A little girl will have to sing to the mythical goddess of water so that this valuable liquid can reach her community.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A stop-motion documentary that describes the artificial mummification (black and red mummies) of the Chinchorro culture, a pre-hispanic society of fishermen and hunter-gatherers who practiced funeral rites with sophisticated techniques for body preservation 7,000 years ago, originating on the Camarones coast of Chile.
In a forgotten community, an artisan girl puts an old K'iche' invocation to the test and summons a curious spirit into our world.
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.
Oral legend of the Amazonian nationality Secoya del Ecuador. Tells the story of Ñañe (the moon) and how it created the world.
Felix gets into trouble with a tribe of Indians out west, and is chased by a bear.
Xóchitl is an indigenous woman who must fight for her freedom before the birth of her baby, since she finds herself trapped in an abusive relationship. She will have to face a town full of prejudices and accomplices of her abuser. However, Xóchitl has the inner strength of her lineage, which will manifest itself in her favor.
Casper the Friendly Ghost helps Little Feather go hunting.
Akateko. La aparición de san Miguel Arcángel
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.
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.