After a brief hiatus over December and January, The Reach has relaunched Reel Change, a bi-weekly Indigenous film series that includes some of the most impactful films of our time.
This diverse selection of films will be screened at The Reach (32388 Veterans Way) on alternate Friday evenings from now until June.
Reel Change includes films that range from documentary to horror, from science-fiction to biography.
There is a deliberate focus on films by Indigenous filmmakers from North America, but the series also includes films from New Zealand and Australia that help put into a global context the colonial violence enacted against Indigenous people.
For each film screening, an Indigenous artist, author, musician or other creative respondent has been invited to create a new work in their chosen medium. These creative responses will be displayed in a companion exhibition at The Reach from October 2019 to January 2020.
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“It was important for us to invite respondents who are of Stó:lo ancestry and/or currently reside on Stó:lo territory,” said Andrea Pepper, Aboriginal curatorial intern at The Reach and project co-ordinator for Reel Change.
“It allows us to draw connections between the global scope of the film series and the local context, while also continuing to build strong relationships within our community.”
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the films start at 7 p.m. Admission is free, with a concession and cash bar available.
These are the films being shown throughout March:
• March 1 – Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013, 88 minutes, directed by Jeff Barnaby): Alia uses the proceeds from dealing drugs to bribe the local Indian agent. When her cash is stolen, she is taken to residential school but soon escapes and vows revenge.
• March 15 – Smoke Signals (1998, 89 minutes, directed by Chris Eyre): A contemporary road movie, this is the first feature film to be written, directed and co-produced by Indigenous Americans.
• March 29 – Cedar: Tree of Life (2018, 11 minutes, directed by Odessa Shuquaya): This short documentary explores the relationship between cedar and three Salish women who work with it, weave with it, and live with it.
• March 29 – Hands of History (1994, 51 minutes, directed by Loretta Todd): This acclaimed documentary profiles four contemporary female Indigenous artists – Doreen Jensen, Rena Point Bolton, Jane Ash Poitras, and Joane Cardinal-Schubert.
Visit thereach.ca/reel-change for information about the other films in the series.