If you remember that time in June when the sky went out briefly, it is because the imagineNATIVE 26 Film Festival in Toronto was so good this year; it blew the shell off Turtle Island, blocking the sun. Despite the raised bar from last year’s spectacular program, the premiere international festival for indigenous cinema surprised everyone again with unbelievably good films. I got to witness again how this unique festival, in its 26th year, is shattering the boundaries of what great cinema can achieve.
With both the in-person Toronto fest from June 2-7 and the virtual version from June 8-14, imagineNATIVE 26 Film Festival showcased shorts and features made by filmmakers from different tribes all over the world. For those lucky enough to be there in person, this year was treated to a closing night bash featuring rocking blues music led by Uncle Brownie himself, Gary Farmer. I need to get to Toronto next year, as June here in Arizona consists of staying inside while the air outside is on fire.
Three silent masked figures appear in a stark black-and-white image from John’s First Tattoo. The shot captures the short film’s eerie expressionist style and growing sense of dread.
“…it blew the shell off Turtle Island, blocking the sun.”
As I work for Film Threat, one of the few legacy outfits that reviews shorts, I got to go buckwild on some of the wildest shorts I have seen yet. There is the profoundly sinister John’s First Tattoo. What starts off as a crisp-looking spooky tee-hee suddenly transforms into some striking cosmic horror. Then there is Host, the absolutely astounding video art short, which had me superimposing all over myself in wonder. And there was a lot of wondering to do over the audience award-winning Gateau Girl (P***y P***y P***y). At just one moment long with no sound, this penny arcade loop from beyond generates non-stop fascination (especially for the virtual viewer, who gets to run it over and over)
Nothing will prepare you for what slaps you upside your head in the grindhouse alien sex short Klee. This squeezer is a pleaser, as this short brilliantly channels colonial outrage into a tower of outrageousness. For a little piece of animation that punches like an 800-pound blockbuster, check out Wolverine & Little Thunder – An Eel Hunting Adventure. This un-narrated visual odyssey gives you all the thrills of a summertime tentpole in a fraction of the time. Then you have the yarnmation masterpiece Kinku, a textile animated short that is cute as a button while it tears your heart apart. And the knee-slapper Borderline crosses the line into your funny bone repeatedly.
There is also the gorgeous vistas to be savored in the music video Windsong. The incredible country musician Kalyn Fay shows how to truly mesmerize. The historical importance of the short The Woman Who Married A Bear goes way past measurement, as it preserves a nearly lost language. This modern folktale is narrated in the Tlingit tongue, of which there are only about six speakers left. It is also an excellent watch, with the viewer totally enjoying themselves while cultural eradication is soundly thrashed. There is also the outstanding documentary short IXIM (el amor no tine genero), a festival award-winning portrait of the first Mayan trans-woman activist in Guatemala.
A scene from Dream Touch Believe featuring artist Michael Naranjo standing on a platform before a massive horse sculpture, emphasizing the documentary’s focus on touch, sculpture, and artistic perception.
“…as horrifying as it is ornate.”
Lest you think the shorts stole all the thunder, look at all the claps emerging from the feature-length Nika & Madison. This gritty thriller makes the audience run with the hunted in a cavalcade of injustice. Easily filling up its entire feature length is the loving documentary Dream Touch Believe, where the filmmaker revisits the life and career of her father, Michael Naranjo, the famous sculptor who lost his sight fighting in Vietnam. Then there was the firestorm that took one festival award after another, the showstopper Marama, a feature-length Maori gothic. Easily the most gothic movie ever made, this hard-hitting horror masterwork is as horrifying as it is ornate. This kind of picture deserves to take over the world, wrapping it in its exquisite shroud.
I have done a lot of film festivals. I remember when SXSW was catching fire in Austin in the 90s that some years were just better than others. It just was the way the fest cookie crumbles. Not imagineNATIVE. This year was just as visionary as last year, with a higher array of 9 and 10 rated films than the other, better known fests can muster. Maybe it’s the uniqueness of the myriad of cultural perspectives that make these films stand out. Maybe the advances of technology have put the power of filmmaking into the hands of those who haven’t had a chance to go to bat. Or maybe the indigenous factor is the key that unlocks the door to the greatest films made yet. Whatever it is, it helped make the imagineNATIVE 26 Film Festival an unforgettable celebration.
