Film festival to feature local and international Indigenous films

This year’s Biindigaate Film Festival will feature over 40 Indigenous films from around world.
The festival, taking place Sept. 23-25 at the Paramount Theater in Thunder Bay, celebrates Indigenous films and filmmakers.
Among the films to be screened is El Perro del Hortelano (Dog in the Manger), a feature drama straight out of the Peruvian jungle about a community resisting an American oil company; Kissed By Lightning, a feature love story by acclaimed artist turned filmmaker Shelly Niro; and Two Indians Talking, a western Canadian feature comedy about two cousins dealing with fears and expectations before they participate in a blockade of a major road through their community.
The festival will also feature the premiere of Thunder Bay resident Michelle Derosier’s Return to Manomin, a documentary chronicling the return of four generations of her family back to their traditional lands to harvest wild rice after a 25-year absence.
A short film called Eulogy from the White House directed by youth director Jon Kapashesit of Moose Cree First Nation will also be screened at the festival.
There will be an accompanying art show at the Definitely Superior Art Gallery that opens during the festival's gala party Sept. 23.
This year's gala party will feature local and regional artists, with a performance by Juno-nominee Jason Burnstick. Opening for Burnstick are local performers Candace Twance (aka Sea Ballast) and Devon Meekis, both of Thunder Bay.
Tickets for the festival will be available Sept. 12 at Wiggles and Giggles (inside the Paramount Theatre), Calico Coffee House and the Ahnishinabe Art Gallery.
Biindigaate, pronounced been-de-gaw-tay, means the light coming in. It can also mean a revelation leading to understanding.