M’CHIGEENG—Artistic Director Dr. Shirley Cheechoo CM is pleased to announce programming for the 6th Annual Weengushk International Film Festival (WIFF) taking place this weekend, July 14-16 on Manitoulin Island.
WIFF is an important, not-for-profit, Indigenous-run independent film festival and cultural event featuring award-winning and burgeoning filmmakers and Indigenous leaders in over 50 films from around the world, workshops and musical performances featuring an opening night and a gala awards event.
The 2023 WIFF theme is ‘Celebrating Our Youth—Our Future is Youth,’ celebrating their experiences, journeys and remarkable accomplishments. The festival events informed by this theme, including a 12 Hour Youth Filmmaking Program sponsored by the Canadian Media Producers Association, are inspired by Dr. Cheechoo’s life’s work—dedicated to providing a safe space for youth to learn about their culture, land, language and to find their voice and share their experiences through storytelling.
“There are very few Indigenous film festivals in the world,” said Dr. Cheechoo. “WIFF was created for our films and programs to play a very important role in shaping the public’s patterns of how they view Indigenous people. WIFF brings cinema to the communities and opens our people to see and hear other indigenous voices from Canada and around the world.”
Film highlights from WIFF include: ‘Rose’ by Roxann Whitebean and ‘A Winter Love’ by Rhiana Yazzie, special presentations of Buffy Sainte-Marie: ‘Carry It On’ by Madison Taylor; ‘Rosie’ by writer/director Gail Maurice; documentary feature ‘The Beautiful Scars of Tom Wilson’ by director Shane Belcourt; the stunning short documentary film from New Zealand, ‘Mawhialeo Ote Alowaha,’ by Valeriya Golovina. Other special screenings include an episode of Jennifer Podemski’s acclaimed series ‘Little Bird’ and the world premiere of ‘Vertebrae’ by Travis Shilling starring Gary Farmer; the Canadian premier of ‘The Nature of Healing’ and a question and answer with director Faith Howe and six elders from Six Nation; the documentary ‘La Gente de la Tierra (The People of the Earth)’ with co-director Mitchell Tijerina coming from Columbia.
The three-day festival includes Indigenous and diverse dramatic and documentary shorts and features from Brazil, New Zealand, US, Malaysia, The Netherlands, French Polynesia and Canada. Other highlights, ‘Shkozin,’ written and directed by Indigenous and Black emerging women filmmakers through Weengushk Film Institute’s (WFI) Women in Film Program, broadcast on Rogers, and two short dramatic student films produced through WFI’s Lab 1 program.
Musical performances at WIFF will feature Juno Award winner Murray Porter and Leland Bell, seven-time Native American Music Award winner Keith Secola, the all-star blues band Gary Farmer and The Troublemaker featuring Derek Miller, Keith Secola, Vern Cheechoo and Murray Porter.
WIFF will also include a culture and music exchange with visiting artists Quarantined Quartet woven throughout the festival programming. The Quarantined Quartet has appeared on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show,’ ‘Good Morning America,’ ‘NBC News,’ ABC, CBS, SGN and performed at Lincoln Center.
There will be free Saturday workshops held, a red-carpet gala awards ceremony Sunday with some of the award winners to include Ryan Reynolds, Humanitarian Award, Miss Canada Emma Morrison, Youth Distinction Award, Cultural Districts Award, multi-award-winning singer/songwriter Derek Miller and many more.
Dr. Cheechoo CM is a residential school warrior who was pulled out of a self-destructive path when artist Tom Peltier ba introduced her to the arts. Dr. Cheechoo is the proud recipient of numerous awards both for her own work and for recognition of her profound contributions to arts practice throughout Ontario, including her installment to the Order of Canada.
She was the first person from a First Nation to write, produce, direct and act in a feature length dramatic film in Canada, ‘Bearwalker,’ for which she won the Best Director Award at the first Reelworld Film Festival in 2000, and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. As the founder and artistic director of Weengushk Film Institute, Dr. Cheechoo is an accomplished and awarding-winning artist, actor and filmmaker and has been working in the Indigenous community for over 30 years.
WFI is a centre for capacity building in the audio-visual arts for aspiring Indigenous and diverse artisans and filmmakers through the provision of education, training, and their creative journey to promote cultural, ethnic, and artistic vitality.
The full WIFF program and ticket information is available at www.weengushkfilmfestival.ca.
