Available Light Film Festival 2023 Program

THE UNOFFICIAL JACKET OF FILM CREWS EVERYWHERE Director, Vitória Vasconcellos

WELCOME TO

Welcome to the 21st edition of the Available Light Film Festival! Dákwänī'į yū shäw ghànīddhän. (We are happy to see all of you)

Dan’ ch’e. Hello there, how are you?

Shàw níthan, merci, gunalchîsh, thank you for coming to 21st Available Light Film Festival.

After a few challenging years of a mostly virtual festival experience, we are delighted to bring back the magic of experiencing stories from around the world gathered as a community in a dark cinema. We are thrilled to meet you between February 9th and 19th at the iconic Yukon Theatre, the Old Fire Hall and the Yukon Arts Centre, as well as on our virtual platform.

As always, the ALFF team could now have done it without you, our loyal and always curious audiences. We are extremely grateful for your support, patronage, and participation. We live in an extraordinary place on this earth in an engaged community that shares our passion for independent cinema and arts.

We are thrilled to bring you a variety of local, national, and internationally acclaimed films. The ALFF 2023 opening film, Eternal Spring, directed by Jason Loftus is an unmissable and exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost. Eternal Spring was selected as Canada’s Best International feature film entry for the Academy Awards 2023.

Some of other Canadian features include the Yukonmade sci-fi film Polaris by KC Carthew, Geographies of Solitude by Jacqueline Mills, The Ballad of Caveman Bill by David Curtis (world premiere), Ever Deadly by Chelsea McMullen and Tanya Tagaq, as well as TIFF Top 10 Canadian films of 2022: Viking, Brother, I Like Movies, Riceboy Sleeps and Rosie. International film highlights include EO by Jerzy Skolimowski, Living by Oliver Hermanus, Aftersun by Charlotte Wells, and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed by Laura Poitras– all with Oscar 2023 nominations. We have programmed a tribute screening of Blood Quantum to remember and honour of the incendiary work of Mi’gmaq director Jeff Barnaby who passed away in 2022.

For a third year, Available Light spotlights Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour and LGBTQ2S+ filmmakers with the Made in the North Award, with the generous

support of Canada Goose. ALFF is happy to award cash prizes to the three outstanding films by underrepresented filmmakers in ALFF Official Selection. The Made in the North Award is designed to advance the talent of BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ Canadian filmmakers with a focus on those living in the northern territories and regions of Canada. There are three award categories: Best Canadian Feature Film, Best Canadian Short Film and Best Northern Short Film.

The Yukon Film Society is honoured to host many talented creatives each year at Available Light. Thank you to all the filmmakers, creatives, industry delegates and documentary participants who will take part in Q&As, ALFF Industry Forum events, concerts and ALFF Creator talks. We’re also happy to announce that more than 50% of the films we’re presenting are BIPOC or LGBTQ2S+led and directed productions. A commitment to justice, equity, diversity & inclusion principles in film needs to happen in the cinema and not just on set. We thank our audiences and partners for their support in championing emerging and diverse voices.

As always, we could not present this multi-faceted festival without the continuous and generous support of numerous Yukon businesses and partner non-profits. We know it’s been a challenging couple of years, and we acknowledge your on-going support. Shäw níthän. The Yukon Film Society also acknowledges the ongoing annual support of Canada Council for the Arts, Yukon Arts Operating Fund, Yukon Lotteries, The City of Whitehorse, Yukon Government and Telefilm Canada. This support makes it possible for us to plan, produce and present this festival.

Please join us in thanking all the artists, filmmakers and industry representatives for sharing their work and experience at ALFF and ALFF Industry, as well as the sponsors, community organizations and hard-working volunteers and staff that make Available Light 2023 possible.

Shäw níthän, gunalchîsh, mahsi cho, merci, gracias, chi miigwech, Qujannamiik and thank you for coming to Available Light and making this a very special annual community event.

Andrew Connors, Festival Director Kinga Binkowska, Co-programmer

Andrew Connors

FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

Kinga Bińkowska

SENIOR PROGRAMMER

Fallen Matthews

Tony Berto

ASSOCIATE PROGRAMMERS

Marie Hammje

Genesee Keevil

Jin Lee

Paige Galette 2023 ALFF PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Max Fraser ALFF INDUSTRY PRODUCER

Brian Bromley FESTIVAL PRODUCER

Cherie Ratté

ASSISTANT PRODUCER

Daniel Little DEVELOPMENT & SPONSORSHIP COORDINATOR

Even Stepanian TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Garrett Cluett GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Kathleen Napier MEDIA & MARKETING COORDINATOR

Ashley Swinton OLD FIRE HALL VENUE MANAGER

Alexandra Knowles ALFF PITCH EVENT COORDINATOR

Bran Ramsey ONLINE CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Talia Woodland ALFF TRAILER

YUKON FILM SOCIETY BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

Leo Lane

Aileen Horler

James Barsby

Noel Sinclair

Cindy Allen

Carol Geddes

Daniel Janke

ALFFACCELERATOR LEAD FACILITATOR

ErikPinkerton FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Shintaro Horiguchi

PRINT TRAFFIC AND PROJECTION

Charles Hegsted

David De Lara PROJECTIONISTS

Sam Fleming

Norah Paton PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS

Naomi Mark ALFFACCELERATORMENTOR

Design Station WEBSITE DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT

Jessica Hall

Andrew MacDonald

Jon Gelinas

FESTIVAL INFORMATION

VENUES

Yukon Theatre (Cinema): 304 Wood St.

Yukon Arts Centre: 500 University Dr.

Old Fire Hall: 1105 Front St.

The Creative Warehouse: 1148 Front St.

Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre: 1171 Front St.

ALFF TICKETS & PASSES

In-Cinema Screenings:

Single Tickets: $16 Regular / $13 for YFS Members, Seniors, Youth under 16

Purchase Tickets at alff.ca

5 Film Pass: $70

10 Film Pass: $140

All Access Pass: $240

Purchase Passes at alff.ca/passes

ALFF Online Screenings:

ALFF Online Single Tickets: $11

All Access Online Pass: $75

Full listings and tickets available at alff.ca

ALFF INDUSTRY TICKETS & PASSES

ALFF Industry Passes: $85

ALFF Industry Online Pass: $40

Grants access to all ALFF Industry events, including: panels, workshops, and one-on-one meetings with industry decision-makers and public funders.

Pre-registration for one-on-one meetings is required – email alffi@yukonfilmsociety.com to confirm your registration.

ALFF Industry Passes can be purchased online at alff.ca/passes

Individual Workshop Tickets: Individually priced. See the ALFF Industry Schedule of events at alff.ca

Please note: One-on-One Meetings with Industry decision-makers and public funders are for pass holders only. Pre-registration is required.

GENERAL FESTIVAL INFO

All-Access Online Passes do not guarantee a virtual seat - you must redeem for individual tickets to online events. Space in some online screenings will be limited.

No outside food or drink allowed in the Yukon Theatre or the Yukon Art Centre.

Please turn off cell phones. No recording devices allowed.

Weappreciate agreattale.

We’reproudtohelpbringsomeofthebeststories fromaroundtheworldtotheYukonbysupporting theAvailableLightFilmFestival.

Weinviteyoutositback,relax,andletthefestival carryyoutonewdestinations.

MESSAGE FROM THE PREMIER, YUKON GOVERNMENT

It’s my pleasure to welcome you to the Available Light Film Festival. It is with great excitement that we are again gathered in person for the Available Light Film Festival, along with the added benefit for online viewing opportunities. The Available Light Film Festival has an entertaining and diverse selection of programming with over 100 films, screenings, creator talks, live concerts, a video crawl, and an industry forum. This year’s festival also includes 15 made-in-the-Yukon films, providing great opportunities to celebrate Yukon filmmakers and their work.

The Government of the Yukon is proud to support the Yukon Film Society, the Yukon Cinema, and the Available Light Film Festival.

Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers for putting together this celebrated festival, and to all the filmmakers and artists for sharing their talents with Yukon audiences.

Enjoy the show!

Ranj Pillai Premier

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF WHITEHORSE

On behalf of the City of Whitehorse, I would like to congratulate the Yukon Film Society on its 21st anniversary of the Available Light Film Festival, and thank everyone who makes this annual festival happen. This festival provides movie-lovers from across the community a chance to immerse themselves in films from around the globe. We are so fortunate to have a festival here in our community that celebrates local and national talent, as well as the Yukon’s Indigenous culture and history.

We wish everyone a wonderful festival, and hope all will enjoy the extraordinary selection of Northern, Canadian, and international cinema.

Mayor Laura Cabott City of Whitehorse

MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO, TELEFILM CANADA

We could not be more excited to return to events that allow us to celebrate the artistry of film and showcase Canadian creatives around the world and at home. That is why we are proud to support the Available Light Film Festival!

