SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW! Director Amanda Strong’s stop-motion short fable INKWO: For When the Starving Return is a delightful journey into magical metaphor. Dove (Paulina Alexis) is a young indigenous gender-fluid warrior who is gifted with Inkwo (medicine/magic). Dove will need this ability to battle zombie-like soulless monsters bent on attacking the village. Dove’s timely rescue of a frog from torture by adolescent boys leads to an alliance with nature. Through the frogs, Earth forces pledge to come to Dove’s aid if called upon. The monsters are former humans who have been corrupted and drawn away from nature, robbing them of their souls and any compassion as they become wendigos.
Inkwo appears in Inkwo for When the Starving Return by Amanda Strong, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
“…an indigenous gender-fluid warrior is gifted with Inkwo (medicine/magic)…”
Dove comes into mastery of the Inkwo through the teachings of their kindly aunt (Tantoo Cardinal) as a rite of passage and then takes on the role of defender of nature and all things good. The concept of defending nature from the onslaught of selfish humanity is an old warning that still has traction. Tolkien also explored this idea in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, where the natural world was under attack by the forces of industry and darkness.
The film is beautifully shot in stop-motion and richly colored backgrounds. This is a visual feast. The haunting soundtrack and sound design become an integral part of the film’s mystical energy. The story is based on a graphic novel by Richard Van Camp called Wheetago War: ROTH, which is also beautifully illustrated.
INKWO: For When the Starving Return revisits the warning and serves as a call to action to fight and protect against the forces of greed and narcissism around us. This is a particularly timely message as the world turns away from environmental action.
INKWO: For When the Starving Return screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
"…a stop-motion visual feast..."
