Film of the Week

Curated by Gabrielle Nour Kacha & Aida Kaadan

Indigenous Cinemas in Conversation concludes with a dialogue between two animated short films, Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes)  by Amanda Strong and Mariam by Dana Durr. Through stop-motion and hand-drawn animation, these films extend the programme’s exploration of storytelling beyond the conventions of colonial realism, creating worlds shaped by ancestry, spirituality, mythology, and Indigenous relationships to land. Together, they embrace animation to imagine worlds where ancestry, memory, kinship, and relationships to land remain alive, opening possibilities for Indigenous futures grounded in connection and continuity.

Mariam (2020)

Animated, 5m

Mariam follows a girls journey to find tradition and knowledge from her culture and heritage after losing her beloved sanctuary. As she witnesses the destruction of a beloved tree, a broad and unbreakable bond is illustrated through motifs of olive and cypress trees embroidered in this heartfelt film about the unity of people and their land

Writer & Director: Dana Dur
Music: Bu Kolthoum

Biidaaban (2018)

Animation, 19m

Accompanied by 10,000-year-old shapeshifter and friend known as Sabe, Biidaaban sets out on a mission to reclaim the ceremonial harvesting of sap from maple trees in an unwelcoming suburban neighborhood of Ontario.  Driven by the words of Anishinaabe writer Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Amanda Strong’s mesmerizing stop motion animation intricately weaves together multiple worlds through time and space, calling for a rebellion.

Director: Amanda Strong
Writers: Amanda Strong, Leanne Simpson
Animation Department: Lynn Dana Wilton, Marus Kliewer
Visual Effects: Marcus Kliewer, Keith Morgan
Composers: Joseph Murray, Lodewijk Vos