Seven of the world’s most talented young indigenous filmmakers challenge one another to push beyond their comfort zones and create new films unlike anything they’ve made before. Inspired by Lars von Trier’s The Five Obstructions and commissioned by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the filmmakers created custom restrictions for one another. A documentary director is challenged to make a heavy metal musical with zombies and a dramatic comedy director is ordered to make a serious film with real tears; in the spirit of true creative collaboration, each filmmaker finds a new voice.
The White Tiger
An urban warrior returns to his tribal homeland in a quest for his cultural identity.
New Zealand 2009, SD, 8 minutes
Taika Waititi (Maori Te Whanau-a-Apanui) lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand.
First Contact
The lives of two brothers change drastically after they discover strange tracks while hunting.
Australia 2009, SD, 8 minutes
Rima Tamou (Bulgunnwarra/Nga Ruahine Rangi)lives and works in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia.
Cepanvkuce Tutcenen / Three Little Boys
Seminole boys just can’t stop being troublemakers, even in church.
USA 2009, SD, 8 minutes
Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Creek) lives and works in Tulsa, USA.
b. Dreams
Romance and comedy come together in a contemporary portrait of love on a Navajo reservation.
USA 2009, SD, 10 minutes
Blackhorse Lowe (Diné) lives and works in Mesa, USA.
Tsi tkahéhtayen /The Garden
Three Mohawk women come to a mystical gardener seeking help to fill the holes in their lives, but the gardener needs some help of his own.
Canada 2009,SD, 12 minutes
Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Hailtsuk/Mohawk) lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
Savage
In a place like this, there aren’t many chances to be a kid. But, when no one’s watching… A residential school musical.
Canada 2009, SD, 6 minutes
Lisa Jackson (Anishinaabe) lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
?E?anx / The Cave
A hunter on horseback accidentally discovers a portal to the afterlife.
Canada 2009, SD, 10 minutes
Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in) lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
Contact: www.imaginenative.org
Supported by The Canada Council for the Arts
