Book Tickets
Trailblazer of Indigenous cinema Alanis Obomsawin will present her landmark film, documenting the Kanien’kéhaka resistance to the development of sacred land into a golf course.
The 1990 Oka crisis began when the Quebec Government announced plans to expand a golf course that already occupied a segment of Kanien’kéhaka, or Mohawk, land. The expansion would severely infringe upon sacred burial ground located. In response, the Mohawk community began to obstruct the work and roads leading to the site, in particular across the Mercier Bridge – a significant artery of the local road system. With the arrival of the police, tensions heightened and a siege unfolded, all of which was captured by Obomsawin. Her film is not just a record of what took place, it became a landmark in a movement that had long seen indigenous peoples in the region subject to prejudice and the whims of bureaucracy. Moreover, the film challenged media representations of indigenous lives, instead presenting a complex, compassionate and powerful portrait of a rich and varied culture.
The 1990 Oka crisis began when the Quebec Government announced plans to expand a golf course that already occupied a segment of Kanien’kéhaka, or Mohawk, land. The expansion would severely infringe upon sacred burial ground located. In response, the Mohawk community began to obstruct the work and roads leading to the site, in particular across the Mercier Bridge – a significant artery of the local road system. With the arrival of the police, tensions heightened and a siege unfolded, all of which was captured by Obomsawin. Her film is not just a record of what took place, it became a landmark in a movement that had long seen indigenous peoples in the region subject to prejudice and the whims of bureaucracy. Moreover, the film challenged media representations of indigenous lives, instead presenting a complex, compassionate and powerful portrait of a rich and varied culture.
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Special Programmes
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Topics
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Premiere statusNo premiere
Film details
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Director(s)Alanis Obomsawin
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Country(s)Canada
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Year1993
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Duration119 mins
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Producer(s)Wolf Koenig, Colin Neale, Alanis Obomsawin
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CastAlanis Obomsawin
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CinematographyPhilippe Amiguet, François Brault, Zoe Dirse, André-Luc Dupont, Savas Kalogeras, Jean-Claude Labrecque, Barry Perles, Roger Rochat, Jocelyn Simard, Susan Trow
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EditingYurij Luhovy, Grace Avrith, Ruby-Marie Dennis, Carrie Katz, Sia Koukoulas, Claudia Morgado, René Robitaille, Doreen Stevens
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SoundDon Ayer, Michael Chalut, Ismael Cordeiro, Marie-France Delagrave, Serge Fortin, Juan Gutiérrez, Jean-Pierre Joutel, Raymond Marcoux, Terry Mardini, Tony Reed, Catherine van der Donckt, Donna Vekteris, Robert Verebely
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Language(s)English, French
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Certification
