Vancouver Biennale Artistic Director and Founder, Barrie Mowatt, presents Alanis Obomsawin with the Vancouver Biennale Distinguished Artist Award. (photo by Kevin Bertram)
Artist, filmmaker and social activist Alanis Obomsawin will receive the Vancouver Biennale Distinguished Artist Award and unveil her 53rd film, Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger, at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3.
The award acknowledges Obomsawin’s passion for social justice, and her commitment to using the power of storytelling through documentary film as a conduit to education. She is primarily known for documentaries about human rights issues faced by Indigenous communities.
Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger, a 66-minute film, chronicles the short life of a Cree child from Manitoba and his impact across the country as a result of Jordan’s Principle, established after his death to ensure equitable access to services for Indigenous children.
It completes a seven-film collection devoted to the rights of Indigenous people, often children, that began with The People of the Kattawapiskak River (2012).
Obomsawin (her surname means “pathfinder”) was born in New Hampshire in 1932 and grew up on the Odanak Reserve in Quebec.
She started her career with the National Film Board in 1967 and has directed landmark documentaries such as Incident at Restigouche and Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance.
Her awards and honours include Member of the Order of Canada (1983) and Officer of the Order of Canada (2002); Luminaria Tribute for Lifetime Achievement, Santa Fe Film Festival (2007); Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (2001); more than 30 international film awards; and honorary doctorates from York, Concordia and Carleton universities and the University of Western Ontario.
Source: Vancouver Biennale