imagineNATIVE is my most favourite of film festivals. It is an epic international Film + Media Arts Festival born of and happening in Toronto, which hits every fall. Celebrating indigenous peoples from around the world who are creating cutting edge film, video, radio, and new media. Presenting a juried selection of  the most incredible, honest, provoking and beautiful indigenous works from around the globe.

Part of their mission statement as stated on their website, ‘imagineNATIVE is committed to dispelling stereotypical notions of Indigenous peoples through diverse media presentations from within our communities, thereby contributing to a greater understanding by audiences of Indigenous artistic expression.’ Hells yea. And they do it more than well.

To me, imagineNATIVE  as an entity, is a visionary leader. Filling the gap of showcasing qualitative indigenous artistic content, it exhibits to the world the work of Native filmmakers and media artists. Artists who weave art into fiction, into film, into mixed media, into music; of their cultural and traditional landscapes which are generally and otherwise under or misrepresented. An excellent, prolific  example of such misrepresentations throughout cinematic history (and in affect, general history) is the