At Telefilm, our mission is to elevate authentic storytelling. Our priority is to reflect the diversity of our country on screen and bring representation to the forefront of our initiatives and programs.

We want to thank and congratulate Available Light Film Festival for its continued support in building connections and collaboration in promoting and exporting Canadian content and talent for the world to see.

Francesca Accinelli Interim Executive Director and CEO, Telefilm Canada

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO, CANADA MEDIA FUND

The Canada Media Fund is delighted to partner with the Available Light Film Festival—our tenth consecutive year supporting this fabulous and important event in one of my favorite places in the country! To the organization and its team: congratulations on delivering, year after year, on your mission to bring amazing stories from Canada and the world to Whitehorse. Have a great festival!

Valerie Creighton President and CEO, Canada Media Fund

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MADE IN THE NORTH AWARDS

MADE IN THE NORTH AWARDS PRESENTED BY CANADA GOOSE

Award winners will be announced on February 17th, 2023

Available Light Film Festival is thrilled to partner once again with Canada Goose in awarding cash prizes to three films directed by underrepresented filmmakers in our lineup. Canada Goose embraces diversity in all its forms and definitions, including technique and passion that transports storytelling to screen. The Made in the North awards are selected by a jury of diverse film professionals.

Eligibility is open to all feature films and short films in Official Selection by Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and LGBTQ2S+ filmmakers in Canada. Each winner will receive a cash award in celebration of their excellent contribution to Canadian cinema. Here are the eligible films in each category.

MADE IN THE NORTH AWARD – BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM

SCOPE: CANADA-WIDE

PRIZE: $5,000

ELIGIBLE FILMS:

Before I Change My Mind by Trevor Anderson

Bones of Crows by Marie Clements

Brother by Clement Virgo

Ever Deadly by Chelsea McMullen and Tanya Tagaq

Framing Agnes by Chase Joynt

The Klabona Keepers by Tamo Campos, Jasper Snow-Rosen, Rhoda Quock

L’Inhumain by Jason Brennan

Riceboy Sleeps by Anthony Shim

Rosie

by Gail Maurice

The Empress of Vancouver by Dave Rodden Shortt

When Time Got Louder by Connie Cocchia

Unarchived by Hayley Gray and Elad Tzadok

MADE IN THE NORTH – BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM

SCOPE: CANADA-WIDE

PRIZE: $3,000

ELIGIBLE FILMS:

Alambic: By Winds and Tides by Bogdan Anifrani-Fedach

Alambic: Solid Ground by Beatriz Carvalho

At Dusk by Miryam Charles

Kokum with Love by Kim Stadfeld

Mold by Shelby Atwood Strangling Wolf and Stevie-Ray Atwood Strangling Wolf

Pony by Chala Hunter

Rumination by Ashleigh Vaillancourt

Scaring Women at Night by Karimah Zakia Issa

Three Things We Won’t Talk About by Jessie Craig Roche

The Chase by Gurjeet Kaur Bassi

Tibi by Twoyoungmen Jarret

Tiny by Ryan Haché and Ritchie Hemphill

Wherever You Are, Wherever I Am by Kay Chan

MADE IN THE NORTH – BEST NORTHERN SHORT FILM

SCOPE: YUKON, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, NUNAVUT, NUNAVIK, LABRADOR AND NORTHERN REGIONS OF PROVINCES

PRIZE: $3,000

ELIGIBLE FILMS: The Fire Dancer by Lancelot Burton and Agnieska Pajor Heartbeat of a Nation by Eric Janvier

Imalijirit by Tim Anaviapik Soucie and Vincent L’Hèrault

Okpik: A Tiny Village in the Arctic by Tiffany Aylik and Kylik Kisoun Taylor

Tlingit Samurai by Douglas Joe

Trapper Radio Series - Dehcho Region by Lawrence Nayally, Wesley Hardisty

Trapper Radio Series

- Mackenzie Delta Region by Leanne Goose, Louie Goose, Wade Vaneltsi

Trapper Radio Series - Sahtu Region by Leela Gilday, Jay Gilday, Dylan Jones

Trapper Radio Series

- South Slave Region by Tyler Hawkins, Brandon Kikoak, Jaimie Kikoak, Aaron Kikoak, Craig Allard

WELCOME TO AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

In-Cinema Screenings

After attending an in-cinema screening, you will receive a paper ballot to rate the film you've seen. Please rate every feature and midlength film you see.

Virtual Screenings

Once you finish watching a virtual film that is eligible for audience awards, you will be able to cast a vote on the film page.

The results of this balloting will determine the awards for:

• Best Canadian Documentary

• Best Canadian Feature Fiction

• Best International Film

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

- BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY (50 MINUTES+)

The Ballad of Caveman Bill Doug and the Slugs and Me

The Empress of Vancouver

Eternal Spring (長春)

Ever Deadly

Framing Agnes

Geographies of Solitude

The Klabona Keepers

Okay!: The ASD Band Film

Okpik: A Little Village in the Arctic Part of the Pack

Revival69

Rematriation

Scrap

Unarchived

Voices Across the Water

BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FICTION

Before I Change My Mind

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Aftersun

All The Beauty and the Bloodshed Broker (Beurokeo)

EO

Klondike (Klondaik)

Living

Navalny

Pleistocene Park

Saint Omer

Saloum

Sam Now

Stepping Softly On the Earth

Sweet As

The Smell of Money

The Whale

Whetū Mārama - Bright Star

AVAILABLE LIGHT CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD

PRESENTED BY WARNER BROS DISCOVERY ACCESS CANADA

Available Light Cinematography

Award for Canadian Cinematographers who self-identify as a woman, BIPOC, LGBTQ2+ and/or as a person with a disability. This is a juried award.

$1,500 for Cinematography in a Short film

$1,500 for Cinematography in a Feature film

Cast your ballot to indicate your rating from 1 (really not to my taste) to 10 (excellent).

We want to know what you think about the films – rate every eligible film you see!

ALFF LIVE

ALFF LIVE

MUSIC JEREMY PARKIN

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10, YUKON ARTS CENTRE

ADMISSION IS INCLUDED WITH A TICKET TO BONES OF CROWS SCREENING.

Jeremy Parkin is an Indigenous artist, producer, and performer from the Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Blending influences from artists such as Shlohmo, Burial, Nosaj Thing, and SBTRKT; Jeremy creates detailed and textured soundscapes to paint vivid pictures throughout his music.

In the summer of 2022, he received a nomination for “Producer of the Year” at the International Indigenous Hip Hop awards. Jeremy is also one half of the producer and MC duo known as “LOCAL BOY” with Kelvin Smoler. Jeremy produced the entirety of LOCAL BOY’s 2022 EP release titled “ONE FOR JAMES”.

MUSIC JORDY WALKER AND NICOLAS HYATT

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10, 10PM, THE CREATIVE WAREHOUSE

SPECIAL TICKET PRICE: $18 DOORS OPEN: 9:30PM

Jordy Walker (he/him) is a film composer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and sound artist based in Whitehorse. Since studying guitar at a young age, touring in experimental rock bands, immersing himself in electronic music and modern minimalism, he has arrived at a distinct musical style.

Nicolas Hyatt (they/he) is a francoontarian pianist and composer living in Whitehorse whose artistic practice centres around collaborative creation and community building. Their recent projects include the pop band Loon Town, the DIY hip-hop duo CLout gAMe, the psych rock band Future States, which has released four records, and the cello / synth duo Parler bien (with Jane Chan).

STORYTELLING

DEAR STAR TREK: A LOVE LETTER WITH A SIDE OF BEEF

CO-PRESENTED WITH NAKAI THEATRE.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12, 7PM, YUKON THEATRE

In this live story-telling event Christine Genier talks Indigenous Futurism in Science Fiction and the impact and obligations in pop culture media. Join Christine on star date 47634.44 (February 12) for a fun, teasing breakdown of Star Trek, Representation, and The Problem with Chakotay.

Christine Genier Wolf Clan Woman and a citizen of the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council. She is a broadcaster, journalist, writer, poet, performer, apprentice language keeper, culture keeper, aspiring matriarch, mother, daughter, sister, and wife. In her work, Christine shares a lived experience that spans over four decades of bridging culture and recovering the Indigenous Space with those prepared to engage. She is a gatherer of stories and moderator of talks.

Music, Dance and Storytelling | Presenting sponsor: Music Yukon

INDIGENOUS SHORT FILMS

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16 |

KWANLIN DÜN CULTURAL CENTRE

Free admission | Presented with the support of the Council of Yukon First Nations

ALFF OPEN AIR FIRESIDE SCREENING, 8 PM

A screening of 3 family-friendly films directed by Indigenous filmmakers. Dress warm and bring a seat cushion!

