Victoria Film Festival presents Indigenous film event

Santana Dreaver · CBC

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 7:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 40 minutes ago

The Victoria Film Festival volition contiguous a four-day lawsuit highlighting Indigenous films starting Thursday. 

F1RST: A Celebration of Indigenous Film will surface 12 Indigenous-made films astatine the Vic Theatre from June 19 to 22.

"I wanted to showcase films that were not trauma-based, and observe Indigenous Peoples, particularly astir Indigenous Peoples Day," said lawsuit organizer Katie Pootoogook-Manomie, who is Inuk.  

Pootoogook-Manomie said that escaped workshops designed by and for Indigenous radical volition beryllium offered for those looking to enter the movie industry. 

"Victoria has galore opportunities for Indigenous radical that are funny successful the movie industry, and that's what we're trying to item here," said Pootoogook-Manomie. 

One of the films being featured is Sweet Summer Pow Wow, a love communicative by manager Darrell Dennis. 

Dennis, from the Secwepemc Nation successful B.C.'s Interior, said the movie tells the communicative of young Indigenous radical who autumn successful emotion connected the powwow circuit, summertime celebrations that hap crossed North America wherever First Nations radical dance, drum and sing. 

Dennis, who co-wrote the movie with Katya Gardner, said a emotion communicative is thing each young people can subordinate to.

"When you're looking astatine movies astir Indigenous people, we don't get to spot these stories being told astir us, wherever it's the elemental things," Dennis said.

"With our stories, it's usually astir these large traumatic things similar poorness and trauma." 

Dennis, who been successful the movie manufacture for much than 30 years, said that Indigenous radical are increasingly telling stories centred connected spot alternatively than trauma. 

"We privation to spot our stories being told arsenic hopeful stories, stories wherever we are the heroes, not the sidekicks oregon victims," helium said. 

Dennis said that with more Indigenous radical successful the movie industry, much Indigenous humour is being written into scripts.

"Humour is specified a immense portion of our civilization that was seldom ever seen successful shows earlier due to the fact that it was non-Indigenous radical making them," helium said.

Sweet Summer Pow Wow was filmed connected Vancouver Island, and volition screen at the Vic Theatre astatine 2:30 p.m. on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day.