June is National Indigenous History Month, and there’s no better time to enjoy some Indigenous-made entertainment.
Check out these recommendations of some of the top movies from a new generation of Indigenous filmmakers and actors who tell their own stories — their way.
Read More: Et Canada Honours National Day Of Truth And Reconciliation With ‘Indigenous Artists & Icons’
“Atanarjuat the Fast Runner”
Directed by by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, this 2001 drama was the first feature film in history to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language.
According to Kunuk, this screen adaptation of an ancient Inuit legend “demystifies the exotic, otherwordly aboriginal stereotype by telling a universal story.”
“Before Tomorrow”
Adapted from a Danish novel, this 2008 feature from directors Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu is the first feature film to be made by Arnait Video Productions, a women’s Inuit film collective.
Set in a small Inuit...
Check out these recommendations of some of the top movies from a new generation of Indigenous filmmakers and actors who tell their own stories — their way.
Read More: Et Canada Honours National Day Of Truth And Reconciliation With ‘Indigenous Artists & Icons’
“Atanarjuat the Fast Runner”
Directed by by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, this 2001 drama was the first feature film in history to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language.
According to Kunuk, this screen adaptation of an ancient Inuit legend “demystifies the exotic, otherwordly aboriginal stereotype by telling a universal story.”
“Before Tomorrow”
Adapted from a Danish novel, this 2008 feature from directors Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu is the first feature film to be made by Arnait Video Productions, a women’s Inuit film collective.
Set in a small Inuit...
- 6/2/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe Academy has released its shortlist of nominees for nine categories, including Best Foreign-Language Film, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Original Score. Let the speculating, predicting, and betting begin! The latest issue of short story journal Zoetrope features a cover by guest designer David Lynch. His artist bio: "Born Missoula, Montana. Eagle Scout." Recommended VIEWINGThe USC Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive has uncovered and identified a 1898 silent film entitled Something Good—Negro Kiss, including possibly the earliest known depiction of "affection between a Black couple." The splendid U.S. trailer of Jean-Luc Godard's fierce new film, The Image Book, courtesy of Kino Lorber.Annapurna Pictures's first trailer for Richard Linklater's Where'd You Go, Bernadette contains quirky family fun, suburban dinner parties, and a fair share of criminal hijinks. Recommended READINGAlongside the overabundance of streaming services,...
- 12/19/2018
- MUBI
Rectify star Aden Young has landed on Angelique's Isle.
Young will play the villain Cyrus Mendenhall in the indie survival tale set during the Lake Superior copper rush of 1845. He is also currently starring in the six-part TV drama The Disappearance from NBC Universal International Studios, Productions Casablanca and Bell Media.
Twilight's Julia Jones, Charlie Carrick, Tantoo Cardinal and Stephen McHattie are also starring in Angelique's Isle, a feature co-directed by Michelle Derosier and Marie-Helene Cousineau. The movie, currently shooting in Thunder Bay, Ontario, is based on the novella, Angelique Abandoned, by James R. Stevens.
The big screen adaptation, penned by...
Young will play the villain Cyrus Mendenhall in the indie survival tale set during the Lake Superior copper rush of 1845. He is also currently starring in the six-part TV drama The Disappearance from NBC Universal International Studios, Productions Casablanca and Bell Media.
Twilight's Julia Jones, Charlie Carrick, Tantoo Cardinal and Stephen McHattie are also starring in Angelique's Isle, a feature co-directed by Michelle Derosier and Marie-Helene Cousineau. The movie, currently shooting in Thunder Bay, Ontario, is based on the novella, Angelique Abandoned, by James R. Stevens.
The big screen adaptation, penned by...
- 6/7/2017
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Indigenous-led film takes place during the Lake Superior copper rush of 1845.
Circle Blue Media, Thunderstone Pictures, and Freddie Films have announced that principal photography commenced on May 29 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Angelique’s Isle, from Canadian directors Michelle Derosier and Marie-Helene Cousineau, is based on the novella Angelique Abandoned by James R. Stevens.
The film written by Derosier centres on Angelique, a young Anishinaabe woman who embarks on a journey with her voyageur husband Charlie, despite the warnings of her grandmother, Green Thunderbird.
When they are abandoned on a deserted island before a harsh winter, Angelique finds her faith tested as she fights starvation, the elements and a treacherous Lake Superior.
Julia Jones stars in the title role alongside Charlie Carrick on the film slated to be released next summer.