TINY

DIR. RYAN HACHÉ, RITCHIE HEMPHILL, 2022, BC | 16 MIN

‘Nakwaxda’xw Elder Colleen Hemphill tells the story of her life as a youth growing up in a float house. Tiny is a very apt title for this beautiful film. Tiny, in that a complete world from memory is reproduced in clay miniature as the set and characters. Tiny also, in that it captures the minutiae and nuance of small human gestures, the touch of one hand to another, the small changes in expression a wrinkle in a forehead makes, or the way one sips a coffee.

HEARTBEAT OF A NATION

DIR. ERIC JANVIER, 2022, AB | 20 MIN

On a beautiful sunny day in Northern Alberta, a river surrounded by green trees runs gently through the traditional lands of the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation. As birds softly chirp, a father makes a tobacco offering to the river and reaches his hands below the water’s surface to pull out a caribou hide. Nearby, his young child watches. Today they will learn from their father how to make a caribou drum.

ALFF VIDEO CRAWL

TRAPPER RADIO SERIES: SAHTU REGION

DIR. LEELA GILDAY, JAY GILDAY, DYLAN JONES, 2022, NT | 22 MIN

A 5-part film series showcasing 20 + NWT artists in their local regions talking about their art, living through the pandemic, and sharing stories and music about their connections to the North and the land. In this episode, siblings Jay and Leela Gilday share stories and songs of growing up in the Sahtu region of Northwest Territories.

PERFORMANCE AND PARTY

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10, 9PM, THE CREATIVE WAREHOUSE SPECIAL TICKET PRICE: $18

At the end of the crawl, come and watch a modern dance performance and then shake loose your own vibes with DJ Vicenté until midnight. Licenced event. 19+

HEALING REFLECTIONS

WITH SADIE SIEGREFF, EMILY BROOKS, AND EMILY JONES DANCE AND VIDEO PROJECTION | 5 MIN

Healing Reflections is a film and live performance installation and touches on the beautiful, cold fragility of winter in the north. The project explores the movement of the body in shadow work throughout the northern winter. The film will have glimpses of light and warmth that we so rarely get during the long, dark winter months. Sadie’s practice is to research human identity and expression that explores their connection to people and the natural environment around her.

AFTERSUN

DIR. CHARLOTTE WELLS, 2022, UK/ USA | 102 MIN

The strong resemblance and stronger rapport between Calum (Paul Mescal), 30, and Sophie (Frankie Corio), his 11-year-old daughter, has them frequently mistaken for siblings. Away on a familyof-two vacation at a discount Turkish resort, the pair often conduct themselves like impish kids playing hooky. Prone to manic spells, Calum showers Sophie with affection and whatever else his meager budget might allow. All of this in a desperate bid to stave off a depressive episode that looms like the Sword of Damocles. As Aftersun builds to its deeply affecting finale, we’re reminded how life’s turning points often arrive without warning.

Content advisory: coarse language, nudity.

ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED

DIR. LAURA POITRAS, 2022, USA | 122 MIN

Academy Award-winning documentarian Laura Poitras’ documentary is an epic, emotional and layered story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin. Told through the artist’s slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, accountable for the overdose crisis.

Content advisory: accident trauma, scenes of surgery, drug use, mature themes, sexual content, nudity, coarse language.

AFTERSUN ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED

THE BALLAD OF CAVEMAN BILL

DIR. DAVID CURTIS, 2023, YUKON | 52 MIN SCREENING SPONSOR: AIR NORTH

AKA Klondike Caveman. World premiere. Caveman Bill has lived in a cave next to the Yukon River overlooking the town of Dawson City for 20+ years. This humorous documentary portrait explores one caveman’s resiliency, adaptability and sustainability.

Filmmaker David Curtis in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND

DIR. TREVOR ANDERSON, 2022, ALBERTA | 89 MIN

A film that gives us a lot to chew on: a love letter to 80s Edmonton, a first love/coming out story between two boys, an achingly awkward look at grade eight social life, an absurd romance between bad parents, and a lurid, if somewhat accurate portrayal of the egos of amateur theater-makers. Named by IndieWire as one of “10 Must-See Movies at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival,” praising its “soft and transportive ’80s aesthetic,” and notes that the film “seems determined to confront the challenges and triumphs of self-becoming with the unwavering honesty of someone who remembers them both.”

Producer Katrina Beatty in attendance for Feb 11 screening.

THE BALLAD OF CAVEMAN BILL

BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND

ALFF FILMS

BLOOD QUANTUM BONES OF CROWS

BLOOD QUANTUM

DIR. JEFF BARNABY, 2019, QUEBEC | 98 MIN

This ALFF 2023 tribute screening remembers incendiary Mi’gmaq filmmaker, Jeff Barnaby, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 48.

The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’kmaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are strangely immune to the zombie plague.

As the citizens of surrounding cities flee to the reserve in search of refuge from the outbreak, the community must reckon with whether to let the outsiders in — risking not only their own extinction, but also humanities. Further accentuated by animated chapter breaks that instill a comic-book aesthetic, Barnaby takes advantage of the canvas zombie films that regularly afford for cultural critique, exploring racism, colonialism, and the very real threat of extinction that Indigenous communities have experienced for generations.

In English and Mi’kmaq with English subtitles.

Content advisory: implied sexual violence, explicit violence, frightening scenes, drug use, coarse language, sexual content.

BONES OF CROWS

DIR. MARIE CLEMENTS, 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 127 MIN

In these troubled and lopsided times, we need our storytellers to help us understand our inheritance, be it pain or privilege, and to lay the intellectual and emotional groundwork not only for reconciliation, but for reparation and restoration. Dene/Métis writerdirector Marie Clements (whose previous films The Road Forward and Red Snow were both ALFF selections) squares up to the challenge with this bold, necessarily harrowing tale of oppression and resilience which spans the greater part of the 20th century.

In English, Cree, ʔayʔajuθəm, and Italian with English subtitles.

Content advisory: content relating to residential schools; child abuse, sexual and psychological abuse, racism.

Associate producer, Leena Minifie in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

SCREENING SPONSOR: WAYFARER OYSTER HOUSE

BROKER (BEUROKEO)

BROKER (BEUROKEO)

DIR. KORE-EDA HIROKAZU, 2022, KOR/ JPN | 129 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: MIDNIGHT SUN COFFEE ROASTERS

With his newest film the lauded Japanese filmmaker, Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), brings to audiences this beautifully crafted and achingly touching crowdpleaser about an unconventional family formed under the strangest of circumstances.

The film follows two brokers who sell orphaned infants, circumventing the bureaucracy of legal adoption, to affluent couples who can’t have children of their own. After an infant’s mother surprises the duo by returning to ensure her child finds a good home, the three embark on a journey to find the right couple, building an unlikely family of their own.

In Korean with English subtitles.

Recommended for ages 15+ for mature themes.

BROTHER

BROTHER

DIR. CLEMENT VIRGO, 2022, ONTARIO | 119 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: EDGEWATER HOTEL

Clement Virgo (The Book of Negroes) makes a brilliant return to feature filmmaking with this propulsive adaptation of David Chariandy’s celebrated novel. Set against the backdrop of suburban Scarborough, Brother follows siblings Michael (Lamar Johnson) and Francis (Aaron Pierre) as they strive to justify the sacrifices of their devoting mother (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and realize their own ambitions: for Francis, that’s a career in hip-hop; for Michael, it’s the love of Aisha (Kiana Madeira). However, fate has other plans for this pair and all those they hold dear.

Content advisory: police violence, themes of racism.

ALFF FILMS

DOUG AND THE SLUGS AND ME

DIR. TERESA ALFELD, 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 88 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: DIRECTORS GUILD OF CANADA - BC DISTRICT

A POV documentary following filmmaker Teresa Alfeld’s journey uncovering the story of her childhood best friend’s dad, Doug Bennett, leader of the legendary 1980s Canadian party band Doug and the Slugs.

More than just another rock doc, this film is as much a bittersweet commentary on the elusive nature of success in the music industry; that energizing, enervating altar for ambition and despair. It also becomes a very touching reverie about friendship, its limitations and considerable consolations – as well as a fun time portal to the Vancouver of the late 70s and 80s.

Director Teresa Alfeld in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

THE EMPRESS OF VANCOUVER

DIR. DAVE RODDEN-SHORTT, 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 90 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: WINTERLONG BREWING CO.

A cinematic and intimate collision of drag, queer history, and performance art, this musical and irreverent documentary follows trans icon Oliv Howe, as she prepares for the 40th anniversary of her coronation.

