cINeDIGENOUS
SIFF acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. This program centers the works of Indigenous filmmakers from across the globe, amplifying these oft-silenced voices whose words are essential to the wellbeing of our planet and all its peoples. cINeDIGENOUS is curated in partnership with Indigenous peoples and organizations that support Indigenous creatives, cultures, rights, and activism globally.
The Battle for Laikipia
Kenya | 2024 | 94 min. | Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi (Kuria)
An endless and increasingly deadly land rights battle rages on between the region’s pastoralists European-descended ranchers.
Bring Them Home
USA | 2024 | 85 min. | Ivan MacDonald (Blackfeet), Ivy MacDonald (Blackfeet), Daniel Glick
Lily Gladstone narrates this story about Montana’s Blackfoot tribe as they seek to reinstate a wild buffalo herd.
Fish War
USA | 2024 | 79 min. | Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, Skylar Wagner
In 1974, a conservative federal judge upheld Indigenous fishing rights in Washington, ending violent clashes with law enforcement and laying the foundation for environmental stewardship in this locally produced activism documentary.
Molokaʻi Bound
USA | 2024 | 112 min. | Alika Tengan (Kanaka Maoli)
Kainoa returns to his family to reconnect with his adolescent son, rekindle with his ex, and reintegrate into his native culture.
Moving Poetry: Indigenous Stories
72 min.
This selection of short, Indigenous-made films exemplifies the poetic language of the body as memory, cultural healing, and relationship to the natural world.
The New Boy
Australia | 2023 | 116 min. | Warwick Thornton (Kaytej)
A young Aboriginal orphan is sent to a monastery deep in the Outback, only to demonstrate potentially supernatural powers.
Red, White & Brass
New Zealand | 2023 | 85 min. | Damon Fepulea’i (Samoan)
Maka and his friends hastily create a brass marching band to gain access to a Rugby World Cup game.
Standing Above the Clouds
Hawaiian Kingdom | 2024 | 83 min. | Jalena Keane-Lee
Three Hawaiian families seek to protect their sacred mountain from the construction of the world’s largest telescope.
Sugarcane
USA | 2024 | 107 min. | Julian Brave NoiseCat (Secwepemc Nation), Emily Kassie
A gutwrenching doc on the horrors of residential schools, centering on the abuse suffered at the hands of B.C.’s St. Joseph Mission.
Through Rocks and Clouds
Peru | 2024 | 83 min. | Franco Garcia Becerra
An alpaca shepherd finds his quiet world in peril when a mining company threatens to jeopardize the future of his community.
The Tundra Within Me
Norway | 2023 | 95 min. | Sara Margrethe Oskal (Sápmi)
Oslo-based Sámi artist Lena returns to her Northern Norway hometown, only to fall in love with a local reindeer herder.
Valentina or the Serenity
Mexico | 2023 | 85 min. | Ángeles Cruz (Ñuu savi)
A young Mixtecan girl refuses to believe her recently deceased father has truly left this earthly realm.