First Nation Studies

KUESSIPAN
KUESSIPAN
KUESSIPAN
KUESSIPAN
KUESSIPAN
KUESSIPAN
KUESSIPAN
KUESSIPAN

KUESSIPAN

Regular price $395.00
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KUESSIPAN

The award-winning drama Kuessipan by Myriam Verreault was adapted from the acclaimed novel Kuessipan and co-written with the novel’s First Nation Canadian author Naomi Fontaine. Kuessipan means "your turn" in the Innu language, a title chosen to mark the notion that it is the Innu people's turn to tell their story.

“The Innu voice is ever present, which is so important as it offers a glimpse into their lives without a Colonial perspective. It's a feature that, while seemingly an obvious advantage, is hardly ever utilized for similar films. It means that audiences can enter the world in a respectful manner - which isn't to say the film shies away from the issues, but it does mean that those issues are approached in a confident and dignified way” writes Joel Kalkopf in his review for Switch.

The story follows two girls who grow up as best friends in a Quebec Innu community. While Mikuan has a loving family, Shaniss is picking up the pieces of her shattered childhood. As children, they promised each other to be lifelong friends. But as they mature, their lives take different paths, and their personal ambitions diverge leading them to a cultural and identity clash that tests their bond.

Directed by Myriam Verreault, Canada, 2019, 117min, Drama, Montagnais, French, English w/English subtitles

"Kuessipan is quiet and mesmerizing and tragic and full of hope. It is a triumph, and a privilege to spend time with." ~ Globe and Mail

"Myriam Verreault excels at crafting a film told through an Indigenous lens that discusses universal themes of friendship, identity, love, and heartbreak." ~ Exclaim!

"Kuessipan is a beautiful, un-sensationalized look at young womanhood, friendship and community." ~ NOW Toronto

"Heartbreakingly exploring Indigenous identity and the bonds that root us to a community, Kuessipan is a bold ode to young womanhood." ~ MUBI

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ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET

ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET

Regular price $395.00
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Angels On Diamond Street Trailer - Art HD from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET

DIRECTED BY Petr Lom
U.S.A. / Netherlands / 2019 / ENGLISH / SPANISH w/English Subtitles / 88 MIN


SYNOPSIS

Angels on Diamond Street spotlights three women fighting for social justice in an African-American church in Philadelphia. We follow head cook Mamie Mather, former Black Panther Barbara Easley-Cox and Pastor Renee Mackenzie at the soup kitchen of the Church of the Advocate: a national monument with a rich history in the civil rights movement.

When an undocumented Mexican immigrant family - Carmela Apolonio Hernandez and her children - asks the church for sanctuary, they are welcome with open arms. Pastor Mackenzie courageously defies the ICE immigration authorities in an act of civil disobedience.

A documentary about compassion that invites us to forget about all borders, be they of race, nationality or religion.

 

"Angels on Diamond Street, by the Netherlands-based director Petr Lom, is rich with quotable quotes. It is a tender look at an American church with an old, persevering, social justice soul, and the people who make their soup kitchen a communal magnet.

The film was recorded during a two-year focus on North Philadelphia's activist congregation of the Church of the Advocate in the heart of a poor, African American neighborhood. The church building is a huge, stone beauty finished in 1887, named the George W. South Memorial Church, but is best known by its current moniker. Informative and strung together chronologically, it grows into an occasional conversation between the man behind the camera and the people he follows. You can read a lot in its details." ~ JoAnne Velin, moderntimes.review.com

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LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS
LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS
LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS
LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS

LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS

Regular price $395.00
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With Ema diagnosed with terminal cancer, the Siope family searches for healing by confronting  intergenerational trauma head on and returning to their homeland of Sāmoa.

The redemptive tale of waka builder and captain Lilo Ema Siope’s final years, the stunning LOIMATA, The Sweetest Tears is a chronicle of journeys. Confronting intergenerational trauma head on, the Siope family returns to their homeland of Sāmoa. For Ema’s father, this is his first time back to his birthplace since leaving in 1959. The result is a poignant yet tender story of a family’s unconditional love for each other, and a commitment to becoming whole again.

