A first-ever Indigenous film festival is coming to Saskatoon this week.
80 films from Indigenous film-makers across the world will be screened at theatres across the city as part of the inaugural Acimowin Film Festival.
Trisitn Greyeyes is the festival’s founder and executive director and is also a member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation who grew-up in Saskatoon. Greyeyes has lived in Vancouver for the past 9 years as a film-maker.
She says it was her dream to organize a film festival in her home territory.
“All of the things I have faced in life were meant to happen in order for me to be here today and do these things for my community,” said Greyeyes in a conversation with MBC Radio News.
Greyeyes says she first thought of the idea of the Acimowin Film Festival nearly 6 years ago, but the official planning has been underway for the past two years.
Films will be screened from Indigenous film-makers from Australia, Norway, Hawaii, and across North America.
Greyeyes believes events like this one give Indigenous film-makers a platform to tell their stories.
“To tell our own stories is to be in charge of our own futures,” she said. “I don’t think people really understand how important it is we tell our own stories and how important it is to support our film-makers.”
The film festival will begin on Wednesday and run through Saturday.
Greyeyes hopes it will be a successful event so it can run yearly or possibly bi-annually.