The film was funded through the new CBC Breaking Barriers Film Fund, which was launched last year in support of underrepresented Canadian creators. The project...
Circle Blue Media, Thunderstone Pictures, and Freddie Films have announced that principal photography commenced on May 29 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Angelique’s Isle, from Canadian directors Michelle Derosier and Marie-Helene Cousineau, is based on the novella Angelique Abandoned by James R. Stevens.
The film written by Derosier centres on Angelique, a young Anishinaabe woman who embarks on a journey with her voyageur husband Charlie, despite the warnings of her grandmother, Green Thunderbird.
When they are abandoned on a deserted island before a harsh winter, Angelique finds her faith tested as she fights starvation, the elements and a treacherous Lake Superior.
Julia Jones stars in the title role alongside Charlie Carrick on the film slated to be released next summer.
The film was funded through the new CBC Breaking Barriers Film Fund, which was launched last year in support of underrepresented Canadian creators. The project...
- 5/31/2017
- ScreenDaily
Life in Canada's frigid Arctic climate isn't easy. Aside from the bone-chilling temperatures, the high-priced food and the isolated environment, it's also tough to maintain a family's balance, especially when a dark history is involved.
(Check out the full-sized poster)
In the Canadian drama "Uvanga," co-directed by Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, main character Anna (Marianne Farley) is nervous when she and her son, Tomas (Lukasi Forrest), arrive in the small, close-knit community of Igloolik in the Canadian Arctic.
Anna had a short-lived affair with Tomas' Inuk father when she worked in Igloolik. But Tomas, now 14 years old, was born and raised in his mother's native city of Montreal and never knew much about his origins. Tomas is bright, strong, and curious about his father's culture, but his father is no longer around to show him the way.
For Tomas' mother and Inuit family, the joy of his homecoming...
(Check out the full-sized poster)
In the Canadian drama "Uvanga," co-directed by Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, main character Anna (Marianne Farley) is nervous when she and her son, Tomas (Lukasi Forrest), arrive in the small, close-knit community of Igloolik in the Canadian Arctic.
Anna had a short-lived affair with Tomas' Inuk father when she worked in Igloolik. But Tomas, now 14 years old, was born and raised in his mother's native city of Montreal and never knew much about his origins. Tomas is bright, strong, and curious about his father's culture, but his father is no longer around to show him the way.
For Tomas' mother and Inuit family, the joy of his homecoming...
- 1/20/2014
- by Chris Jancelewicz
- Moviefone
Yesterday, the Genie Awards, Canada's equivalent of the Oscars for those who don't know, were handed out. This year, Polytechnique dominated the Genie Awards and even took the award for Best Motion Picture. However, the presentation of the award on TV and on webcast was too short. Besides, it wasn't a live presentation and not all the awards were shows on TV/webcast. Second Besides: When will a TV network (and not some cable network that few Canadians have) broadcast the Genie Awards? Anyway, without further ado, here's the presentation of the winners.
1. Best Motion Picture
* 3 saisons.
* Before Tomorrow.
* Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* [Winner] Polytechnique.
2. Achievement in Direction:
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu for Before Tomorrow.
* Kari Skogland - Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Charles Officer - Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* [Winner] Denis Villeneuve - Polytechnique.
* Bruce McDonald - Pontypool.
3. Best Original Screenplay:
* Atom Egoyan - Adoration.
* Émile Gaudreault and Ian Lauzon - De père en flic...
1. Best Motion Picture
* 3 saisons.
* Before Tomorrow.
* Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* [Winner] Polytechnique.
2. Achievement in Direction:
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu for Before Tomorrow.
* Kari Skogland - Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Charles Officer - Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* [Winner] Denis Villeneuve - Polytechnique.
* Bruce McDonald - Pontypool.
3. Best Original Screenplay:
* Atom Egoyan - Adoration.
* Émile Gaudreault and Ian Lauzon - De père en flic...
- 4/13/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Yesterday, the Jutra Awards, Quebec's Oscars, were presented. I personally didn't have the time to watch it, because I was finishing some research papers. However, here's the list of winners for this year's Jutra Awards.
Best feature film:
* 1981.
* Dédé, à travers les brumes.
* [Winner] J'ai tué ma mère.
* Polytechnique.
* Le jour avant le lendemain (Before Tomorrow).
Best director:
* Ricardo Trogi for 1981.
