Lisa Jackson
Directing
Biography
Named one of 10 to Watch by Playback Magazine in 2012, Lisa Jackson comes from a background in documentary, including the CTV "W5 Presents" 1-hour RESERVATION SOLDIERS and acclaimed short SUCKERFISH, and expanded into fiction with SAVAGE, which won a 2010 Genie award for Best Short Film. Jackson’s work has played at festivals internationally, including the Berlinale, SXSW, London BFI, HotDocs, and Edinburgh, as well as broadcast on CBC, CTV, TMN, Bravo!, Knowledge, SCN, and APTN. In 2013, she co-wrote an episode of the 1-hour teen supernatural series THE RECKONER. Her short satire INTEMPERANCE premiered at imagineNATIVE as part of their Embargo Collective II commission project and she directed 21 drama segments for the 8-part docudrama series 1491, based on Charles C. Mann’s best-selling book. Jackson’s films have garnered numerous awards and in 2012 the ReelWorld Festival named her a Trailblazer. She is Anishinaabe, has a BFA in Film Production from Simon Fraser University, has completed the Canadian Film Centre’s Directors’ Lab, and works in both fiction and documentary. She is the Director Mentor for the National Screen Institute's Aboriginal Documentary Training Program.
Known For

Sensationalized in the media as a high profile catfishing case involving an NBA superstar and an aspiring model, Shelly Chartier was portrayed as a master manipulator who used social media as her weapon. Through the sensitive and intelligent lens of Indigenous directors Lisa Jackson and Shane Belcourt, the sensationalism is swept aside to reveal something much more compelling and complex - the story of a young woman caught in historical circumstances beyond her control and how she struggles to rebuild her life after incarceration.
Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier

On a summer day in the 1950s, a native girl watches the countryside go by from the backseat of a car. A woman at her kitchen table sings a lullaby in her Cree language. When the girl arrives at her destination, she undergoes a transformation that will turn the woman’s gentle voice into a howl of anger and pain.
Savage

Five Indigenous women filmmakers from across Canada challenge one another to make a film under a set of restrictions tailored to each filmmaker.
The Embargo Project

Toronto’s town square is flooded. The city’s infrastructure has merged with local flora. In this radically different future, people have found a connection to the past.
Biidaaban: First Light

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Snare
A stylized documentary about the director's relationship to her mother, and her native identity.
Suckerfish

Moving between earth and stars, past and present, this hybrid feature documentary follows the extraordinary life of Wilfred Buck, a charismatic and irreverent Indigenous Elder who overcame a harrowing history of displacement, racism, and addiction by reclaiming ancestral star knowledge and ceremony.
Wilfred Buck
In 1850, George Copway was the first Indian to publish a history of his nation, the Ojibway. INTEMPERANCE is a satire that brings to life a morally complex story of his people living in changing times
Intemperance
A one-hour documentary tracing the history of the 'Gwa-sala 'Nakwaxda'xw First Nations who the Canadian government forcibly relocated from their traditional territories on the coast of British Columbia in 1964. This is a story about how a people live, how they overcome incredible hardships to reconnect with their land and culture and begin the healing and rejuvenation of their community.
How a People Live
Exploring the devastation of the 1930s, Lisa Jackson shapes amateur-shot archival film from a South Dakota town and audio interviews of residents who lived through the Great Depression to craft a moving and powerful allegory of contemporary financial corruption.
The Dust Bowl

Over the course of a night, two sisters roam the inner-city streets of their neighbourhood as they try to escape another stint in the foster care system.
Parkdale

Guided by the wisdom of Ininew astronomer Wilfred Buck, this immersive experience shares four Cree star stories, exploring the cosmos to teach us how to live a good life with future generations in mind.
Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories

An otherworldly film that takes a deep dive into a species that confounds scientists to this day. Ancient and diverse, thriving in adversity, lichen is a model of ‘emergence.’ This film reveals the hidden magical beauty of this remarkable life form and asks what we might learn from it.
Lichen
Restoration is a found-footage piece honouring Beau Dick's Copper Breaking ceremony on the steps of the BC Legislature during Idle No More in 2013.
Restoration

A startling blend of archival and contemporary imagery pays homage to Indigenous sovereignty and resistance in this film set to Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s inspired version of Willie Dunn’s classic song “I Pity the Country.”
I Pity The Country
Created by Lisa Jackson and Steven Daniels during the Summer of 2000. This striking black & white 8mm film is filled with arresting images explores industrial and natural rhythms set to a striking original soundtrack.
Naked Rusty

The story of a Cree family's strange encounter one winter night, which results in a conversation beyond words.
The Visit

This short film pays tribute to distinguished violinist Andrew Dawes, one of the finest violinists that Canada has ever produced. Dawes is known for his technical excellence, musical integrity, and exciting performances.