By Anna Marbrook, New Zealand / Sāmoa. 2021, 94 minutes, Documentary, English & Samoan with English subtitles

"I walked into this film expecting to see a portrait of a world-renowned ship builder, navigator and sailor, undertaking one of the final voyages of her life. And, in a way, that is what Loimata is. But not in the way I was assuming it would be." ~ stuff.co.nz

Themes: First Nation / Women / Sexual Abuse / LGBTQ+ / Family / Healing 

AWARDS:

FIFO (Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien), 2021 
Grand Prix du Jury 

NZTV Awards, 2021
Best Documentary, Winner
Best Director, Nominee

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WHITE LIKE THE MOON

WHITE LIKE THE MOON

Regular price $145.00
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WHITE LIKE THE MOON 

DIRECTED BY MARINA GONZALEZ PALMIER
U.S.A. / 2001 / ENGLISH / 23 MIN

SYNOPSIS

A Mexican-American girl struggles to keep her identity when her mother forces her to bleach her skin. White Like the Moon is a revealing film about a dilemma not very well known outside Latino communities; that of the myth of the light skin superiority in Indigenous and Indigenous descendant communities.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Marina Gonzalez Palmier
Starring: Misha Aziz
Starring: Diana Burbano
Starring: Crystal Leah Chacon
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)
NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)
NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)
NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)
NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)
NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)
NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)
NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)

NAOMI'S JOURNEY (Naomis Reise)

Regular price $345.00
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Naomi's Journey Trailer - ArtMattan Films from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

NAOMI'S JOURNEY

Twenty-year old Naomi lives a simple life with her younger siblings in Peru. Only her big sister seems to live a life of fortune, being married in Germany. But now she is dead, murdered by her German husband.

Stunned by the news, Naomi can't imagine accompanying her mother to Germany, the land of the crime. But then she changes her mind, becomes a joint plaintiff, and takes part in the trial in Berlin.

In Naomi's Journey Frieder Schleich (Otomo) continues to explore the life of immigrants in Germany.  His staging of a realistic trial using real-life lawyers illustrates the inner working of the German justice system and its dispassionate proceedings. 

"The film follows the murder trial of a young South American woman within the framework of a hidden women and marriage trafficking market. The film is about justice and objectivity in the German legal system." ~ Hof international film festival

Directed by Frieder Schlaich, 2018, Germany / Peru, 93min, legal thriller, German and Spanish with English subtitles.

 

"The director composes a haunting puzzle about moral standards, trust and cultural clashes." ~ Brazilian Press

"Rising star Scarlett Jaimes gives a compelling performance in the title role presenting the turbulence of a fragile young lady with brilliant nuance." ~ Brazilian Press

"It's a gripping, accurate courtroom drama." ~ Brazilian Press

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GULPILIL: ONE RED BLOOD

GULPILIL: ONE RED BLOOD

Regular price $245.00
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GULPILIL: ONE RED BLOOD 

DIRECTED BY DARLENE JOHNSON 
AUSTRALIA / 2003 / ENGLISH / 56 MIN
SYNOPSIS

Legendary Aboriginal actor and Australian icon David Gulpilil's life has been one of dueling lifestyles, with his jet-setting movie star life on a completely different plane from his life as an Aboriginal village elder, and director Darlene Johnson manages to capture intimate details from both lifestyles in her 2003 biographical documentary Gulpilil: One Red Blood. At the age of 17, Gulpilil made history as the first Aboriginal actor to appear on film -- in Nicolas Roeg's 1971 Walkabout -- which, in turn, led to an historic acting career that culminated in his receiving numerous awards and an Order of Australia medal. All the while, Gulpilil remained true to his culture by accepting his tribal responsibilities, which include living in a primitive house and procuring his household's daily food and water. As Johnson films a number of very candid encounters with the actor in both settings -- David lives in a tent shed and is quite open about the lack of facilities in his abode and the exploitation he’s experienced during his career -- she documents the class differences that still exist between the indigenous population of Australia versus the relatively new white population.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Darlene Johnson
Starring: David Gulpilil
Starring: Rolf de Heer
Starring: Phillip Noyce
 

