Alanis Obomsawin Movies

The life and work of the documentary pioneer.

This film is an album of Native womanhood, portraying a proud matriarchal society that for centuries has been pressured to adopt different standards...

Portrait of NFB filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin.

Close-up photographs of baskets, tools and utensils used in the past and still used today by the L'ilawat of Canada. Printed notes describe the use...

Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary The People of the Kattawapiskak River exposes the housing crisis faced by 1,700 Cree in Northern Ontario, a...

A young woman arrives to Montreal to find love. A fortune teller tells her that a wealthy man meant for her is right around the corner so she goes...

As the only First Nations student in an all-white 1940s school, eight-year old Wato is keenly aware of the hostility towards her. She deeply misses...

In this feature-length documentary, Indigenous filmmaker and artist Alanis Obomsawin chronicles the determination and tenacity of the Listuguj...

“It’s not how it used to be.” The words of Cézar Néwashish resonate throughout this short documentary that explores...

Cree comedian Don Burnstick is a legend across Turtle Island. His trademark brand of comedy is deeply rooted in the First Nations experience. Like...

This short documentary is a moving tribute to Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. Taken from his home at the...

This documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin introduces us to Randy Horne, a high steel worker from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake,...

Alanis Obomsawin, a North American Indian who earns her living by singing and making films, is the mother of an adopted child. She talks about her...

A series of still images follows master Líl̓wat basket maker Mathilda Jim, from the harvesting of materials to the creation of a...

This feature-length documentary by Alanis Obomsawin examines the plight of Native people who come to Montreal searching for jobs and a better life....

Accompanied by a song in the Lil̓wat7úl language, we follow a woman as she makes gwùshum, a Líl̓wat dessert and a very...

Walker is a young Aboriginal foster child whose only playmate is his dog. Jamie is a lonely young white boy who is afraid of dogs, and has some...

The fourth film in Alanis Obomsawin's landmark series on the Oka crisis uses a single, shameful incident as a lens through which to examine the...

Legendary Canadian documentarian Alanis Obomsawin digs into the tangled history of Treaty 9 — the infamous 1905 agreement wherein First Nations...

The story of a young Mi'kmaq girl whose name means "the light from the dawn."