Oliv always looks absolutely fabulous. After all, she was the 10th Empress of the Vancouver Dogwood Monarchist Society, a crown bestowed to her in 1981. In Oliv’s story of resilient self-actualization, relayed with wit and compassion, we are transported to Vancouver’s past drag subculture, and to the deep-seated ignorance, suspicion and homophobia faced by the queer community as a whole. This is fascinating social history, but also a celebration of proud lives lived out loud.

DOUG AND THE SLUGS AND ME THE EMPRESS OF VANCOUVER

DIR. JERZY SKOLIMOWSKI, 2022, POL/ ITA/ UK | 86 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: RE/MAX ACTION REALTY

The world is a mysterious place when seen through the eyes of an animal. EO, a grey donkey with melancholic eyes, meets good and bad people on his life’s path. He experiences joy and pain, endures the wheel of fortune which randomly turns his luck into disaster and his despair into unexpected bliss. But not even for a moment does he lose his innocence.

In Polish, English, French, Spanish and Italian with English subtitles.

Content advisory: animal cruelty, violence.

ETERNAL SPRING (長春)

DIR. JASON LOFTUS, 2022, ONTARIO | 91 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: CANADA MEDIA FUND & TELEFILM

In March 2002, a state TV signal in China was hacked by members of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal is to counter the government narrative about their practice. In the violent aftermath, Falun Gong practitioner and comic book illustrator Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars) is forced to flee to North America. Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring (長春) retraces the event on its 20th anniversary. This animated documentary brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance told through eyewitness accounts of persecution and artistry. Eternal Spring (長春) represents Canada in the race for Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Oscars.

In Mandarin and English with English subtitles.

Writer, director Jason Loftus and producer, Masha Loftus in attendance.

ETERNAL SPRING (長春)

ALFF FILMS

EVER DEADLY

EVER DEADLY

DIR. CHELSEA MCMULLAN AND TANYA TAGAQ, 2022, NU/ QC | 90 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: MOLOTOV AND BRICKS TATTOO

Ever Deadly weaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and songs with pain, anger and triumph--all through the expressions of Tanya Tagaq, one of the most innovative musical performers of our time.

FRAMING AGNES

DIR. CHASE JOYNT, 2022, CAN/ USA | 75 MIN

Framing Agnes turns the talk show format inside out in response to the media’s ongoing fascination with trans people. The film breathes life into six previously unknown stories from the archives of the UCLA Gender Clinic in the 1950s.

An incredibly important, thematically dense film. It offers a rich and nuanced story about how queernesses involving trans persons in the 1960s, were contained and framed by the narrow, and subjective opinion of male members of medical academia and television.

Recommended for ages 13+ for mature themes.

FRAMING AGNES

GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE

GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE

DIR. JACQUELINE MILLS, 2022, QC/ NS | 103 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: ECLIPSE NORDIC HOT SPRINGS

Geographies of Solitude is an immersion into the rich ecosystem of Sable Island, guided by naturalist and environmentalist Zoe Lucas who has lived over 40 years on this remote sliver of land in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Shot on 16mm and created using a scope of innovative eco-friendly filmmaking techniques, this feature-length experimental documentary is a playful and reverent collaboration with the natural world. Zoe leads us among wild horses, seals and bugs, through peaks, valleys, seasons and stars. The film tracks its protagonist’s labor to collect, clean and document marine litter that washes up on the island shores.

I LIKE MOVIES

DIR. CHANDLER LEVACK, 2022, ONTARIO | 99 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: SHAUNAGH STIKEMAN, BARRISTER AND SOLICITOR

A cheeky film nerd stands on the threshold of adulthood. We’re going back to 2002, a year when video rental was huge. Lawrence and Matt are film lovers who dream of becoming great filmmakers. They spend all their time watching movies. Lawrence gets a job at the local video shop, where he becomes close with his boss, the grown-up and attractive Zita. At the same time, he loses contact with Matt, and his mother says that they cannot afford to send him to New York to study film, so he has to settle for university in Canada. Is his filmmaking dream crushed before it even gets going?

Content advisory: themes of suicide, sexual abuse, and mental distress.

ALFF FILMS

THE KLABONA KEEPERS

DIR. TAMO CAMPOS AND JASPER SNOW-ROSEN, 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 69 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: DRIVING FORCE

The Klabona Keepers is a fierce account of the Tahltan Nation’s struggle to protect the Klabona Sacred Headwaters, an important natural habitat in northwest British Columbia, from commercial mining. The documentary intersperses verité cinematography with intimate interviews. It is an in-depth account of the different methods of resistance used by Indigenous Elders, which include blockades and tense stand-offs with police and mining industry workers. Powerful moments of reflection are felt throughout the film as the trauma of residential schools and forced relocations are brought to light.

Content advisory: triggers for residential school, drug and alcohol abuse.

KLONDIKE (KLONDAIK)

DIR. MARYNA ER GORBACH, 2022, UKR/ TUR | 100 MIN

DIRECTING AWARD: WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC, SUNDANCE 2022

The story of a Ukrainian family living on the border of Russia and Ukraine during the start of the war. Irka refuses to leave her house even as the village gets captured by armed forces. Caught between Russian separatists and the expectation of loyalty to Ukraine, the couple try to balance the urgent and conflicting demands of civil war.

Shot in elaborately choreographed long takes, Klondike is a feat of intricate staging, and Er Gorbach uses unity of space to illustrate the ever-growing divisions among her characters. Tense, haunting, and tragic, this is a truly powerful work of art.

In Ukrainian, Russian, Chechen, and Dutch with English subtitles.

Ukraine’s official submission for Best International Film for the 2023 Oscars.

THE KLABONA KEEPERS KLONDIKE (KLONDAIK)

L’INHUMAIN

DIR. JASON BRENNAN, 2021, QUEBEC | 85 MIN

Mathieu is a brilliant neurosurgeon whose perfect life is falling apart; impending divorce, job loss, substance abuse, and a mid-life crisis. The sudden death of his father forces him to return home to Anishinaabe territory, a place he has tried to avoid since his youth. Mathieu agrees to go and deposit his father’s ashes and wishes to find himself at the same time. Being away from the city promises to be a nice getaway until Mathieu realizes that he is now the prey of an evil creature known as the Wendigo. Mathieu’s pilgrimage quickly becomes a nightmare that will change him forever.

In French with English subtitles.

Content advisory: frightening and grisly scenes.

LIVING

DIR. OLIVER HERMANUS, 2022, UK/ JPN/ SWE | 102 MIN

SCREENING

SPONSOR: YUKON ENERGY

Living is the story of an ordinary man, reduced by years of oppressive office routine to a shadow existence. At the eleventh hour he makes a supreme effort to turn his dull life into something wonderful. An English-language adaptation of Akira Kirosawa’s script of “Ikiru” (1952), set in London in the 1950s.

Content advisory: infrequent references to illness and death - little detail; frequent portrayals of alcohol and tobacco use in a recreational context.

L’INHUMAIN LIVING

ALFF FILMS

NAVALNY

NAVALNY

DIR. DANIEL ROHER, 2022, USA/ CAN | 98 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: ANDREW SMITH

Shot as the story unfolded, Navalny is a fly-on-the-wall documentary thriller about anti-authoritarian Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Recovering in Berlin after nearly being poisoned to death with the nerve agent Novichok, he makes shocking discoveries about his assassination attempt and bravely decides to return home--whatever the consequences.

In English and Russian with English subtitles.

Content advisory: some offensive language.

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature, 2023 Academy Awards

OKAY! THE ASD BAND FILM

DIR. MARK BONE, 2022, ONTARIO | 75 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: WHAT’S UP YUKON

Okay! The ASD Band Film follows the members of The ASD Band, four talented autistic musicians, as they embark upon the journey of writing their first original album and performing their first live show.

Director Mark Bone takes time to get to know the bandmates: from Jackson’s love of Elvis, Ron’s background in classical piano, Spenser’s punk rock sensibilities, and Rawan’s perfect pitch. The collaborative nature of their songwriting and performing shines through in their excitement, while also allowing them to open about their hopes and fears, what it means to be autistic and perceived by the world, and how they are (mis)understood by friends and family.

OKAY! THE ASD BAND FILM

OKPIK: LITTLE VILLAGE IN THE ARCTIC

DIR. TIFFANY AYALIK AND KYLIK KISOUN TAYLOR, 2022, NWT/ BC | 44 MIN

This eye-opening documentary is about one family’s pursuit to become fully self-sufficient, living off the land in a remote location on the north end of the Mackenzie River.

Using local materials and Traditional Knowledge Inuit/ Gwich’in Hunter, Kylik Kisoun Taylor will re-establish and re-imagine the lost practice of building an Inuvialuit log house with a sod roof with the intention of creating housing security in his Traditional Territory of the Beaufort Delta. Kylik builds his future at his off-grid camp and creates an opportunity for language and cultural revitalization.

