AlterNATIVE Indigenous Film Series: Jenny Western

EMMEDIA presents

A N

A l t e r N AT I V E INDIGENOUS FILM SERIES

Showing Initiatives: Aboriginal Video Work from the Vaults of the Video Pool Collection Curated by Jenny Western Thursday, January 28, 2016 | EMMEDIA Screening Room

Logo design by Whitney Ota

INTRODUCTION EMMEDIA is excited to launch the AlterNATIVE film series, showcasing the rich landscape of works produced by Indigenous artists throughout the year. We begin the series with a program curated by Jenny Western, as part of Video Pool’s 30th anniversary, showcasing some of the collection’s earliest work by Aboriginal artists.

About the curator: Jenny Western is a curator, writer, and educator based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She holds a Masters in Art History and Curatorial Practice from York University in Toronto and an undergraduate degree in History from the University of Winnipeg.

ABOUT EMMEDIA EMMEDIA Gallery & Production Society is a nonprofit media arts organization that supports both the production and presentation of media arts. EMMEDIA offers affordable access to media art production tools, services, technical and educational support, and an array of year round public exhibition programs including screenings, installations and performances. Our programs strive to foster artistic dialogue and engagement through complementary activities such as artist talks, panel discussions, publications, workshops, artist residencies, production awards and scholarships. For more information, go to emmedia.ca.

SCREENING PROGRAM from another time comes one Zachery Longboy 1990, 9:46 min.

Dedicated to the artist’s father, this experimental tape begins sorting through identities contaminated by the generalized racism of white society and its degrading commercial exploitation of Native culture, i.e., “Indian” drums and doll souvenirs. Five young Natives search for reconnection to their families, their stories, traditions and their role within community.

Anishna What!?

Debby Keeper 1995, 3:27 min.

This work is a tourist’s eye view of an excursion to a local historic site that depicts an 1850s representation of a native encampment. The found text for “Anishna What!?” reflects upon questions posed to the artist while she worked as an historic site interpreter at a Native encampment. While some of the tourist’s comments are genuine and sincere, others are illustrative of the misconceptions and stereotyped images of North American Indigenous peoples.

Home Colleen Simard 2000, 3:41 min.

“Home” deals with the conflicting worlds of Aboriginal people, the view of the urban Aboriginal and the view of the rural Aboriginal. Often the urban side is seen as very negative, which it can be. But what brought us here? Our way of life, our strength disappeared like the buffalo that we depended on. Which is better? Rural or Urban? There is no better, of course, only the chance to change for the future. There is a resurgence of strength within our traditional culture, our songs, our artists and our children. We don’t have to return to the country to find it; it is inside of us. Through a child’s eyes, the world is somewhat more optimistic.

Apocalypse 16 Curtis Kaltenbaugh 2005, 2:35 min.

This tape uses the word Apocalypse not only in the original Greek sense (revelation) but also with an eschatological bent (the end of all things). End of the world. Loss.

A dirge. A visual meditation on the tension between the natural world and what we’ve made of it.

Through the Looking Glass Thirza Cuthand 1999, 13:59 min.

Half-breed Alice attempts to become queen and struggles with the Red Queen and the White Queen’s disapproval of her racial transgressions. A funny and quirky take on race, this piece stars Cosmosquaw as the Red Queen, Shawna Dempsey as the White Queen, and Thirza Cuthand as Alice.

I-N-D-I-A-N Darryl Nepinak 2008, 1:42 min.

At the Canadian National Spelling Bee, competitor Darryl Nepinak stumbles upon a familiar word.

Mikomiing Leonard Sumner 2009, 9:09 min.

Mikomiing is an Anishinaabe word for ‘on the frozen water’ a term often used when a commercial fisherman has gone out to check his nets. This documentary follows a day in the life of a fisherman in the First Nation community of Little Saskatchewan, Manitoba.

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