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau et Madeline Piujuq for Before Tomorrow.
* Jean-Philippe Duval for Dédé à travers les brumes.
* Xavier Dolan for J’ai tué ma mère.
* [Winner] Denis Villeneuve for Polytechnique.
Best actress:
* Céline Bonnier in Je me souviens.
* Marie-Thérèse Fortin in Les grandes chaleurs.
* Élise Guilbault in La Donation.
* [Winner] Anne Dorval in J’ai tué ma mère.
* Isabelle Guérard in Détour.
Best actor:
* Jean-Carl Boucher in 1981.
* Michel Côté in De Père en flic.
* Normand D’Amour in 5150, rue des Ormes.
* Xavier Dolan in J’ai tué ma mère.
* [Winner] Sébastien Ricard in Dédé à travers les brumes.
Best feature film:
* 1981.
* Dédé, à travers les brumes.
* [Winner] J'ai tué ma mère.
* Polytechnique.
* Le jour avant le lendemain (Before Tomorrow).
Best director:
* Ricardo Trogi for 1981.
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau et Madeline Piujuq for Before Tomorrow.
* Jean-Philippe Duval for Dédé à travers les brumes.
* Xavier Dolan for J’ai tué ma mère.
* [Winner] Denis Villeneuve for Polytechnique.
Best actress:
* Céline Bonnier in Je me souviens.
* Marie-Thérèse Fortin in Les grandes chaleurs.
* Élise Guilbault in La Donation.
* [Winner] Anne Dorval in J’ai tué ma mère.
* Isabelle Guérard in Détour.
Best actor:
* Jean-Carl Boucher in 1981.
* Michel Côté in De Père en flic.
* Normand D’Amour in 5150, rue des Ormes.
* Xavier Dolan in J’ai tué ma mère.
* [Winner] Sébastien Ricard in Dédé à travers les brumes.
- 3/29/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Maxim Gaudette in Polytechnique (top); Jim Sturgess in Fifty Dead Men Walking (middle); Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, Paul-Dylan Ivalu in Before Tomorrow (bottom) The top Genie 2010 nominees were announced by Away from Her star Gordon Pinsent and Sundance 2010 Special Jury Prize winner Tatiana Maslany. They are Denis Villeneuve’s Polytechnique (11 nominations), Charles Officer’s Nurse.Fighter.Boy (ten nominations), Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu’s Before Tomorrow (nine), Patrice Sauvé’s Grande Ourse: La clé des possibles / The Master Key (eight), and Kari Skogland’s Fifty Dead Men Walking (seven). With the exception of The Master Key, all of the aforementioned titles are in the running for Best Film. "I’m an emotional guy," Charles Officer explained after whoops [...]...
- 3/3/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
This morning, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (Acct) had announced the nominees for the 30th Genie Awards. For those who don't know, this is the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars. This year, the leader in the race is Polytechnique with 11 nominations. Moreover, the winners will be announced on April 12, 2010.
1. Best Motion Picture
* 3 saisons.
* Before Tomorrow.
* Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* Polytechnique.
2. Achievement in Direction:
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu for Before Tomorrow.
* Kari Skogland - Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Charles Officer - Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* Denis Villeneuve - Polytechnique.
* Bruce McDonald - Pontypool.
3. Best Original Screenplay:
* Atom Egoyan - Adoration.
* Émile Gaudreault and Ian Lauzon - De père en flic (Father and Guns).
* Charles Officer and Ingrid Veninger - Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* Jacques Davidts - Polytechnique.
* David Bezmozgis - Victoria Day.
4. Best Adapted Screenplay:
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Susan Avingaq and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu - Before Tomorrow.
* Kari Skogland - Fifty Dead Men Walking.
1. Best Motion Picture
* 3 saisons.
* Before Tomorrow.
* Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* Polytechnique.
2. Achievement in Direction:
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu for Before Tomorrow.
* Kari Skogland - Fifty Dead Men Walking.
* Charles Officer - Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* Denis Villeneuve - Polytechnique.
* Bruce McDonald - Pontypool.
3. Best Original Screenplay:
* Atom Egoyan - Adoration.
* Émile Gaudreault and Ian Lauzon - De père en flic (Father and Guns).
* Charles Officer and Ingrid Veninger - Nurse.Fighter.Boy.
* Jacques Davidts - Polytechnique.
* David Bezmozgis - Victoria Day.