PART OF THE PACK

DIR. ISABELLE GROC AND MIKE MCKINLAY 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 82 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: JACKLEG FILMS

Long feared, the wolves that have survived in places such as Vancouver Island now live in a habitat where humans are advancing. At the same time our fascination for the wolf — as the quintessential symbol of something wild and dangerous — has become stronger. As urban lifestyles have increasingly removed us from nature, some of us want to find that connection again. Encountering a wolf can satisfy our craving for the natural world. Some people have even taken a step further by bringing a wolf or wolf-dog into their homes (literally into their living rooms) as a way to feel closer to the wild. The boundary between wild and domesticated is shifting.

SCREENS WITH:

LE LOON RANGER DES HUARD

DIR. PAUL DAVIS, 2022, YUKON | 23 MIN

In Canada’s North-West, a library worker caught up in the opioid crisis, observes loons by bike, canoe and by snorkeling. As a result of his obsession, the loons call to him in places and times far from their normal habitat and seasonal migratory patterns.

In French with English subtitles.

Director Paul Davis in attendance.

Director Mike McKinlay in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

OKPIK: LITTLE VILLAGE IN THE ARCTIC

PART OF THE PACK

AVAILABLE LIGHT FILM FESTIVAL

ALFF FILMS

A PEOPLE:

PICTURING A PEOPLE: GEORGE JOHNSTON, TLINGIT PHOTOGRAPHER

DIR. CAROL GEDDES, 1997, YUKON | 51 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: YUKONSTRUCT

Carol Geddes’ documentary about trail-blazing Tlingit photographer and hunter, George Johnston, is itself a vanguard in Yukon history given that it’s the first major film production that tells a story of the Yukon written, directed and produced by a Yukon filmmaker. Join ALFF for a special screening in celebration of the 25th anniversary of this powerful film!

This unique portrait of Kaash KlaÕ (George Johnston), a photographer who was a creator of portraits and a keeper of his culture, is a told from the perspective of a filmmaker who is of the same people; the Teslin Tlingit, Deisleen Kwáan, who live on the lands surrounding Teslin Lake. A trapper, fur trader, entrepreneur and photographer, Johnston cared deeply about the traditions of the Tlingit people, and he recorded a critical period in the history of the Tlingit Nation. The images he recorded—of special moments and everyday occasions—became a beacon to the young and a testament to the golden times of the Tlingit people. As Geddes says, his legacy was “to help us dream the future as much as to remember the past.”

This documentary is a unique portrait of George Johnston, a photographer who was himself a creator of portraits and a keeper of his culture.

Director Carol Geddes in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

PLEISTOCENE PARK

DIR. LUKE GRISWOLD-TERGIS, 2022, USA | 101 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: YUKON CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Fifteen years ago, Russian geophysicist Sergey Zimov published an article in the journal Science showing that frozen arctic soils contain twice as much carbon as the earth’s atmosphere. These soils are now starting to melt. Haines, Alaska filmmaker Luke Griswold-Tergis embarks on an inexplicable, deeply embedded reportage on Zimov and his son who are convinced they can reverse, or at least help prevent climate change by returning to the climate of pre-ice age times where massive grazing ungulates roamed what is now the Boreal Forest by gathering any large, wooly beasts they can find and transporting them to the most remote corner of Siberia: a place called Pleistocene Park.

In English and Russian with English subtitles.

PICTURING

GEORGE JOHNSTON, TLINGIT PHOTOGRAPHER PLEISTOCENE PARK

POLARIS

DIR. KC CARTHEW, 2022, ON/QC/YT | 89 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: YUKON FAT HORSE COMPANY

This award-winning made-in-the-Yukon eco-action fantasy is set in the year 2144: think Mad Max on skidoos.

Viva Lee plays Sumi, a ten-year-old female raised by a polar bear in a frozen dystopian female world who must evade capture by a group of warriors called the Morads. When Sumi stumbles across Frozen Girl, an unlikely friendship is forged and together they race ahead of the vindictive hunters towards the only guiding light Sumi knows - the POLARIS star.

Producer Max Fraser plus many cast and crew in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

Recommended for ages 13+ for violent and disturbing scenes.

“Funnels a smorgasbord of influences into a fastpaced, all-female eco action fantasy.” - Allan Hunter, Screen International

REMATRIATION

DIR. ALEX LIOTTI, 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 67 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: SOLVEST INC.

British Columbia’s Old Growth forests represent one of the last lines of defence against climate change, and contain scientific properties we barely understand - yet mismanagement and greed have left less than 2.6% of them standing. Only one of hundreds of valleys (outside of parks) remains entirely uncut on Vancouver Island - Fairy Creek (Ada’itsx). An Indigenous led movement to prevent the cutting of this last Old Growth watershed has now become Canada’s largest act of civil disobedience, and the government response has been alarming.

Rematriation explores scientific, cultural, economic and sociopolitical perspectives, as citizens fight to protect the last big trees in BC from being felled.

ALFF FILMS

REVIVAL69: THE CONCERT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD

DIR. RON CHAPMAN, 2022, CANADA | 97 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: MUSIC YUKON

“The second most important event in rock & roll history” was a one-day event held at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium called the Toronto Rock & Roll Revival. An incredible back-door story of how a life-changing concert came together. Director Ron Chapman reveals a series of colourful characters, murky deals and broken promises, culminating in John Brower, a young struggling promoter, putting his life on the line (literally) in order to achieve his goal. Included in the lineup were Chuck Berry, The Doors and Alice Cooper among many. Told with engaging animation, graphics, actual audio footage from John Lennon’s personal Apple office phone recordings and many interviews.

RICEBOY SLEEPS

DIR. ANTHONY SHIM, 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 117 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: DIRECTORS GUILD OF CANADA - BC DISTRICT

Raising her young son Dong-hyun in Vancouver’s suburbs in the 90s, So-young, a South Korean immigrant and single mom, desperately wants to instill a sense of pride in the boy. In turn, he only wants to be considered “Canadian” in hopes of avoiding bullying at school. Wedding autobiographical elements with more universal concerns, Shim achieves an exquisite balance in this gorgeous coming-of-age drama. The film’s even pacing and gorgeous score carry the audience through both heart-breaking and uplifting drama.

In English and Korean with English subtitles.

Content advisory: themes of racism, mental illness and drug use.

REVIVAL69: THE CONCERT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD RICEBOY SLEEPS

ROSIE

DIR. GAIL MAURICE, 2022, QUEBEC | 92 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: YUKON PROVISIONS

A film about family, love, and misfits, Rosie tells the story of a young, orphaned, Indigenous girl who is forced to live with her reluctant, street-smart Aunty Fred (Frédérique). Rosie is thrust into the fringes of 1980’s Montréal into the care of Fred, who just lost her job, is on the verge of eviction, and who looks and sounds nothing like her. Fred introduces Rosie to her two best friends who are glamorous, gender-bending street workers. In the end, Rosie transforms the lives of these characters and finds love, acceptance, and a true Home with her new chosen family of glittering outsiders.

In English, French and Cree with English subtitles.

Content advisory: themes of Sixties Scoop and homelessness.

SAINT OMER

DIR. ALICE DIOP, 2022, FRA | 122 MIN

This progressively claustrophobic courtroom drama of a woman accused of infanticide is told through the stoic point of view of a young novelist, pregnant herself and increasingly uneasy. Her own family history, doubts, and fears about motherhood are steadily dislodged as the life story of the accused woman is gradually revealed. From a stern upbringing in Senegal to gradual isolation from family and society on her arrival in Europe, the accused’s experiences expose the traumas of racism and emotional manipulation that can remain unspoken while insidiously and irrevocably corroding a person’s well-being.

In French with English subtitles.

Content advisory: racism, themes of violence, anxiety and mental distress.

ROSIE SAINT OMER

ALFF FILMS

SALOUM

DIR. JEAN LUC HERBULOT, 2021, SEN/ FRA | 84 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: KLONDIKE KETTLE CORN

Shot down after fleeing a coup and extracting a drug lord, the legendary mercenaries known as the Bangui Hyenas -- Chaka, Rafa and Midnight -- must stash their stolen bounty, lay low and escape back to Senegal. When they take refuge at a holiday camp, they do their best to blend in with fellow guests; a mute named Awa and a policeman who may be on their tail, but it’s Chaka who happens to be hiding the darkest secret of them all. Unbeknownst to the others, he’s brought them there for a reason and once his past catches up to him, his decisions have devastating consequences.

In French and Wolof with English subtitles.

Content advisory: violence, reference to child abuse.

