The creative voices of Aboriginal women will be among those heard loudly and clearly at the 9th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, which runs in Toronto from Wednesday, October 15th until Sunday, October 19th, 2008. imagineNATIVE is pleased to announce and welcome their presenting sponsor CTVglobemedia.

The Festival, which annually spotlights Aboriginal filmmakers and media artists from across the Indigenous spectrum, is proud to feature this year’s “Indian Jane” marketing campaign, its latest trenchant and clever parody of mainstream Hollywood imagemaking. And the showcase of more than 100 works by Indigenous people at the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media, will lead with the women’s side of the story of Indigenous survival and evolution of identity.

Presented by CTVglobemedia, the Opening Night of this five-day festival features two outstanding films, the first being a short World premiere, Mémère Métisse, by emerging filmmaker Janelle Wookey. This beautiful 30-minute documentary follows the relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter and the coming to terms with Métis identity. It will be followed by the North American premiere, the feature River of No Return by Darlene Johnson. This Australian film features Frances Daingangan (of the Aboriginal masterpiece Ten Canoes) documenting her long-held desire to be a movie star like Marilyn Monroe, and her struggle within the community after having travelled with the film internationally. Janelle Wookey, Darlene Johnson, and Frances Daingangan are available for interviews and will be in attendance for a Q&A after the film. Join us after the screening as Aboriginal voices Radio presents the imagineNATIVE Opening Night party at Revival (783 College Street).

The imagineNATIVE Closing Night, presented by Canwest, commences with a seven-minute short film titled Palace by Richard Story, a drama with a dark undertone featuring Lorne Cardinal (Corner Gas) and the feature presentation, Older Than America, an indictment of the residential school horrors, directed, produced by and starring Georgina Lightning. This feature film - Georgina’s directorial debut - also stars Adam Beach, Tantoo Cardinal and Wes Studi. In Older Than America, a woman's haunting visions reveal a Catholic priest's sinister plot to silence her mother from speaking the truth about the atrocities that took place at her Native American boarding school. A contemporary drama of suspense, Older Than America delves into the lasting impact of the cultural genocide and loss of identity that occurred at these institutions across the United States and Canada. Georgina Lightning’s script is imbued with her personal life. Her father committed suicide when she was only 18 years old, and she found out later that he had attended residential school. This revelation inspired a deeply emotional and personal journey to discover the truth about residential schools. Georgina Lightning will be available for interviews and in attendance for a Q&A after the film. After the screening, please join us for the Closing Awards Celebration, presented by Big Soul Productions, at Revival.

Georgina Lightning will be in attendance for a Q & A after the film, and will be available for interviews

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Parody Concept
Shane Belcourt and Duane Murray

Directed by
Shane Belcourt

Stunt Coordinator
Flint Tecumseh Eagle

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