Autochtonie des Amériques

Bookings open on 18 August!

The Canadian Cultural Centre invites you to discover “Autochtonie des Amériques”, a program of short films showcasing the richness and diversity of cinematic creations from indigenous communities across the American continent.

“Autochtonie des Amériques” reflects the diversity of histories, traditions and art forms, and aims to contribute to greater recognition of indigenous voices in the international film and cultural landscape.

This program, presented at the 43rd edition of the Festival International du Film sur l’Art de Montréal (FIFA), is developed by FIFA in collaboration with the Fotogenia Festival (Mexico), Dart (Chile) and ARCA International Festival of Films on Arts (Uruguay). For 43 years, FIFA has been dedicated to the promotion and international influence of film on art and media arts in Canada.

This event is part of FIFA’s fall international tour, which includes stops at Singapore’s National Gallery, Barcelona’s Fondation de la Caixa, Venice’s Palazzo Grassi and the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris.

In the presence of Mercedes Sader, co-creator of this program and director of the ARCA festival in Uruguay, and Andreina Aveledo, programmer at the Festival international du film sur l’art de Montréal.

Line up ( length :  70 minutes ) :

• Mobilize by Caroline Monnet – 2015, Canada, 3′

This short film, crafted entirely out of NFB archival footage by First Nations filmmaker Caroline Monnet, takes us on an exhilarating journey from the Far North to the urban South, capturing the perpetual negotiation between the traditional and the modern by a people moving ever forward.

• Tahnaanooku’ by Justin Deegan – 2024, USA, 6′

Tahnaanooku’ is a visually captivating and soulful work of art. It tells a powerful story of Indigenous history, identity, and connection with the Missouri River, the earth, fire, and animals.

• Hïkt Nähs Vhïn(Earth) by Irais Fernàndez – 2018, Mexico, 3′

Hïkt nähs vhïn is a short film that reflects the relationship between a community and the land (the mother), and how this transforms with the arrival of strange beings.

• Ajá (Water) by Dennis Lòpez – 2023, Mexico 5′

Ajá in Oaxaca’s chontal language means water. This essay makes an exploration and reinterpretation of the chontal people’s mystic ceremony of rain pleading.

• Interior da terra by Bianca Dacosta  – 2022, Brazil, 17′

Interior da terra is like an exploration from the sky to the depths of the forest. It is a journey that leads to the crossing of strata towards the interior of the ground. It demonstrates the profound political issues in a historical and current narrative about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous people.

• Uvi isipò by Arra Hué – 2024, Uruguay, 19′

Uví isipó is a poem, a prayer, written by Arra Hué in an Indigenous language from the South of the world. It was published on April 11, the date when General Rivera, in 1831, carried out the Salsipuedes massacre against these peoples. Arra Hué writes this text to bring to life the words and worldview of a people who are still fighting today for recognition. Uruguay is, in fact, one of only two countries on the American continent that does not acknowledge the existence of Indigenous peoples.

• Tray tray KO by Seba Calfuqueo – 2022, Chili, 6´

The work is centered on the idea of the trayenko (waterfall) in the Mapuche world view. The trayenko is a vital and sacred space to many of the Mapuche people’s practices; the flow of the water, especially of the trayenko, is of utmost importance and is linked to the lawen–medicinal herbs that grow near water bodies. In the performance, the work proposes to reflect on the body within the immensity of nature.

• Tralkan Küra/​Piedra Trueno by Francisco Huichaqueo – 2023,Chili, 10′

Stones can have a practical life in the form of an axe, a mallet, a mortar, but they also have other mysterious lives.