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...

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

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...

As the only First Nations student in an all-white 1940s school, eight-year old Wato is keenly aware of the hostility towards her. She deeply misses...

First Nations documentary

Walker is a young Aboriginal foster child whose only playmate is his dog. Jamie is a lonely young white boy who is afraid of dogs, and has some...

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

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...

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

The Nishiyuu walkers made the trek from Whapmagoostui in Quebec to Ottawa, a 1,600-kilometre journey whose roots date back millennia. At the heart of...

Documentary on the Kattawapiskak Elementary School.

Filmed in front of a captivated audience during a visit to Attawapiskat (Kattawapiskat), Fleury shares his arresting story of surviving abuse and...

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...

Obomsawin narrates as children learn of the traditions and life of Gabriel, a Cree boy from Fort George, James Bay. The Northern Cree "Walking Out...

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...

Utilizing engineering ingenuity that is centuries old, Atikamekw elders Agatha and Cézar Néwashish build a small-scale version of a...

Through a series of still images, the bright, inquisitive and beautiful faces of the children from the Atikamekw community of Manawan are seen at...

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

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