4. Best Adapted Screenplay:
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Susan Avingaq and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu - Before Tomorrow.
* Kari Skogland - Fifty Dead Men Walking.
- 3/1/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Toronto -- "Polytechnique," A French-language movie that relives a 1989 Montreal college massacre of 14 women by a crazed gunman on Monday led all comers as nominations for the Genies, Canada's film awards, were announced in Toronto.
With boxoffice-performing Quebec films yet again overshadowing the Genies, Denis Villeneuve's "Polytechnique" earned 11 nominations, including best picture.
Close behind was Charles Officer's "Nurse.Fighter.Boy," an urban story of a single mother and her son, that pulled in 10 nominations .
And the Inuit-language drama "Before Tomorrow," by Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, earned nine nominations.
Also competing in the best film category is Kari Skogland's "Fifty Dead Men Walking," which earned 7 nominations, and Jim Donovan's "3 Saisons."
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is to hand out Genie awards in Toronto on April 12.
With boxoffice-performing Quebec films yet again overshadowing the Genies, Denis Villeneuve's "Polytechnique" earned 11 nominations, including best picture.
Close behind was Charles Officer's "Nurse.Fighter.Boy," an urban story of a single mother and her son, that pulled in 10 nominations .
And the Inuit-language drama "Before Tomorrow," by Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, earned nine nominations.
Also competing in the best film category is Kari Skogland's "Fifty Dead Men Walking," which earned 7 nominations, and Jim Donovan's "3 Saisons."
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is to hand out Genie awards in Toronto on April 12.
- 3/1/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This afternoon, the nominees for the Jutra Award, Quebec's own Oscars, were announced. Unlike last year, there are two new things that we should expect to see. The first one being that the jury will be formed by 18 people. Secondly, all members of the jury have seen the films that are nominated. Besides, the host of evening will be Patrice L'Écuyer and the ceremony will take place at La Tohu on March 28. Also note that the Jutra Award will be broadcasted live on Radio-Canada. Anyway, the following is the list of nominees.
Best feature film:
* 1981.
* Dédé, à travers les brumes.
* J'ai tué ma mère.
* Polytechnique.
* Le jour avant le lendemain (Before Tomorrow).
Best director:
* Ricardo Trogi for 1981
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau et Madeline Piujuq for Before Tomorrow.
* Jean-Philippe Duval for Dédé à travers les brumes.
* Xavier Dolan for J’ai tué ma mère.
* Denis Villeneuve for Polytechnique.
Best actress:
* Céline Bonnier in Je me souviens.
Best feature film:
* 1981.
* Dédé, à travers les brumes.
* J'ai tué ma mère.
* Polytechnique.
* Le jour avant le lendemain (Before Tomorrow).
Best director:
* Ricardo Trogi for 1981
* Marie-Hélène Cousineau et Madeline Piujuq for Before Tomorrow.
* Jean-Philippe Duval for Dédé à travers les brumes.
* Xavier Dolan for J’ai tué ma mère.
* Denis Villeneuve for Polytechnique.
Best actress:
* Céline Bonnier in Je me souviens.
- 2/17/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Being with Inuit who are experts in living in that environment and learning from them, adapting to their pace and their rhythm, letting the work be influenced by that, accepting that and finding the aesthetic of that relationship to nature, is a great pleasure, a challenge, a learning experience and it is very rewarding. - Before Tomorrow is a stunning and powerful drama set in an Inuit community in 1840 in the Arctic circle, a time when many Inuit had yet to meet white people, and thus maintained their traditional way of life. Based on the novel For Morgendagen by Danish writer Jørn Riel, Ninguiq (co-director Madeline Piujuq Ivalu) and her young grandson Maniq (Paul-Dylan Ivalu) set out to brave the harsh Arctic wilderness to hunt and save food for the upcoming winter. But contact with the outside world brings irrevocable damage to the community, and jeopardizes the future of Ningiuq,...
- 12/13/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
One of the most intriguing films of the year. A film that says a lot by saying little Marie-Hélène Cousineau.s and Madeline Ivalu.s slice of life of a small band of Inuit people in extreme northern Canada may well be one of the most subtle, and misunderstood, films of the year. When viewed by Inuits and other .native. people with knowledge of those first meetings with Europeans two hundred years ago the reaction will be .so, what else is new.. When viewed by average audiences in developed countries the reaction will be .what is this all about?. At first glance the movie is a story about a few months in the several thousand year history of a remote native...
