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Bretten Hannam

Bretten Hannam

Directing

Biography

Bretten Hannam is a two-spirit L’nu filmmaker living in Kespukwitk, Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia) where they were raised. They wrote and directed the shorts New Skin (08), Puppy (10), Deep End (11), and Elmiteskuatl (19), and the features North Mountain (15) and Wildhood (21), which played the Festival. Skɨte’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts) (25) is their latest film.

Known For

North Mountain
3.2

Wolf, a young métis hunter living on the mountain. While hunting deep in the woods he discovers Crane, an older man with a mysterious past and the scars to prove it. Wolf nurses him back to health. Over time their bond gets deeper and they fall in love. When outsiders begin to show up looking for Crane, blood begins to flow. Cornered by an army of crooked cops, Wolf and Crane work together to boobie trap the mountain, taking them out one at a time until they come face-to-face with the man who pulls the strings…. Bretten Hannam’s debut feature is an ambitious action/thriller with outstanding performances from Justin Rain (Defiance) and Festival favourite Glen Gould (Rhymes for Young Ghouls, Charlie Zone).

North Mountain

2015
Wildhood
6.5

Link and his brother flee their abusive father and embark on a journey where Link discovers his sexuality and rediscovers his Mi’kmaw heritage.

Wildhood

2022
At the Place of Ghosts
N/A

Haunted by the past, siblings Mise’l and Antle are destined to reunite and join forces against a dark spirit that emerges from their shared childhood. Once inseparable, their fractured relationship set by years of silence and a violent episode rooted in homophobia, is tested as they must return to Sk+te’kmujue’kati (the Place of Ghosts) a forest steeped in ancestral memory where time bends. What initiates from trauma soon transforms into an odyssey of healing, as Mise’l and Antle confront their caretaker’s cruelty, the weight of family secrets, and their own deepest fears.

At the Place of Ghosts

2026
Boys On Film 9: Youth in Trouble
4.3

Youth In Trouble is the ninth edition to Boys On Film, the world's most successful short film series. This compilation features eight complete films: Bretten Hannam's "Deep End" starring Bailey Maughan, Gharrett Patrick Paon, and Denis Theriault; Caru Alves de Souza's "Family Affair" starring Cláudia Assunção, Kauê Telloli, and Ney Piacentini; James Cook's "Together" starring Lucas Hansen, Ben Owora, and Stuart Evans; Carlos Montero's "Easy Money" starring Mario Casas, Ales Furundarena, and Christian Mulas; Grant Scicluna's "The Wilding" starring Reef Ireland, Luke Mullins, and Shannon Glowacki; Dee Rees's "Colonial Gods" starring Cornell John and Said Mohamed; Benjamin Parent's "It's Not a Cowboy Movie" starring Malivaï Yakou, Finnegan Oldfield, and Garance Marillier; and Stéphane Riethauser's "Prora" starring Tom Gramenz and Swen Gippa.

Boys On Film 9: Youth in Trouble

2013
I Am Syd Stone
5.9

Lights, Camera, Action! When a much-desired Hollywood heartthrob returns back to his home town for a reunion of sorts, he expects to rekindle an old closeted relationship. But soon he learns that things aren't as they seem and secrets always catch up in the end.

I Am Syd Stone

2014
Deep End
4.1

When Dane's older brother comes out, Dane doesn't react very well. But soon after he has to choose between siding with his homophobic classmates or fighting to support his brother.

Deep End

2011
Mawitai’kw
N/A

Across Wabanaki territory, Two-Spirit people overcome distance, isolation, and a pandemic to unite as a community and share perspectives.

Mawitai’kw

2023
Elmiteskuatl
N/A

Words shared about searching for Two-Spirit identity from different sources--the LGBT Archives in Canada, the land, the People, stories and traditions from the past, re-emerging.

Elmiteskuatl

2019
Wildfire
N/A

Stalked by his abusive white father, a rebellious Mi'kmaw runaway meets a two-spirit teenager drawn to his journey. As he learns Mi'kmaw language and culture from his new companion a deeper bond begins to grow between them.

Wildfire

2019