FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 23, 2009

Contemporary Aboriginal Artists Reconstruct “Indian”

Calgary has produced many award-winning and internationally acclaimed contemporary Aboriginal filmmakers, and now local audiences will have the opportunity to meet some of these artists and view their work. The Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF) in conjunction with Toronto’s imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival present a special one-night Calgary-only screening of film and video works by Canadian and American Aboriginal artists on July 22 at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Theatre in Kensington.

Based out of Toronto, imagineNATIVE is dedicated to presenting the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from across the globe. Works by Canadian artists like Calgary-based Terrence Houle, Cara Mumford, and Christiana Latham are important because they use film to question, satirize, or reject outright the dominant media’s traditional cache of stereotypical Aboriginal imagery, ultimately redefining what it really means to be Indigenous in contemporary Canadian society.

Houle’s film, “Metrosexual Indian,” for example, draws parallels between the historical racism experienced by Canada’s indigenous peoples, and homophobia. “The experience of struggle, survival and perseverance of urban Native people are often untold and stereotypes can create boundaries that inhibit access to this information,” writes Houle. “I find making work that is about uncomfortable issues is a way to open up dialogue about the truth and deconstruct the hard questions and answers to the harsh reality we live in.”

The program will run about 75-85 minutes and will include a Q&A with local Aboriginal artists afterward.

Download the Program Guide here.