Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes)

An epic action-fantasy drama rooted in the soul of Cagayan, Philippines. Hawil, a warrior consumed by guilt after killing his own brother, embarks on a harrowing journey in search of redemption. Along the way, he confronts ancient forces, painful truths, and monsters... both real and internal that threaten to break him. Hawil learns that healing comes not from forgetting the past, but in accountability, self-forgiveness, and transformation.

Traditional Northwestern Indigenous spiritual images combined with cutting-edge computer animation in this surreal short film about the power of tradition. Three urban Indigenous teens are whisked away to an imaginary land by a magical raven, and there they encounter a totem pole. The totem pole's characters—a raven, a frog and a bear—come to life, becoming their teachers, guides and friends. Features a special interview with J. Bradley Hunt, the celebrated Heiltsuk artist on whose work the characters in Totem Talk are based.

This animated short, inspired by the Mi'kmaq legend "The Stone Canoe" explores Indigenous humour. We follow Little Thunder as he reluctantly leaves his family and sets out on a cross-country canoe trip to become a man.

The big bad cats are the villains/Indians, and the little mice are the settlers going west in their little covered wagons, and the Indians are on a rampage about it. Things look dark indeed for the settlers when the likes of Buffalo Bill, General Custer and Daniel Boone are unable to defeat the attacking cats but...wait...up in the sky...here comes the singing, flying mouse...Mighty Mouse. Not recommended for Revisionists.

The Mapuche tribe asks their Gods for help in difficult situations, including illness and drought. When the Spanish conquerers on their horses invade their country, the indigenous people think that they are aliens. The Spaniards capture and enslave many of the Mapuche tribe. Lautaro, a young captured native, realizes that these aliens are human beings without any divine power. He learns to use their weapons and organizes a resistance movement against the intruders.

As a young fisherman cruises along a rugged shoreline, a tiny mouse in Haida regalia appears and starts to knit a blanket. A story unfolds on the blanket as it grows longer, illustrating the ancient tale of Haida master sea hunter Naa-Naa-Simgat and his beloved, Kuuga Kuns. When a SGaana (the Haida word for “killer whale”) captures the hunter and drags him down into a supernatural world, the courageous Kuuga Kuns sets off to save him. Will the lovers manage to escape the undersea Mountain of SGaana, or will they, too, become part of the Haida spirit world forever?

At Archer’s Aunty Gladys’ funeral, he hears a tap on the window — it’s a bear named Jesus, who has come for Archer’s mom. “A Bear Named Jesus” is an allegory for religious interference, with an aching yet humorous look at estrangement and mourning for the loss of someone still living.

Oral legend of the Amazonian nationality Secoya del Ecuador. Tells the story of Ñañe (the moon) and how it created the world.

In a forgotten community, an artisan girl puts an old K'iche' invocation to the test and summons a curious spirit into our world.

Based on the shamanic rituals in Mongolia and Siberia, this is a testament to the need to reclaim the ideas of animism for planetary health and non-human materialities.

Felix gets into trouble with a tribe of Indians out west, and is chased by a bear.

A 12-year-old Congolese girl is taken to the mfinda, a primordial forest teeming with spirits, gods and ancestors. There she meets up with another young girl from a different time and together they set out to find the magical Nkisi, vessels that hold ancestral spirits as well as empowering materials or medicines, that will help her find her way home.

Taqralik Partridge asks what if every language that had been lost to English — every word, every syllable — grew up out of the ground in flowers? Taqralik’s grandmother’s Scottish Gaelic and her father’s Inuktitut unfold in memories of her family, of pain, and of love.

Combining figurative abstraction with magic realism, this animated short depicts a world in which whales fall out of the sky and fish turn into balloons. It is a black and white evocation of the real world, transformed by the director's special sense of whimsy. With bold lines reminiscent of the stark simplicity of Inuit art, this cautionary tale is a reminder of the interconnectedness of all things. We are all affected by the fate of the Arctic, which each year is disappearing a little farther into the ocean.

Picchu is a story that follows the journey of an Andean girl named Mayu and the unconditional support of her mother. The path will not be simple. Mayu will rely on her determination and her mother's teachings to overcome her fears and doubts to fulfill her destiny. Picchu reflects the reality of many children around the world.

Toronto’s town square is flooded. The city’s infrastructure has merged with local flora. In this radically different future, people have found a connection to the past.

Marina is a girl who discovers the legends and traditions of her ancestors on a magical journey through the nature that surrounds her and takes her to Shark Island. Short film spoken in the Comcáac language.

A little girl will have to sing to the mythical goddess of water so that this valuable liquid can reach her community.

An unapologetic confrontation of cultural appropriation and everything that’s wrong with hipsters in headdresses. The takeaway? Just don't do it.

February Sixteenth Nineteen Forty-Seven