LAND
LAND connects us to our ancestors, both future and past. As time spirals forward, it is the land that continues to ground us. Exploring the interactions and relationships between LAND, stewardship, cultures, communities, and Nations by Indigenous filmmakers from around the World.
Content Warning: Please be advised, the films within the LAND Collection may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
Land Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge that HighballTV’s headquarters are located in Toronto, which is on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. This territory is covered by the Dish with One Spoon wampum belt covenant, a treaty of collective responsibility for the protection and sharing of land and resources. We are grateful to work on this land.
Programmers Bios:
Jamie-Lee Reardon
Jamie-Lee Reardon (Ojibwe/Irish) is a niizh manidoowag Kakojiish Ziibing Anishinaabe from Flying Post First Nation in Treaty 9. JL is a multi-disciplinary, undisciplined artist, poet, and storyteller who creates from a place of love for community, culture, family, and self. Through the work done as Institute Manager at imagineNATIVE, JL has discovered a passion for building and facilitating workshops and assisting in script development through story editing and story consulting. JL is committed to supporting professional development while amplifying and championing the voices of Indigenous Creatives.
Kikki Guerard
A Two-Spirit Cree from Treaty 9 territory, Kikki is an art director, photographer, designer, and storyteller. They pursued a post-secondary education in Photography and Marketing at OCAD University. Kikki specializes in portrait photography while having extensive experience in leading creative teams and global campaigns. Kikki’s work explores themes of identity, revealing the magic and vulnerability of their community. Through the power of visual storytelling, they hope to create spaces for healing and transformation. They are a member of Taykwa Tagamou First Nation and currently reside in Tkaron:to, working in the Indigenous film sector.
Kaitlynn Tomaselli
Kaitlynn Tomaselli is Anishinaabe and Italian from Manitoulin Island. As an emerging curator and arts administrator, she currently works for the world’s largest presenter of Indigenous screen content, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts. At imagineNATIVE, Kaitlynn manages all artistic programming for year-round and festival events both for community and youth initiatives. Before her time at imagineNATIVE, she worked with Debajehmujig Theatre Group, The Sudbury Theatre Centre, and Native Earth Performing Arts. Kaitlynn is passionate about collaborating with organizations and people who uplift Indigenous voices and expressions. Throughout her experiences within the arts, she has been honoured with the opportunity to connect artists through theatre, film, and media arts.
Claudia Skunk
Claudia Skunk is an Anishinaabe Producer from Mishkeegogamang First Nation, currently based in Toronto. She serves as the Associate Producer for AMPLIFY Season Three. Claudia recently completed her Interactive and Immersive Fellowship with the National Film Board of Canada, established through a partnership with the Indigenous Screen Office. She worked as a Field Producer for the APTN series Treaty Road and as the Production Manager for AMPLIFY Season Two. Additionally, she served as a Program Facilitator for the Netflix Canada Creator Program: Advancing Our Voices. Recently, she assumed the role of Production Manager for Matriarch Rising retreats across Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver in collaboration with the Movement Movement. Claudia also dedicated five years to the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, where she oversaw corporate, community, and foundation partnerships. Claudia is focused on aligning with projects that are rooted in narrative sovereignty through a collaborative and community-based approach. She advocates for uplifting Indigenous voices and representation through her work within the industry and the community. Claudia has continued volunteering within the Toronto area, focusing on Indigenous youth empowerment and capacity building for the past six years. She has also stepped up as a board member for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in 2023.
Field Liberty
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The Land Collection Trailer
LAND connects us to our ancestors, both future and past. As time spirals forward, it is the land that continues to ground us. Exploring the interactions and relationships between LAND, stewardship, cultures, communities, and Nations by Indigenous filmmakers from around the World.
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Land Collection Introduction
LAND connects us to our ancestors, both future and past. As time spirals forward, it is the land that continues to ground us. Exploring the interactions and relationships between LAND, stewardship, cultures, communities, and Nations by Indigenous filmmakers from around the World.
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Kauri
The Kari trees in New Zealand are dying from ideas created by the encroachment onto their country. Kauri is a moving poem, a warning from Mother Earth to remember the impact society has on other living beings like the trees, oceans, animals, and land.
New Zealand - 2019 - 5m
Dir. Alex Lazarowich... -
Katatjatuuk kangirsumi (Throat singing in Kangirsuk)
Sundance Film Festival
Through evocative storytelling and breathtaking cinematography, Eva Kaukai and Manon Chamberland share the captivating journey of the Inuk art of throat singing in Kangirsuk across four seasons. KATATJATUUK KANGIRSUMI is a powerful ode to Inuit brilliance and explores trad...
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Jaaji Approx
Sky Hopinka combines audio recordings of his father with increasingly abstract video images of the landscapes they separately traversed. “Jáaji” is a near translation for directly addressing a father in the Hočak language.
2016 - USA - 7m 40s
Directed By: Sky Hopkina -
This Is The Way We Rise
Sundance Film Festival
Centering protests, poetry, and the fight for Indigenous sovereignty, slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio is heralded as a voice for the next generation of Native Hawaiians as her calling to protect sacred sites atop Mauna Kea, Hawai'i, reinvigorates her art.
USA ...
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Aniskenamakewin
Captured across a span of three years amidst the cultural transmission camps in the community of Manawan, this documentary sheds light on the critical need for cultural preservation. ANISKENAMAKEWIN is a testament to the power of film as a tool for advocacy and celebrates the resilience and stren...
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Mobilize
Sundance Film Festival
Toronto International Film FestivalCaroline Monet's short film Mobilize flows seamlessly through the rushing waterways of the far north parallel to the fast-paced urban south, witnessing the hasty streets of a city and the charging force of a canoe on water. In tandem wi...
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Megwitetm (I Remember)
Megwitetim interacts with the land and water through the lens of a young native girl recalling a moment in time with her mother. The sounds of wind, birds and water are accompanied by visuals of sweetgrass surrounded by the bush and waterfront, immersing audiences in a short film that is rooted i...
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Nowhere Land
ImagineNATIVE Film Festival
Berlin International Film FestivalNowhere Land focuses on Bonnie Ammaaq and her family as they remember the vastness and irreplaceable richness of living on the land. When the family relocates to Igloolik, they face the confines modern society can impose and how col...