Our First Lady of Cinema: Alanis Obomsawin

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

Alanis Obomsawin, a member of the Abenaki Nation, is recognized as an accomplished filmmaker and leading voice of indigenous filmmakers in Canada. With a career that spans 40 years and over 30 films, Storytellers in motion recognizes Obomsawin as the First Lady of Cinema.

Her career began with the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal in 1968. Her 1993 film, Kanesatake: 270 Years of Resistance, stands out as one of the most important documentaries in a century of Canadian filmmaking. At 74, she is still is still at work with her latest project, Waban Aki, making the rounds of the festival circuit.

In this intimate portrait, Obomsawin, one of few remaining staff documentary filmmakers at the NFB, leads us through an exploration of a number of her films. Obomsawin is also a singer, songwriter, engraver, printmaker. She has won many awards, including the Officer of the Order of Canada. .

Subject(s): Artists, Filmmaking, Indigenous people