drags him away. Angutii’s father, a great hunter, must then embark on a lengthy kayak journey to try and bring his son home. This film recounts this traditional tale using striking stop-motion animation with leather cutouts.

Nunavut Animation Lab: The Bear Fact

Nunavut Animation Lab: The Bear Fact

Directed by Jonathan Wright
Canada  |  2010  |  4 min

A self-important colonial explorer emerges from a sailing ship and plants a flag on the Arctic ice, as a bemused Inuit hunter looks on. Then the explorer plants another, and another, and another, while the hunter, clearly not impressed that his land has been “discovered,” quietly goes about his business.

In this charming and humorous re-imagining of first contact between the Inuit and the European, Jonathan Wright brings us the story of a savvy hunter and the ill-equipped explorer he outwits.