SAM NOW

DIR. REED HARKNESS, 2022, USA | 87 MIN

A mother’s disappearance sends pain and mystery through her family. Sam Now follows her son’s 25-year search for answers. A documentary essentially about the trauma that is passed on through the generations, Sam Now is a playful, tender and personal quest for re-connection with family and healing.

“Reed Harkness has made a wonderful once-ina-lifetime film. Filled with intimate family footage, Sam Now feels like a novel or a well-crafted drama, but it’s all too true. It’s a truly artistic documentary, which should be seen and embraced by discerning audiences in North America and abroad.”

- Marc Glassman, POV Magazine

SALOUM

SAM NOW

SCRAP

DIR. STACEY TENENBAUM, 2022, QUEBEC | 78 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: ZERO WASTE YUKON

Discover the strangely beautiful places where things go to die and meet the people who collect and restore the world’s scrap.

Scrap scratches beneath flaking paint and rusting metal to reveal the beauty in the ugliness we leave behind. Scrap is a love letter to the things we use in our daily lives. This cinematic documentary tells the stories of people who have a connection to objects that have reached their ‘end of life’. Together their stories convey a deeper environmental and human message about our relationship to things, the sadness we feel at their eventual loss, and the joy of their rebirth.

In English, French and Thai with English subtitles. Director Stacey Tenenbaum in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

THE SMELL OF MONEY

DIR. SHAWN BANNON, 2022, USA | 84 MIN

What is the price some pay for the world’s pork? Smithfield Foods is the largest producer of pork in North America and its North Carolina facility processes tens of thousands of pigs per day, in a state where it is legal to spray untreated hog waste into the air. The Smell of Money is the unbelievable and appalling story of a multi-billion-dollar corporation poisoning the air, water, and lives of their own neighbours—most of them from the Black community. Local activists take on one of the world’s most powerful companies in a fight for their rights to clean air and pure water.

SCRAP THE SMELL OF MONEY

SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING (FUMER FAIT TOUSSER)

SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING (FUMER FAIT TOUSSER)

DIR. QUENTIN DUPIEUX, 2022, FRA | 80 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: ASSOCIATION FRANCO-YUKONNAISE

A group of superheroes who uncannily resemble the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers many of us will remember from TV. They are called the Tobacco Force, and they kill supernatural monsters from the cosmos using nicotine and carbon monoxide. The good role models that they are, they never touch cigarettes themselves. Since they are burnt out from saving the world, their boss – the perpetually drooling rat Didier – tells them to go and relax in the woods. By the campfire they try to frighten each other with scary stories.

In French with English subtitles.

STEPPING SOFTLY ON THE EARTH

STEPPING SOFTLY ON THE EARTH

DIR. MARCOS COLÓN, 2022, USA | 71 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - WHITEHORSE CHAPTER

In the documentary “Pisar Suavemente na Terra”, three Indigenous leaders from the Amazon try to keep their ways of being in the world alive. This is the story of Kátia, Chief of the Akrãtikatêjê people, of Manuel, Chief of the Munduruku people and of José Manuyama, a teacher of Kokama origin. The three narrate the threats to their territories promoted by large-scale mining, monoculture, oil extraction, logging and the construction of hydroelectric plants. Interconnected by the voice and ancestral thoughts of Ailton Krenak, these accounts of resistance present us with other ways of existing and walking in the world.

In Portuguese and Spanish with English subtitles.

SWEET AS

DIR. JUB CLERC, 2022, AUSTRALIA | 87 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: WAYNE TUCK AND KAREN WALKER

The Breakfast Club meets the outback in this uplifting and beautiful coming-of-age road movie. Sweet As is the uplifting first feature by Jub Clerc, a Nyul Nyul/Yawuru woman from the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Partially inspired by her own childhood, Clerc’s film is a tender, assured story of an Indigenous girl’s coming of age and a much-needed fresh take on this enduring genre, enhanced by Shantae Barnes-Cowan’s layered and captivating performance as Murra.

Recommended for ages 12+ for mature themes and strong language.

TRAPPER RADIO SERIES

A 5-part film series showcasing 20 + NWT artists in their local regions talking about their art, living through the pandemic, and sharing stories and music about their connections to the North and the land.

The 5th film in this series screens at the ALFF Open Air Fireside screening at Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre: Thursday Feb 16, 8:30pm. Admission is free.

Trapper Radio Series - Dehcho Region

DIR. LAWRENCE NAYALLY, WESLEY HARDISTY, 2022, NT | 16 MIN

Trapper Radio Series - Mackenzie Delta Region

DIR. LEANNE GOOSE, LOUIE GOOSE, WADE

VANELTSI, 2022, NT | 25 MIN

Trapper Radio Series - North Slave Region

DIR. MARTIN REHAK, COURTNEY MCKIEL, PAT BRADEN, 2022, NT | 14 MIN

Trapper Radio Series - South Slave Region

DIR. TYLER HAWKINS, BRANDON KIKOAK, JAIMIE KIKOAK, AARON KIKOAK, CRAIG ALLARD, 2022, NT | 16 MIN

SWEET AS TRAPPER RADIO SERIES

ALFF FILMS

UNARCHIVED VIKING

UNARCHIVED

DIR. HAYLEY GRAY AND ELAD TZADOK, 2022, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 84 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: MOLOTOV AND BRICKS TATTOO

For too long, the past has been the exclusive domain of the white colonial power structure.

In this zippy NFB documentary, Hayley Gray and Elad Tzadok survey the inspiring work of a handful of community archives across British Columbia. They talk to curators and archivists from groups traditionally marginalized or excluded communities: Indigenous, Queer, Trans, the Chinese Canadian Museum, the Tahltan Nation, the South Asian Legacy Project, and others. Along the way, we learn the secret, neglected, and untold histories of this place we only think we know.

Directors Hayley Gray and Elad Tzadok in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

VIKING

DIR. STÉPHANE LAFLEUR, 2022, QUEBEC | 104 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: ASSOCIATION FRANCO-YUKONNAISE

A behavioral research team observes and attempts to replicate the experiences of the first manned mission to Mars.

Packed with beautifully surreal images and mundane bits of interplanetary work routine — like the five astronauts piling onto a bus in full space gear, then shuffling off towards a Quonset hut where the organizer promptly loses his keys — Viking balances humour with profound poignancy, a longing for a sense of purpose. It’s that rare kind of science fiction where gadgets and fantasy are overshadowed by the mysteries of the human psyche, and arguably Lafleur’s finest film to date.

In English and French with English subtitles. Content advisory: themes of depression.

VOICES ACROSS THE WATER

DIR. FRITZ MUELLER, 2022, YUKON | 90 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: NORTHWESTEL COMMUNITY TV

There is a moment during the construction of a canoe when its true form is revealed. A hull drops into place. The elegant arc of a bow cuts forth. A similar process sometimes occurs in life, when a person finally discovers their true path.

Fritz Mueller and Teresa Earle’s feature documentary Voices Across the Water follows two master boat builders as they practise their art and find a way back to balance and healing.

For Alaskan Tlingit carver Wayne Price and young apprentice, Violet, fashioning a dugout canoe from a single massive red cedar tree is a way to reconnect to the Ancestral Knowledge of Indigenous craftspeople. Francophone artist Halin de Repentigny’s handmade birchbark canoes recall the vessels once used by the voyageurs. Connected by their devotion to craft and the critical importance of succession, they carry forward the ancient art of navigating life’s unexpected currents.

Director, Fritz Mueller, producer, Teresa Earle, executive producer, Shirley Vercruysse in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

THE WHALE

DIR. DARREN ARONOFSKY, 2022, USA | 117 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: KOBAYASHI + ZEDDA

Based on a stage play, a reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption. Canadian actor, Brendan Fraser is nominated for the Best Actor award for his performance in this drama at the 2023 Oscars.

Content advisory: strong language, sexuality, mature and complex themes. Recommended for ages 15+.

WHEN TIME GOT LOUDER

DIR. CONNIE COCCHIA, 2021, BRITISH COLUMBIA | 114 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: YUKON PROVISIONS

Connie Cocchia creates a clear depiction of autism’s impacts on an individual and their family. When Time Got Louder offers a deeply moving story about good people simply trying to do their best—and just how hard that can be.

Leaving home for university, Abbie thrives as she experiences independence and self-actualization. However, she’s tormented by the knowledge that her brother Kayden, who has autism and is non-verbal, is reeling in her absence and pushing her parents to their limits. Abbie faces the impossible decision between returning to Karly, the woman she’s fallen for, or providing Kayden the support he seemingly desperately needs.

Content advisory: bullying, coarse language, violence.

WHETŪ MĀRAMA - BRIGHT STAR

DIR. TOBY MILLS AND AILEEN O’SULLIVAN, 2022, NZD | 94 MIN

SCREENING SPONSOR: LUMEL STUDIOS

For Māori, the canoe underpins our culture.

