2–3.30pm
event Details
In collaboration with Artspace Aotearoa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is pleased to host Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin here in Aotearoa for an in-conversation with artist Edith Amituanai. Obomsawin’s solo exhibition at Artspace Aotearoa, the first in our region and launching 1 September, explores two key impulses in her work: healing and resistance. As one of the most distinguished filmmakers working in Canada today and a leader in the Indigenous struggle, this conversation will explore these themes through a discussion of process, the spheres of education and care work, and the potential for art's impact on wider society. Both Obomsawin and Amituanai are keenly aware of the responsibilities of working with and for the community, often beginning their process with close listening. This is our chance to hear from them.
The conversation will be followed by a Q&A led by Artspace Aotearoa and then light refreshments to keep the kōrero going.
Image Credits: Sigwan, Directed by Alanis Obomsawin, Produced by Alanis Obomsawin, Forest animals meet around a campfire. Photo taken from the production, © 2005 National Film Board of Canada. All rights reserved.
- Date
- Location
- Auditorium
- Cost
- Free
Alanis Obomsawin
A member of the Abenaki Nation and one of Canada’s most distinguished filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin is a director and producer at the National Film Board of Canada, where she has worked since 1967.
Her upcoming films are Wabano: The Light of the Day and The Green Horse (working title). These will be her 56th and 57th films in a legendary career now spanning 56 years, devoted to chronicling the lives and concerns of First Nations people and exploring issues of importance to all.
Her 2022 film Bill Reid Remembers was named on the short film programme of Canada’s Top Ten, honouring the best in Canadian cinema.
Obomsawin’s 2019 production Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger completed a seven-film cycle devoted to the rights of Indigenous children and Peoples.
Her body of work includes such landmark films as Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993), documenting the 1990 Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) uprising in Kanehsatake and Oka, as well as her ground-breaking Incident at Restigouche (1984), a behind-the-scenes look at Quebec police raids on a Mi’kmaq reserve.
From April 7 to August 6, 2023, the Vancouver Art Gallery is presenting The Children Have to Hear Another Story – Alanis Obomsawin, an exhibition tracing Obomsawin’s artistic activism over five decades, first shown at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin in 2022 and accompanied by the book Alanis Obomsawin: Lifework (published by Prestel).
On April 18, 2023, she will be honoured with a tribute in the Senate of Canada, and in June, Obomsawin will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Toronto – her 13th honorary degree.
On July 23, Obomsawin will receive the Edward MacDowell Medal, which recognises individuals who have made significant cultural contributions. She is the first woman filmmaker to receive this award in its 63-year history.
In 2021, the Toronto International Film Festival presented Obomsawin with the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media, recognizing leadership in creating a union between social impact and cinema, along with a career retrospective entitled Celebrating Alanis.
In 2020, Obomsawin received the Rogers-DOC Luminary Award at the DOC Institute Awards, in addition to the Glenn Gould Prize.
Image credit: Julie Artacho