- 12/10/2009
- by Ron Wilkinson
- Monsters and Critics
Jason Reitman’s “Up In The Air,” Jim Sheridan’s “Brothers,” Michael Hoffman’s “The Last Station,” Cheryl Hines’ “Serious Moonlight,” Kirk Jones’ “Everybody’s Fine” and Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu’s “Before Tomorrow” mark December 2009’s first five releases, an eclectic group that features some considerable Oscar contenders and an impressive bevy of star power. indieWIRE’s new criticWIRE, which features hundreds of grades for new and recent films from dozens of film critics and …...
- 12/4/2009
- Indiewire
Billed as the third part of a trilogy that began with Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn’s Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner and continued with their The Journals Of Knud Rasmussen, the melancholy drama Before Tomorrow features a different writer-director team, but has a look and mood similar to the earlier films. Co-directors Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (working from a novel by Jørn Riel) follow an Inuit tribe in 1840 as they go about their seasonal rituals of celebration, fishing, and storage, all while whispering among themselves about the strange ways of the white folks that ...
- 12/3/2009
- avclub.com
This week's slate gathers together so many big name stars in one place you'd think it was Oscar night already.
Download this in audio form (MP3: 15:48 minutes, 14.5 Mb)
Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Across The Hall"
A stripped-down neo-noir with a twist, this feature debut for filmmaker Alex Merkin began as a 2005 short (starring Adrian Grenier, which can be found online here). Grenier didn't return, but Mike Vogel takes his place as Julian, a young man who races to a seedy hotel where his best friend's wayward fiancée (Brittany Murphy) and another man have aroused the suspicions of his pal, who's holed up "across the hall" with a bottle of whiskey and a gun.
Opens in New York and Los Angeles.
"Armored"
Having garnered a great deal of attention with his grungy murder mystery debut "Kontroll," American-born Hungarian helmer Nimród Antal first made his mark in Hollywood...
Download this in audio form (MP3: 15:48 minutes, 14.5 Mb)
Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Across The Hall"
A stripped-down neo-noir with a twist, this feature debut for filmmaker Alex Merkin began as a 2005 short (starring Adrian Grenier, which can be found online here). Grenier didn't return, but Mike Vogel takes his place as Julian, a young man who races to a seedy hotel where his best friend's wayward fiancée (Brittany Murphy) and another man have aroused the suspicions of his pal, who's holed up "across the hall" with a bottle of whiskey and a gun.
Opens in New York and Los Angeles.
"Armored"
Having garnered a great deal of attention with his grungy murder mystery debut "Kontroll," American-born Hungarian helmer Nimród Antal first made his mark in Hollywood...
- 11/30/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
Alliance Films/ Igloolik Isuma Productions
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: C
Directed by: Marie-Helene Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
Written By: Marie-Helene Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, Susan Avingaq from Jorn Riel.s novel .For Morgendagen.
Cast: Paul-Dylan Ivalu, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
Screened at: Critics. DVD, NYC, 11/13/09
Opens: December 2, 2009
In viewing .Before Tomorrow,. whose spare and simple dialogue is spoken in the Inuktitut language, one cannot help thinking of those fanboy comments on Rotten Tomatoes that snipe at some critics for liking art films that boggle the mind with their boredom. .Before Tomorrow. is one of those works that might fight into that category of watching paint dry, a look in 1840 at a remote, Arctic region in Canada that was the home of Innu people.known as Eskimos before the days of political correctness. No doubt the picture would find a home with anthropologists or schoolchildren learning about people...
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: C
Directed by: Marie-Helene Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
Written By: Marie-Helene Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, Susan Avingaq from Jorn Riel.s novel .For Morgendagen.
Cast: Paul-Dylan Ivalu, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
Screened at: Critics. DVD, NYC, 11/13/09
Opens: December 2, 2009
In viewing .Before Tomorrow,. whose spare and simple dialogue is spoken in the Inuktitut language, one cannot help thinking of those fanboy comments on Rotten Tomatoes that snipe at some critics for liking art films that boggle the mind with their boredom. .Before Tomorrow. is one of those works that might fight into that category of watching paint dry, a look in 1840 at a remote, Arctic region in Canada that was the home of Innu people.known as Eskimos before the days of political correctness. No doubt the picture would find a home with anthropologists or schoolchildren learning about people...
- 11/14/2009
- Arizona Reporter
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