GENRES

    • Documentary
    • DVD also includes feature film The Tracker

 

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The Tracker

THE TRACKER

Regular price $395.00
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The Tracker trailer from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

THE TRACKER 

DIRECTED BY ROLF DE HEER
AUSTRALIA / 2002 / ENGLISH, WARLPIRI AND ANMATYERE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 98 MIN
RESTORED HD VERSION AVAILABLE

SYNOPSIS

The year is 1922 and The Tracker (David Gulpilil, Walkabout, Rabbit-Proof Fence) has the job of pursuing The Fugitive - an aborigine who is suspected of murdering a white woman - as he leads three mounted policemen: The Fanatic, The Follower and also The Veteran across the outback.

The Tracker, a mysterious and enigmatic figure whose true character remains unknown, assists them in their quest. As they move deeper into the bush and further away from civilization, the toxic forces of paranoia and violence begin to escalate, stirring up questions of what is black and what is white and who is leading whom. Their journey becomes an acrimonious and murderous trek that shifts power from one man to another, challenged by the indigenous people they come across as well as each other.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Rolf de Heer
Starring: David Gulpilil
Starring: Gary Sweet
Starring: Damon Gameau
 

GENRES

  • Epic Drama 

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WHITE LIES + WHITE LIKE THE MOON

WHITE LIES + WHITE LIKE THE MOON

Regular price $395.00
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White Lies Trailer - ArtMattan Films

WHITE LIES

Directed by Dana Rotberg | 2013 | New Zealand | 96mins | Drama | English and Maori with English subtitles.

SYNOPSIS

Based on a novel by Whale Rider writer Witi Ihimaera, White Lies - New Zealand's entry in the 2014 Oscar competition for best foreign-language film - is an intense drama that explores with great humanity and sensitivity such difficult topics as race relations, skin bleaching and motherhood.

Paraiti is the healer and midwife of her rural, Maori people - she believes in life. But new laws in force are prohibiting unlicensed healers, making the practice of much Maori medicine illegal. She gets approached by Maraea, the servant of a wealthy woman, Rebecca, who seeks her knowledge and assistance in order to hide a secret which could destroy Rebecca’s position in European settler society. This compelling story tackles moral dilemmas, exploring the nature of identity, societal attitudes to the roles of women and the tension between Western and traditional Maori medicine.

Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2013
DIRECTOR 

Director: Dana Rotberg
 

GENRES

  • Drama

WHITE LIKE THE MOON 

DIRECTED BY MARINA GONZALEZ PALMIER
U.S.A. / 2001 / ENGLISH / 23 MIN

SYNOPSIS

A Mexican-American girl struggles to keep her identity when her mother forces her to bleach her skin. White Like the Moon is a revealing film about a dilemma not very well known outside Latino communities; that of the myth of the light skin superiority in Indigenous and Indigenous descendant communities.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Marina Gonzalez Palmier
Starring: Misha Aziz
Starring: Diana Burbano
Starring: Crystal Leah Chacon
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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ROSA CHUMBE

ROSA CHUMBE

Regular price $345.00
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ROSA CHUMBE

DIRECTED BY JONATAN RELAYZE
PERU / 2015 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 75 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Critically acclaimed Rosa Chumbe is a rare film from Peru where the multiculturalism and multiracialism of Peruvian society is present everywhere.

Rosa is an indigenous mature police officer with both a gambling and a drinking problem. She lives with her daughter Sheila, who has a little baby. One day, after a big fight between them, Sheila steals her mother's savings and storms out of the house leaving her baby behind. Rosa is forced to spend some time with her grandson. Something changes inside her heart of stone. However, everything takes a wrong turn one night. Only a miracle can save her.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Jonatan Relayze
Starring: Liliana Trujillo
Starring: Cindy Díaz
Starring: Daysi Ontaneda
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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