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When Alanis Obomsawin was six-months-old she returned to Canada with her parents to live in Odanak their home reserve on Québec’s lower south shore. It was in this close-knit community that she spent many a happy childhood moment singing songs and learning the stories of her people. In 1960 she made her professional debut as a singer in New York City. In 1967, NFB producers Joe Koenig and Bob Verrall invited the singer-storyteller to the Film Board to work as an advisor on a film about Aboriginal people. Obomsawin went on to direct films of her own while continuing to perform and fight for justice for her people. Her first film was the 1971 short Christmas at Moose Factory. She became one of Canada’s most distinguished filmmakers. Her film Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance won 18 international awards. A lifetime member of the Board of Directors for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Ms Obomsawin has also served as a Member of the Board for the Public Broadcasting System PBS in Vermont and National Geographic International.
The asterisks below indicates the 6 films that were gathered together in 1979 to form the National Film Board series Sounds of Our People. Her film Jordan River Anderson: The Messenger was selected to screen in the Masters program at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. As part of a special retrospective at the 2021 edition of TIFF, Ms Obomsawin was honoured with its Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media.
Also see: Alanis Obomsawin at MAC
Also see: Alanis Obomsawin: A Legacy
Also see: Alanis Obomsawin: A Portrait of a First Nations Filmmaker.
Also see: TIFF Honours Two
Also see: Toronto Film Critics Select Alanis Obomsawin
Also see: 2020 DOC Awards Announced.
Features & TV Movies:
VR indicates Direct-to-Video Release
Christmas at Moose Factory (1971, short)
Amisk* (1977, short)
Mother of Many Children* (1977, short)
Cree Way* (1979, short)
Cold Journey* (1979, short)
Gabriel Goes to the City* (1979, short)
Old Crow* (1979, short)
Canada Vignettes: Wild Rice Harvest, Kenora (1979, short)
Canada Vignettes: June in Povungnituk (1980, short)
Incident at Restigouche (1984)
Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child (1986)
Poundmaker’s Lodge: A Healing Place (1987)
A Way of Learning (1988)
No Address (1988)
Le Patro Le Prévost: 80 Years Later (1991)
Walker (1991)
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993)
My Name is Kahentiiosta (1995)
Spudwrench – Kahnawake Man (1997)
Rocks at Whiskey Trench (2000)
Is the Crown at War with Us? (2002)
For John (2003)
Our Nationhood (2003)
Sigwan (2005)
Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises (2006)
Gene Boy Came Home (2007)
Professor Norman Cornett (2009)
When All the Leaves Are Gone (2010)
The People of the Kattawapiskak River (2012)
Hi-Ho Mistahey! (2013)
Trick or Treaty? (2014)
We Can’t Make The Same Mistake Twice (2016)
Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger (2019)
Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair (2021, short)
Bill Reid Remembers (2021, short)
Credits as a Screenwriter:
Mother of Many Children* (1977, short)
Canada Vignettes: Wild Rice Harvest, Kenora (1979, short)
No Address (1988)
Le Patro Le Prévost: 80 Years Later (1991)
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993)
My Name is Kahentiiosta (1995)
Spudwrench – Kahnawake Man (1997)
Rocks at Whiskey Trench (2000)
Is the Crown at War with Us? (2002)
Our Nationhood (2003)
Sigwan (2005)
Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises (2006)
Gene Boy Came Home (2007)
Professor Norman Cornett (2009)
When All the Leaves Are Gone (2010)
The People of the Kattawapiskak River (2012)
Trick or Treaty? (2014)
We Can’t Make The Same Mistake Twice (2016)
Our People Will Be Healed (2017)
Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger (2019)
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First published as Northernstars.net February 1, 1998
ISSN 2563 4895