We once built waka/canoes from giant trees and sailed the Pacific by the stars. These arts were lost to us for 600 years.

Whetū Mārama – Bright Star is the story of Sir Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Puhip, and his significance for Māori in rekindling their wayfinding DNA and for all New Zealanders in reclaiming our place as traditional star voyages. It is the story of a culture that understands an inner compass. Hek’s voyaging has reconnected his crews with their inbuilt GPS systems and they in turn are teaching and inspiring the next generation.

WHEN TIME GOT LOUDER

WHETŪ MĀRAMA

THIS IS NOT A CEREMONY (VR EXPERIENCE)

DIR. AHNAHKTSIPIITAA (COLIN VAN LOON) , 2022, BC | 22 MIN

This NFB produced interactive VR experience will be available to experience on a headset on a first comefirst-served basis at the festival information table at YAC. Hours listed below.

Niitsitapi writer and director Ahnahktsipiitaa (Colin Van Loon) takes us beyond the veil of traditional media and transports us directly into another realm, where past, present and future are one; where colonial rules and assumptions are forgotten; and where we can finally get to the truth of the matter.

Presented in stunning cinematic VR, the narrative unfolds all around us, on a dream-like plane of existence. Panoramas flow and merge, stories come to life and dance before our eyes, and community protocols confront our notions of personal responsibility. Here, we are asked to witness some of the darker sides of living life in Canada while Indigenous.

This unforgettable experience will stay with you long after it’s over. THIS IS NOT A CEREMONY calls on all who’ve watched to take action, to share what they have seen and heard, to learn from these tragedies and never forget—so that they will never happen again.

Available to experience in the Yukon Arts Centre lobby. No cost. First come first-served.

Friday Feb 10: 3pm - 6pm

Saturday Feb 11: 3pm - 6pm

Sunday Feb 19: 3pm - 6pm

ALFF CREATOR TALK

VIRTUAL REALITY, GAMES AND APPS AT LOFTY SKY ENTERTAINMENT

SATURDAY FEB 11, 9 - 10:30AM

OLD FIRE HALL, FREE ADMISSION

CEO of Lofty Sky Entertainment and director of Eternal Spring (長春), Jason Loftus, in conversation with XR creator, animator and principal of Outpost 31, Jayden Soroka.

This talk explores the creation of an award-winning animated documentary Eternal Spring (長春), (which opens the festival Thurs Feb 9) and the online companion pieces to share this fine animated film with the world. We’ll dive deep into the blending of 2D illustrations, animation and documentary. Show creator Jason Loftus of Lofty Sky Entertainment will walk through the creative process with clips, anecdotes and answers to audience questions.

A Peabody Award-winning film producer and four-time Canadian Screen Award nominee, Jason Loftus’ work spans documentary, docuseries, virtual reality, narrative games, and animation.

An alumni of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Jayden Soroka combines his talent for animation and producing with his passion and proficiency for motion design, visual-fx, and 360/ VR content.

THIS IS NOT A CEREMONY

PROUD MAJOR SPONSOR

Four plus days of industry sessions including master classes, panel discussions, decision-maker and funder presentations and the ALFF Pitch Event, the ALFF Industry Series kicks off on February 7 and runs until February 12.

For the full schedule please view: alff.ca

February 7

7PM-8PM: Old Fire Hall, Whitehorse. Independent Production Fund with Jon Taylor.

February 8 - all day on Zoom

9PM-5:30PM: Industry Presentations by decision-makers, festivals and public funders, including: CBC Drama, CBC Comedy, Indigenous Screen Office, Bell Fund, Telefilm Canada, National Film Board of Canada, Canada Media Fund, Knowledge Network, Northwestel Community TV, Documentary Organization of Canada, Hot Docs International FF, and Level Film

February 9

9AM-11AM: Zoom, DOC IGNITE Market Intelligence workshop

12PM-1PM: Old Fire Hall, Creator Talk - The Art of Polaris with Leslie Leong

1:30PM-3:30 PM: Zoom, DOC IGNITE From Treatment to Screen workshop

February 10

9AM-10AM: Old Fire Hall Keynote Address - Joy Loewen, National Screen Institute

10:30AM-12PM: Panel DiscussionLifting Up Indigenous Screen Projects/ Producers

1PM-2:30PM: Zoom, 1 to 1 Meetings

2:30-4:00 PM: IN-person 1 to 1 Meetings

February 11

9AM-10:30 AM: Old Fire Hall, VR, Games and App Case Study: Lofty Sky Entertainment’s Jason Loftus in conversation with Jayden Soroka (Outpost 31)

1PM-2:15 PM: Old Fire Hall, Yukon Film and Media Production Status and Future

3PM-4:30 PM: Old Fire Hall, Submitting to Film Festivalsfilmmakers and festival programmers

February 12

1PM: Old Fire Hall, ALFF Pitch Event. Public event. Everyone is welcome to attend to witness 6 filmmaking teams pitch their short film project to a jury of film professionals for the chance to win the ALFF Pitch Prize: $7,500 in cash and $5,000 in in-kind support from Northwestel Community TV and Yukon Film Society.

PASSES AND REGISTRATION

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors Canada Media Fund and Warner Bros. Discovery Access Canada for providing Industry access to under-represented creatives.

ALFF Industry Online Pass: $40 ALFF Industry: $75 alff.ca/passes

*FREE for Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour and LGBTQ2+ Creatives in the Yukon, NWT & BC please email: alff@ yukonfilmsociety.com

ALFF 2023 Presenting Partner: Canada Goose. ALFF Industry is presented in partnership with the support of Canada Media Fund, Documentary Organization of Canada, Warner Bros. Discovery Access Canada, Hot Docs International Film Festival, Telefilm Canada, and Northwestel Community Television.

ALFF SHORT WORKS 1: HERE AND THE GREAT ELSEWHERE

Vistas: Ignition

DIR. DOUG, JR. SMARCH, 2009, CA | 3 MIN

This animated video captures the feeling of nighttime solitude on a murky rural road. High beams pierce the night to cast shadows that distend and hide all beyond.

Mold

DIR. SHELBY ATWOOD STRANGLING WOLF & STEVIE-RAY ATWOOD STRANGLING WOLF, 2022, CA | 10 MIN

A lone, hollow protagonist finds themselves ridden with an uncanny mold that cannot be cleaned or expunged.

Vistas: Dancers of the Grass

DIR. MELANIE JACKSON, 2009, CA | 2 MIN

Stop-motion embodies unity in the majesty of a First Nations hoop dance.

Thanadoula

DIR. ROBIN MCKENNA, 2020, CA | 6 MIN

The tale of a palliative doula who finds her calling through her late sister.

Forests

DIR. SIMON PLOUFFE, 2022, CA | 16 MIN

Innu voices speak to swamped forests while drums punctuate the gravity of flooded woodlands. Dams emerge as aurality intensifies and recalls legends of the land.

Here and the Great Elsewhere

DIR. MICHÈLE LEMIEUX, 2012, CA | 14 MIN

Lemieux abstracts elements of matter through a short series of pinscreen tableaux.

Alambic: By Winds and Tides

DIR. DOUG, JR. SMARCH, 2022, CA | 3 MIN

This short film weaves words and visuals to illustrate how creation takes shape and is unleashed.

HERE AND THE GREAT ELSEWHERE

ALFF SHORT WORKS 2: TRIANGLE OF DARKNESS

Saturday Night

DIR. ROSANA MATECKI, 2021, CA | 15 MIN

Spanish visual essay about a lone narrator whose nostalgia encompasses a melancholy perspective. Amidst an impassive city, memory and dance prove to be a refuge.

Nowhere Land

DIR. ROSIE BONNIE AMMAAQ, 2015, NU | 15 MIN

A hushed elegy for a way of life forgotten by conquest albeit deeply remembered by those who lived it. A family who lives as Inuit generations before them and renounces the frigid formality imposed by colonial institutions.

At Dusk

DIR. MIRYAM CHARLES, 2022, QC | 17 MIN

Charlotte faces inner demons during a field trip to the woods. She ventures to find herself alone in an effort to escape shared mealtimes and overcome her own hunger.

Triangle of Darkness

DIR. MARIE-NOËLLE MOREAU ROBIDAS, 2022, CA | 15 MIN

Cold is custom for those who reside in a region known as the “triangle of darkness” amidst an ice storm that saw an unprecedentedly prolonged power outage. Reproductive labour and kinship always manage to warm those cold.

Walking is Medicine

DIR. ALANIS OBOMSAWIN, 2017, CA | 5 MIN

Six Cree men, the Nishiyuu walkers, trudge 1600 kilometers from Whapmagoostui to Ottawa like their ancestors. They trek upon frozen lakes and rivers to span long distances.

