Antigonish International Film Festival
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Photo: Adelaide Strickland
The 13th annual Antigonish International Film Festival on took place on October 25th and 26th. The first night of the festival was hosted at the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, in the Barrick Auditorium, and featured “Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up.”
The film is about a young Cree man named Colton Boushie, who died on August 9, 2016, from a gunshot wound to the head after he entered Gerald Stanley’s rural property with his friends. The jury found Gerald Stanley not guilty of murder. The film, directed by Tasha Hubbard, raises questions of racism in the legal system, and shows Colton’s family fighting for his rights.
Prior to the film, Indigenous women handed out tobacco ties, which are used to show respect to the earth, and are a sign for coming together. A panel of Indigenous women: Kashya Young, Cheyla Rogers, and Tamara Cremo, moderated by Dr. L. Jane McMillan, also preceded the film.
Photo: Adelaide Strickland
The panel discussion centred around themes of the film shown in ‘Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up’. The themes discussed by the three women included land rights, criminal injustice, the legal system, and racism. Tamara Cremo, one of the panelists talked about how being a mother made her look at the film differently by giving her a different perspective, of how Colton’s mother would have felt. Both the panel and the film were very eye-opening.
Following the film, representatives from Breaking the Silence spoke about what their organization was about, and handed out pamphlets about indigenous sovereignty, colonialism, and Canadian mining. The pamphlets gave people insight to how the mining companies in Canada have a huge impact on lands and communities, such as mercury poisoning of local water sources, shootings, slavery, and forced removal of indigenous peoples from their lands.
Photo: Adelaide Strickland
This gave attendees an opportunity to look into the ongoing effects of colonialism on Indigenous peoples in Canada. The discussion was particularly relevant given that the screening took place in the Barrick Auditorium – named for Barrick Gold, a mining company that has caused extreme harm to a number of Indigenous communities.
The second day of the film festival was held at the People’s Place Library. Antigonish Breaking the Silence offered coffee, tea, and sandwiches throughout the day as a fundraiser for the New Hope Foundation school in Guatemala, and Breaking the Silence advocacy work.
The first film shown on Saturday was called “Do You Trust This Computer,” a Japanese/USA film about the new generation of self-learning computers, and how they collect and interpret information about many different parts of our lives, such as jobs and medical histories.
Other Saturday features included:
“Hip Hop-eration,” a New Zealand/ USA film about 30 people travelling to Las Vegas to compete in the World Hip-Hop Dance Championships.
“Brothers,” about two people of very different backgrounds, who speak different languages, both from Antigonish, who become close friends.
“The Southern Right Whale,” which documents the life of the Southern right whales of the Patagonian sea.
“The Radicials: Beyond Boarding,” which explored the social and environmental factors that influenced the love of sport for athletes in snowboarding and surfing.
“RBG Ruth Bader Ginsberg,” about the life and career of a US Supreme Court justice with a spectacular legal legacy.
The six films from around the world were all extremely powerful, and made the 2019 Antigonish International Film Festival a hit. Overall, there was a great turnout for the festival, and many great conversations were had about the films. It was a great experience to get to watch all the films, and learn about different places and cultures.
