Helen Haig-Brown

A hunter on horseback accidentally discovers a portal to another world in this fantastical true Tsilhqot'in story.

In this short documentary, a Musqueam elder rediscovers his Native language and traditions in the city of Vancouver, in the vicinity of which the Musqueam people have lived for thousands of years. Writing the Land captures the ever-changing nature of a modern city - the glass and steel towers cut against the sky, grass, trees and a sudden flash of birds in flight and the enduring power of language to shape perception and create memory.

Island of Haida Gwaii, northern Canada, 19th century. During a fishing gathering, Adiits'ii commits an unfortunate act. Tormented, he runs away to the wilderness as his mind embraces madness.

This short impressionist documentary looks at the creation of a Button Blanket by integrating the performance of a traditional dance with the art of the West Coast Heiltsuk Nation.

Retake follows the journey of co-directors Gwaai Edenshaw (Haida) and Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot'in) as they work to produce The Edge of the Knife, a feature-length film told entirely in the critically-endangered Haida language. The film tells the story of a traditional Haida legend, showcasing the Haida culture in many ways that have never been seen by a broad audience.

Deconstructing and reconstructing Cree narrative, this film experiments with language to create a linguistic soundscape.

In a disorienting haze of grief and guilt, a sister tries desperately to come to terms with losing her brother in a tragic car accident.

The filmmaker traces the loss of her ancestral language over three generations of her family, and her own desire to recover it.

Kamala Todd's short film is a lyrical portrait of Cease Wyss, of the Squamish Nation. Wyss is a woman who understands the remarkable healing powers of the plants growing all over downtown Vancouver. Whether it's the secret curl of a fiddlehead, or the gentleness of comfrey, plants carry ageless wisdom with them, communicated through colour, texture, and form. Wyss has been listening to this unspoken language and is now passing this ancient and intimate connection down to her own daughter, Senaqwila.

My Legacy follows Helen as she explores the often tenuous relationship between a mother and daughter made more complex by the legacy of residential school.