The Cinematheque

The future of tomorrow is dependent on nurturing and caring for the dreams of our youth. The iconic Alanis Obomsawin’s directorial debut Christmas at Moose Factory presents drawings by Cree children at a northern Ontario residential school, who share what Christmas means to them. Remaining Native follows Kutoven (“eagle who brings light from the darkness”) Stevens, a young Paiute man pursuing his dream of becoming an elite runner while confronting the intergenerational traumas of Indian boarding schools (the American equivalent to Canada’s residential schools). Haudenosaunee director Paige Bethmann connects Stevens’s story with his great-grandfather, a Stewart Indian School runaway, weaving past, present, and future together. These stories take place on opposite ends of Turtle Island, but are connected by an inextinguishable love for land, family, and culture in the face of state oppression.

Audience Award, Documentary Feature (Remaining Native)
SXSW 2025

Christmas at Moose Factory
Canada 1971
Alanis Obomsawin
13 min. DCP In English with Cree singing

Remaining Native
USA 2025
Paige Bethmann
87 min. DCP