SKODEN INDIGENOUS FILM FESTIVAL 2023: Program 4

PROGRAM 4

WHO I AM, WHO WE ARE: APRIL 1 | 2:30 PM (102 MIN.)

This program stimulates a thought-provoking investigation into the intricate relationship that underlies how we define ourselves.

The 5th Annual Skoden Indigenous Film Festival, March 31 – April 1, is  a 2-day student-led film festival which features exclusively Indigenous filmmakers and creatives from across Canada. 

Skoden is a two-day student-led film festival which features exclusively Indigenous filmmakers and creatives from across Canada.

Founded on the principles of truth and reconciliation, Carr Sappier (Wolastoqew) and Grace Mathisen created the festival in 2019, and now we are headed towards the fifth annual Skoden Indigenous Film Festival. It’s organized and led by a class of students from all over SFU’s School of Contemporary Arts and FCAT, and co-taught by Carr Sappier and Kathleen Mullen (who has been involved as a Festival consultant / mentor since the first year).

Skoden is an Indigenous slang term that stands for ‘Let’s go then!’. According to Carr Sappier, Skoden is emblematic of more. “Skoden represents a sense of happiness, inclusion and a space where all filmmakers can feel like they are part of something that holds them up in respect,” they say. And for instructor Kathleen Mullen, “we are sharing experiences and knowledge through this course and for me this is what SKODEN means—Let’s Go Then! Said with humour, dialogue, and respect.”

INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM TICKETS: PAY WHAT YOU CAN: $0, $10, $15, $20

FESTIVAL PASSES: SKODEN ACCESS PASS (STUDENTS, SENIORS, ARTS WORKERS): $25 | SKODEN FESTIVAL PASS: $50

Please note: Each individual program requires a separate ticket, while Festival Passes will give you access to all of the programs.

All ticket sales go directly back into the sustainability of the Skoden Indigenous Film Festival and the costs related to putting on the festival (e.g. artist and guest speaker fees, festival operations).

Content warnings to be updated closer the Festival. If you have any concerns, please contact the box office at [email protected]

More information about the festival can be found here.

PROGRAM 4

WHO I AM, WHO WE ARE: APRIL 1 | 2:30 PM (102 MIN.)

This program stimulates a thought-provoking investigation into the intricate relationship that underlies how we define ourselves.

ROSE (ROXANN WHITEBEAN, 25 MIN.)

Rose is the story of a sixteen-year-old pregnant Indigenous girl, pulled from her community and placed in a church to be overseen in her last weeks of pregnancy. When she delivers her child, it will be taken from her and put into a Canadian home by decree of an Indian Agent, Angus O’Byrne. Rose harbors a secret, and will not tell anyone the identity of the baby’s father–not even her family.

WHEREVER YOU ARE, WHEREVER I AM (KAY CHAN, 3 MIN.)

This film follows a pair of Two-Spirit Meris-Chinese youth softening a deer hide together. An experimental film about belonging and honoring your full self and ancestry, no matter where you are.

RIVERSIDE QUEERNESS (ERIC PLAMONDON, 18 MIN.)

Riverside Queerness reveals hard moments in the Prairies’ shadowed queer history. Three storytellers navigate muddy waters that are Manitoba's subconsciousness; where truth is blurred by the power of the currents. Content warning: violence, sexual content.

BIMIBATOO-WIN: WHERE I RAN (ERICA DANIELS, 23 MIN.)

Charlie Bittern is a residential school survivor from Berens River First Nation in Manitoba. Bittern hopes that retracing his steps will help him heal from his experience, while spreading awareness for all residential school survivors and all the children who never made it home. Content warning: blood (fake).

KAASHKITAMAASHOO (CHANTELLE MARIE ANDERSON, 4 MIN.)

This film is about a woman’s exploration of her Metis identity; the quieting of her inner voice saying she is not “Indigenous enough."

THE DIRT ROAD MANIACS (HOWIE SUMMERS, 29 MIN.)

It’s a story of a Northern Saskatchewan band, the Dirt Road Maniacs, along with their stories of music and their roots.

To purchase individual tickets for the rest of the festival, please visit the following:

Program 1: Activating the Landscape, March 31st @ 5:00pm

Program 2: It’s a Long Story with feature Ever Deadly, March 31st @ 7:30pm

Program 3: The Deepest Part of My Heart, April 1st @ 12:30pm

Program 4: Who I Am, Who We Are, April 1st @ 2:30pm

Program 5: Our Connections, April 1st @ 5:00pm

Festival Passes can be purchased here.

COVID-19 Safety:

Masks are encouraged on our campuses, particularly in spaces where people are in close proximity. Masks are not mandatory.

Further information on SFU's Return to Campus policy can be found here.

Host or Publisher SCA/FCAT