As part of Canada’s commitment to advance the rights of Indigenous peoples around the world through its bilateral, multilateral and regional collaboration, the Canadian Embassy in Mexico partnered with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE) to offer a trilateral film showcase on Indigenous peoples in North America. The initiative seeks to pay tribute to and amplify the voices of Indigenous rights advocates in Canada, the United States and Mexico, as well as strengthen regional collaboration and cooperation on Indigenous affairs by fostering exchanges on cultural, socioeconomic and political issues.
One with the whale
Jim Wickens, Peter J. Chelkowski
United states, 2023
90 min
Hunting whales is a matter of life or death for the residents of St. Lawrence, a tiny island in the Bering Sea. So, when Chris Agra Apassingok becomes the youngest person to ever harpoon a whale for his Alaskan village, his mother proudly shares the news on Facebook. To her surprise, thousands of keyboard activists brutally attack Chris without fully understanding the scope of his accomplishment.
One with the whale is a thrilling yet heartwarming story of one family’s struggle to rebuild their shattered identities and find a way to live with Ancient Indigenous values in the fast-paced, cruel modern world.
Mi no lugar
Isis Ahumada Monroy
Mexico, 2022
75 min
Mi no lugar is a journey through uprooting, which takes Jonathan as a passenger through foreign places. He is a boy who migrates from Guerrero to Colima, guided by the illusion of his laborer parents, who encourage him to study high school and to be reunited with them. However, the barriers of inequality make Jonathan join the fiery cycle of the harvest, and with it he travels through the landscapes of exploitation.
Huachinango Rojo (Behua Xiña’)
Cinthya Lizbeth Toledo Cabrera
Mexico, 2023
30 min
In the Zapotec communities of the Isthmus of Oaxaca there is a tradition as festive as it is mournful: a young woman is stolen by her boyfriend, they spend the night together and the next morning the older women check that the sheet where they laid has a red stain on it. If the young woman stained the sheet she is worthy of respect and provokes the dance and the party. If she did not stain it, the young man who abducted her deserves mockery and humiliation, and an unhappy marriage is predicted.
The Road Forward
Marie Clements
Canada, 2017
100 min
The Road Forward, a musical documentary by Marie Clements, connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. The Road Forward’s stunningly shot musical sequences, performed by an ensemble of some of Canada’s finest vocalists and musicians, seamlessly connect past and present with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats. A rousing tribute to the fighters for First Nations rights, a soul-resounding historical experience, and a visceral call to action.
This documentary will be shown in the framework of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, commemorated in Canada on September 30. The day honors the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process in Canada.
