Alanis Obomsawin Movies

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

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

Portrait of NFB filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin.

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

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

This short documentary by Alanis Obomsawin takes us to Poundmaker's Lodge, a treatment centre in St. Albert, Alberta, that welcomes Native people...

The new film from celebrated documentarian Alanis Obomsawin (Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance) chronicles the events following the filing of a...

The people of the L'íl'wat First Nation record their personal narratives about their culture, history, education, and the impact of residential...

A young Native girl, rejected by her classmates, is comforted and counselled by the animals of the forest.

Documentary on the Kattawapiskak Elementary School.

First Nations documentary

Having dedicated nearly four decades to chronicling the lives of Canada's First Nations, Alanis Obomsawin returns to the village where she was raised...

On a beautiful summer’s day in Nunavik, a family enjoys the pleasures of berry picking and fishing as the sound of two Elders throat-singing...

A portrait of Eugene "Gene Boy" Benedict from Odanak Indian Reserve near Montreal, Quebec. At 17, adrift and beginning to lose his way, he accepted a...

Elder Marie Leo recounts her experiences going through puberty. Growing up on the Líl̓wat Nation near Mount Currie, B.C., Marie details...

François Néwashish was the only one in his family from the Atikamekw community of Manawan not to go to residential school. He...

An intimate portrait of Marie Leo, a Sto:lo woman who was adopted into a Líl̓wat family as a baby. Marie’s gentle narrative of her...

Expert fishers for their entire lives, Líl̓wat Elders Cora and Daniel Wells share their deep knowledge of salmon fishing, cleaning and...

Alanis Obomsawin talks about how she got her start at the NFB and the overarching importance of sound/story in her work.