One of the most acclaimed Indigenous filmmakers in the world, Alanis Obomsawin, will deliver the 2023 Beatty Lecture at McGill University on Monday, October 16 from 6-7PM at Pollack Hall in McGill’s Strathcona Music Building. Tickets went on sale last week — $5 for students and $10 for general admission. For details visit www.mcgill.ca/beatty/upcoming-lecture or the Facebook event page.
Obomsawin has been creating documentaries for over five decades. Her extraordinary body of work includes the landmark film, Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, released in 1993, which documents the 1990 Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) uprising in Kanehsatake and Oka. The National Film Board of Canada has archived Obomsawin’s films and they can be streamed for free here. You can also access most of her films through McGill Libraries (e-video and DVD), as well as some secondary sources, including Alanis Obomsawin: Lifework and Alanis Obomsawin: the vision of a native filmmaker.
Over the last two years, McGill Library has acquired several new documentaries (new to the library that is) on a range of subjects, from globalization to refugee stories to Indigenous tattoo art. All of the films (and one TV series) on this list were requested by faculty and teaching staff from sociology, anthropology, and social work. Some lucky students watched these films as part of their courses, but they deserve a chance to be viewed by a wider audience.
Each time I clicked play on one of these films, to test the sound and quality, I found myself wishing I could watch it all the way through to the end. Documentary films let people tell raw and powerful stories – personal and political stories – that can both educate and entertain. Consider taking some time before the busy school year starts to watch one (or more!) of these films, or any of the many films we have access to through McGill Library.
Every summer the patients and staff of the La Borde Psychiatric Clinic stage a theatrical performance. Focusing on the 1995 production of Operetta, this fascinating film reveals the porous boundary between sanity and madness. Philibert’s unobtrusive observations force us to re-examine conventional assumptions about what is normal and what is not. ~ from the catalogue record
More than a dozen men and women of different Asian backgrounds speak frankly about their lives as members of a minority within a minority. They speak about coming out, homophobia, racism, cultural identity and the ways that being gay and Asian have shaped who they are. ~ from the distributor’s website www.twn.org
A fascinating look into the lives and thoughts of seven Queer Canadians of South, East, and Southeast Asian backgrounds as they look back on ORIENTATIONS, a 1984 documentary in which they featured. How have they changed? And how has the world around them evolved and changed? ~ from the distributor’s website www.twn.org
Prominent Chinese writers recount their own lives and literary careers, which allows the film to weave a 70-year spiritual history of the Chinese people. ~ from the Kanopy website
With breathtaking emotional honesty, this tender, funny, and powerful portrait of transgender comedian Julia Scotti explores the unrelenting courage and humor it takes to be Julia. ~ from IMDB
Follows the stories of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East as they flee persecution in their countries of origin to seek better and safer lives in the U.S. ~ from IMDB
Filmed on location in Salvador, Brazil (the last city in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw slavery) and Harlem, NY (an international stronghold of the African Diaspora), Many Thousands Gone draws parallels between a summer afternoon on the streets of the two cities. ~ from the catalogue record
The filmmaker speaks with elders in various communities in Nunavut, as well as members of her own family, about traditional women’s tattooing, a practice taboo for more than a century as a result of contact with Europeans and Christianity. ~ from the catalogue record
A 13-part documentary series exploring Indigenous tattooing traditions around the world. Each episode dives into a unique Indigenous culture to discover the tools and techniques, the symbols and traditions that shape their tattooing art. ~ from the catalogue record
Weaves together breathtaking present-day footage of Kahnawake with archival photos dating back over 80 years revealing the community’s way of life threatened by the Seaway. A poetic narration in the Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) language voices the community’s connection to the water. ~ from the catalogue record
Beginning in 2014, this film chronicles two years with the Oakland Police Department, which, in 2003, was put under federal oversight for misconduct and civil rights abuses. Relations between the department and the community are explored in the wake of nationally publicized police shootings and the advent of the Black Lives Matter Movement. ~ from the catalogue record
A glimpse into what happens when globalization meets an isolated Indigenous population now surrounded by melting glaciers. This intimate documentary follows a group of young adults living in Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland and chronicles their struggles with a new world that includes longer summers, and newly acquired access to modern amenities. ~ from the catalogue record
Captured over a period of five years within 18 communities, INDIAN TIME is a personal and current portrayal of the 11 Aboriginal nations of Qǔbec, where some forty people take turns speaking, allowing for exceptional encounters and immersing the viewer – eyes and heart – in this “Indian Time”. ~ from the catalogue record
This examination of cultural and economic globalization follows the life-cycle of Mardi Gras beads from a small factory in Fuzhou, China, to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and to art galleries in New York City. ~ from IMDB
Moving between a local microcosm and the global oil crisis, H2Oil weaves together a collection of compelling stories of people who are at the front lines of the biggest industrial project in human history: Canada’s tar sands. ~ from IMDB
Nostalgia de la Luz (Nostalgia for the Light) (2010)
A documentary about two different searches conducted in the Chilean Atacama Desert: one by astronomers looking for answers about the history of the cosmos, and one by women looking for the remains of loved ones killed by Pinochet’s regime. ~ from IMDB
Data Privacy Week is the last week of January each year. It began as just one day – January 28th – but has since expanded into a full week and is celebrated around the world. According to the Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada website, “January 28 … commemorate[s] the 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection.” We celebrate Data Privacy Week to emphasize the importance of valuing and protecting personal information.
McGill Library has a Privacy Resources Guide that provides information, links, and tools related to digital privacy. You can also check out the virtual Redpath Book Display from last year: Privacy, Surveillance, and Big Data. All of the books and videos in the display are available through the library.
McGill is an official Data Privacy Week Champion and McGill IT Services is offering some virtual events and a contest over the next couple of weeks. See the calendar here.
