Loretta Todd
Directing
Biography
A filmmaker and artist of Cree/Métis and European ancestry, Loretta Todd was one of the first Indigenous women to pursue film studies at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University. Employing a distinctive approach to documentary cinema, she has directed award-winning films such as The Learning Path (1991), Hands of History (1994), Forgotten Warriors (1997) and The People Go On (2003). She has also created video installations for Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology and other gallery venues. The recipient of a Rockefeller Fellowship and a former participant in the Sundance Institute’s Scriptwriters Lab, Todd has received lifetime achievement awards from imagineNATIVE and the Taos Talking Pictures Festival.
Known For
A young woman with supernatural abilities reflects on profound events in her life as she awaits news of her brother, who has gone missing at sea under questionable circumstances.
Monkey Beach
Thousands of Indigenous Canadians enlisted and fought alongside their countrymen and women during World War II even though they could not be conscripted. Ironically, while they fought for the freedom of others, they were denied equality in their own country and returned home to find their land seized.
Forgotten Warriors
This documentary chronicles the story of Darrell Night, an Indigenous man who was dumped by two police officers in a barren field on the outskirts of Saskatoon in January 2000, during -20° C temperatures. He survived, but he was stunned to hear that the frozen body of another Indigenous man was discovered in the same area.
Two Worlds Colliding
This documentary follows four female First Nations artists—Doreen Jensen, Rena Point Bolton, Jane Ash Poitras and Joane Cardinal-Schubert are First Nations artists who seek to find a continuum from traditional to contemporary forms of expression. These exceptional artists reveal their philosophies as artists, their techniques and creative styles, and the exaltation they feel when they create. A moving testimony to the role that Indigenous women artists have played in maintaining the voice of their culture.
Hands of History
Series of PSAs created by the Aboriginal Film and Video Arts Alliance exploring legacy and the history of self governance in Indigenous societies.
Self Government: Talk About It
Native control of education is explored in THE LEARNING PATH. Director Todd, a Metis, introduces Edmonton elders Ann Anderson, Eva Cardinal, and Olive Dickason, remarkable educators who are working with younger natives. They recount harrowing experiences at reservation schools, memories which fuelled their determination to preserve their language and identities. Using a unique blend of documentary footage, dramatic re-enactments, and archival film, Todd weaves together the life stories of three unsung heroines who are making education relevant in today's native communities.
The Learning Path
The Kainai Blood Nation of Southern Alberta return historical belongings from European museums.