If you do not have a particular film or filmmaker in mind, but are interested in Indigenous filmmaking, one way to get started is to look for books, articles, and other resources about Indigenous films and filmmakers. Check out the examples below, or see the Books & Media tab in this research guide for more ideas.
UBC Media Bookings
X̱wi7x̱wa Library offers Media Bookings. This is a service that allows a borrower to request that a specific VHS or DVD be available for a specific date in the future. Faculty and students are welcome to request Media Bookings for classroom lectures or presentations.
To book a film, or book media for classroom use, please see our Book a Film page.
Xwi7xwa Library Guide
Featured Indigenous Filmmakers
There are some incredible Indigenous directors, writers, and filmmakers currently working to create truly transformative new media. Some of our favourites include:
- Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers (Kainai and Sámi)
- Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuit)
- Thirza Cuthand (Plains Cree)
- Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk)
- Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe)
- Adam Garnet Jones (Cree/Métis)
- Zacharias Kunuk (Inuit)
- Taika Waititi (Māori)
Finding Films by Indigenous Filmmakers
Search for Indigenous filmmakers or their films in the UBC Library Catalogue
To find a specific film you would like to view, enter title keywords or phrases AND video?
Example:
wabanaki AND video?
"writing the land" AND video?
To find a director's films held at UBC Library, enter the director's name AND Video?
Example:
Obomsawin AND video?
Search for Indigenous filmmakers or their films in Summon
Enter keyword(s) combining the director's last name AND words from the title.
Example:
Search: Jackson AND "residential school"
Select Content Type: Video Recording (You may need to select "More" for video recording as an option. If so, check the "Include" box in front of "Video Recording")
Exploring the World of Indigenous Filmmaking
- Aboriginal Voice: The National Film Board and Aboriginal Filmmaking Throughout the Years (NFB)National Film Board (NFB) playlist, curated by Métis writer and director Gil Cardinal.
- Filmmakers (8th Fire)List of Indigenous filmmakers in Canada.
- New Generation of Indigenous Filmmakers (CBC)"This roundup of directors reflects a diversity in age, experience level and regions from around the country — and it's a great jumping-off point for those interested in learning more about contemporary Indigenous filmmaking in Canada." Article by Tina Hassannia (June 2017).
- Selectors (Native American Film + Video Festival)Check out past selectors for the Native American Film + Video Festival (a project of the Museum of the American Indian from 1979-2011).
- Storytellers in Motion [DVD]Three season series about Indigenous filmmakers.
- Visualities: Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art [book]"In recent years, works by American Indian artists and filmmakers such as Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Edgar Heap of Birds, Sherman Alexie, Shelley Niro, and Chris Eyre have illustrated the importance of visual culture as a means to mediate identity in contemporary Native America. This collection of essays explores how identity is created and communicated through Native film-, video-, and art-making; what role these practices play in contemporary cultural revitalization; and how Indigenous creators revisit media pasts and resignify dominant discourses through their work."
- “Introduction to Native American/Indigenous Film.” [article]"What is Native American or Indigenous cinema? Such a seemingly simple question opens a myriad of answers and possibilities. Embedded into its naming are the politics of Indigeneity; the global scope of Indigenous film; the continuum of reference for what constitutes Indigenous film and Indigenous/Native filmmakers; [and more]."
- Wapikoni MobileWapikoni Mobile is a non-profit organization based in Montreal, Québec, Canada that hosts educational workshops and film screenings to raise awareness and educate the wider public about Indigenous cultures, issues and rights.
Featured Article
A conversation with Lisa Jackson, Helen Haig Brown and Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers, with some thoughts to frame the conversation.
Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers (2016). Biography, 39(3).
This article presents a conversation between three Indigenous filmmakers, Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers (Blackfoot, Sámi), Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe), and Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in), along with a preamble and concluding thoughts from Tailfeathers. In the conversation, the filmmakers discuss the process and motivations of and responses to their (auto)biographical films, Bihttoš, Suckerfish, Su Naa, and My Legacy.
Read the article through the UBC Library here.