Culture Shock in Alert Bay: Barb Cranmer

Produced and directed by Jeff Bear and Marianne Jones
Urban Rez Productions
24 minutes per part • 2007
Available on VHS and DVD

When it comes to family stories, few storytellers can match the prolific output of Barb Cranmer, one of the first Indigenous filmmakers to consistently title her films in the language of her ancestors. After extensive work in documentary film, she left Vancouver to return to her home community of Alert Bay, off the northern coast of Vancouver Island.

As a filmmaker, Cranmer is recognized internationally as a strong voice for her people, with several documentaries including I’TUSTO To Rise Again and Gwishalaayt—the spirit wraps around you. Her films have won numerous awards and can be found in both university and museum libraries. Barb Cranmer is also respected for curatorial work she has done for the U’mista Cultural Centre and, most recently, the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. She is currently active in her community—as a leader, an artist and a co-founder of the Culture Shock Interactive Gallery in Alert Bay.

Subject(s): Artists, Filmmaking, Indigenous people