55 Socks

DIR. CO HOEDEMAN, 2011, CA | 8 MIN

During World War II, a mother and daughter care for two Jewish ladies when Nazis occupied Holland. The women unravel a quilt to make 55 pairs of socks to trade for necessities.

Alambic: Solid Ground

DIR. BEATRIZ CARVALHO, 2022, CA | 2 MIN

A sonic travelog that follows an expatriate on their journey home. Monotype animation characterizes a sentiment of simultaneity wherein one feels both at home and abroad upon return.

ALFF

SHORT WORKS 3:

THREE THINGS WE WON’T TALK ABOUT FREE SCREENING

Pony

DIR. CHALA HUNTER, 2022, CA | 11 MIN

Familia(l)(r)ity depicts a fine line between indelicacy and endearment.

III

DIR. SALOMÉ VILLENEUVE, 2022, CA | 12 MIN

Nature inclines three siblings to critically consider mortality on a hot summer day.

Three Things We Won’t Talk About

DIR. JESSIE CRAIG ROCHE, 2022, CA | 9 MIN

A comical morbid glimpse into the filth and fortitude that underscores intimacy through unspoken nuisances.

Scaring Women at Night

DIR. KARIMAH ZAKIA ISSA, 2022, CA | 10 MIN

Fear is instinct as Ella finds herself the sole traveler down an empty street with a man who follows too close behind.

Very Present

DIR. CONOR MCNALLY, 2020, CA | 5 MIN

As Riley adjusts to a new place and schedule, we see how confinement alters our perceptions of time.

The Chase

DIR. GURJEET KAUR BASSI, 2022, CA | 11 MIN

A couple of Punjabi labourers shift gears against their wrongdoers.

Lay Me by the Shore

DIR. DAVID FINDLAY, 2022, CA | 19 MIN

Sunny days are overshadowed by a specter of those who were loved and lost. Life is precarious with no guarantees. The only thing Noah can count on is unvarying anguish in bereavement.

Content advisory: strong language and mature themes in this program.

THREE THINGS WE WON’T TALK ABOUT SCARING WOMEN AT NIGHT

ALFF SHORT WORKS 4: HIDDEN HISTORIES

ALFF SHORT WORKS 5: MUNICIPAL RELAXATION MODE

Tibi

DIR. TWOYOUNGMEN JARRET, 2022, AB | 13 MIN

A tipi wonders about its purpose in modern life, and shows that as a home, it is the heart of its community.

Kokum with Love

DIR. KIM STADFELD, 2022, MB | 11 MIN

Flora Bear’s youngest granddaughter searches for truth and answers about her Indigenous grandmother’s life. Filmmakers in attendance.

Tiny

DIR. RYAN HACHÉ AND RITCHIE HEMPHILL, 2022, BC | 16 MIN

’Nakwaxda’xw Elder Colleen Hemphill tells the story of her life as a youth growing up in a float house.

Imalijirit

DIR. TIM ANAVIAPIK SOUCIE AND VINCENT

L’HÉRAULT, 2022, NU | 27 MIN

This film brings human faces to the much reported issue of problems with drinking water for Indigenous communities. In this, a young father in Pond Inlet, near the north end of Baffin Island, sets out to take matters into his own community’s hands. A fascinating overview of a multi-faceted co-operative project that involves educating fellow Inuit, gathering historical evidence from elders, and a large degree of training and co-operation with academic institutions in the south. Inspiring and a great look into life in Pond Inlet, Nunavut.

Rumination

DIR. ASHLEIGH VALLANCOURT, 2022, CA | 4 MIN

At night, a woman’s mind wanders as she chops firewood.

Chasing Birds

DIR. UNA LORENZEN, 2022, CA | 8 MIN

A hand-drawn animation of parallel universes in which strangers, unaware of each other’s presence, share the use of a long table as their worlds gradually merge.

Wherever You Are, Wherever I Am

DIR. KAY CHAN, 2022, BC | 2 MIN

This film follows a pair of Two-Spirit Métis-Chinese youth softening a deer hide together. An experimental film about belonging and honouring your full self and ancestry, no matter where you are.

Red House

DIR. BARRY DOUPÉ, 2022, CA | 3 MIN

Red House is an animation that playfully explores metamorphosis in relation to the stability and structure of housing. Created using the AMIGA computer console and Deluxe Paint IV software, hand drawn sequences delight in the constant reconfiguration of images, characters and forms.

→ continued on next page

TIBI

RED HOUSE

Municipal Relaxation Module

DIR. MATTHEW RANKIN, QC | 6 MIN

Ken has a perfect spot for a city bench, and is calling the city to share his idea.

Alambic: By Winds and Tides

DIR. BOGDAN ANIFRANI-FEDACH, CA | 2 MIN

Exploring the conscious, the unconscious and the self, By Winds and Tides takes a deep experimental dive into the birth of an idea—how it takes shape, how it is released. An allegorical quest, the film combines images and words into a singular sigh.

Hotel

DIR. DAVID CURTIS, 2022, YT | 5 MIN

During a two-week stay in a nearly vacant hotel, filmmaker Curtis developed an intimate relationship with his room and the hotel’s architecture and décor.

Living with Ataxia

DIR. ANNIE MAHEUX,2022, QC | 10 MIN

Based on an original idea by Magdalena Guzman and coordinated by Annie Maheux, Vivre avec Ataxie (Living with Ataxia) deals with the fundamental intersections between desire and disability, through video and Virtual Reality research.

I Thought the World of You

DIR. KURT WALKER, 2022, BC | 17 MIN

The speculative tale of Canadian outsider musician Lewis, his 1983 album L’Amour, and its belated discovery. A love story composed in myth and song.

ALFF SHORT WORKS 6: YUKON LIGHT

FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE

Blur

DIR. EMILY SHEFF, MARIE HAMMJE, 2022, YT | 4 MIN

Whitehorse jury award-winner of the Yukon48 Filmmaking Challenge. Content advisory for disturbing scenes.

Don’t Bring Lulu

DIR. LULU KEATING, 2022, YT | 4 MIN

The invitation to the party comes with a stipulation: don’t bring Lulu. However, Lulu has ideas of her own.

Snow Bear

DIR. IANTHA GREER, 2022, YT | 8 MIN

In this gentle animation, Ali’s twin sister Dea passes away, her spirit returns from the northern lights in the form of a snow bear to console Ali and her family and play an important role in the family’s survival.

Please Cheese Please Me

DIR. ZACH MCCANN, CHELSEA JEFFREY, 2022, YT | 3 MIN

Audience award-winner of the Yukon48 Filmmaking Challenge!

→ ALFF Short Works 5 continued

LIVING WITH ATAXIA BLUR

Hello World

DIR. J/KLYNK, 2022, YT | 4 MIN

Dawson jury award-winner of Yukon48 Filmmaking Challenge.

Tlingit Samurai

DIR. DOUGLAS JOE, 2022, YT | 4 MIN

Haa Kusteeyí meets the katana.

Sorry Folks

DIR. AUBYN O’GRADY, 2022, YT | 3 MIN

It’s probably the dongle.

Ablation

DIR. CUD EASTBOUND, 2022, YT | 4 MIN

Don’t go down there!

Hiking

DIR. FLORIAN BOSC, 2022, YT | 5 MIN

Two hikers walk on a trail in the mountains. After many kilometers, one of them injures their ankle and needs emergency help.

Parental guidance advised.

The Fire Dancer

DIR. LANCELOT BURTON, AGNIESZKA PAJOR, 2022, YT | 3 MIN

Audrey Gallibois transforms into a fearless fire deity, delicately balancing the dangerous art of flowing fire just a hair’s breadth away from what most people would consider safe.

Senior Year

DIR. THOMAS BULLEN, 2021, YT | 25 MIN

Senior Year is a visual album, consisting of music by the Yukon band, Soda Pony. The six songs of the album, which embody the iconic musical style of garage rock duo Aiden Tentrees and Patrick Hamilton, guide a visual narrative which explores the many trials and tribulations of young adulthood against the backdrop of Yukon life. Youthful naiveté, awkward first dates, lessons gained and love lost, are all on the menu in this coming-of-age tale; with a generous side of fries. Whitehorse actors Daniel Little and Julie Laliberté star as the (almost) high school sweethearts in a narrative that roams wildly between hopeful, awkward, intense, and utterly unrequited. Senior Year was produced by Yukon filmmakers Thomas and Gabriel Bullen on a shoestring budget and serves as a love letter to the real and imagined world of Whitehorse teenage-dom in the days before everyone had a smartphone in their pocket.

HELLO WORLD SENIOR YEAR

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