Winner: Visionary Film Award
OUR GRANDMOTHER THE INLET
9 minutes | 2023 | Canada
Directors: Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos & Kayah George

This poetic documentary features Kayah George and her grandmother, Taha, the daughter of the renowned Chief Dan George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. It explores the hardship of industry dominance on the mental health of indigenous youth and the spirit of gentle reclamation of love and connection to culture, water, and land as kin.

Winner: Best Short Film Award
TINY
16 minutes | 2023 | Canada
Directors: Ritchie Hemphill & Ryan Haché

This contemplative stop motion film tells the story of ‘Nakwaxda’xw Elder Colleen Hemphill. She reflects on her past as a young girl growing up on a float-house in the wild and unpredictable waters of the Pacific Northwest. As she does so, Colleen notices how different her way of life was when she was young, and how much more harmonious her community was with nature. The film celebrates Colleen’s life and identity by sharing the gift of her presence and stories.

BAIGAL NUUR - LAKE BAIKAL
9 Minutes | 2023 | Canada
Director: Alisi Telengut

In this spellbinding, hand-crafted film, the formation and history of Lake Baikal in Siberia are reimagined, featuring the voice of a Buryat woman who can still recall some words in her endangered Buryat-Mongolian language. The vocabularies from the voice recording of the Buryat woman re-vitalize the spiritual significance of the terrain and landscape associated with her mother tongue.

BRINGING THE SALMON HOME
30 minutes | 2023 | Canada
Directors: Teresa Marshall & Jeremy Williams

The mighty Columbia River was once the source of the greatest salmon runs in the world. However, massive dams have blocked salmon from returning to the vast headwaters of the upper Columbia River in Canada for over 80 years. This documentary tells the story of three Indigenous nations who are upholding their sacred responsibility to reintroduce the salmon, working with US Tribal relations and allies along the river.

USUGILIX AWAKUN
11 minutes | 2023 | USA
Directors: Palmer Morse & Matt Mikkelsen

Unangax̂ scientist Shayla embarks on a poignant quest to understand the impact of toxic shellfish on her Indigenous community's heritage, weaving a narrative of scientific exploration and cultural preservation against the backdrop of the Aleutian Islands.