Montreal exhibit dedicated to renowned Indigenous director Alanis Obomsawin

The walls at Montreal’s Museum of Contemporary Art is filled with a groundbreaking exhibition – one dedicated to the work of one of the world’s most renowned Indigenous directors, Alanis Obomsawin.

“All the people that were in these documentaries are very important to me,” said the 92-year-old. “Especially children.”

Obomsawin began at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as a consultant in 1967. She entered the world of cinema from performance and storytelling.

“If I’m talking about the NFB, I’ve had a lot of support over the years,” said the filmmaker. “So far, I’ve made 65 films from 1967 and on.”

“To have been able to make sure that our people can speak, have the word,” she added. “ls very sacred to me.”

The director and activist created an extraordinary body of work, like her 1993 Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance film – where she spent 78 days behind Kanien’kéhaka lines filming the historic confrontation over a proposed golf course to be built on Mohawk lands in Oka, Quebec in 1990.

Seen around the globe, this documentary won over a dozen international awards and made history at the Toronto International Film Festival — becoming the first documentary to win the Best Canadian Feature award. 

“Many people say, aren’t you going to take your pension? I said, my pension? I don’t have time to take a pension,” explained Obomsawin, laughing. “As long as I have my health, I’ll be working.”

“That’s where I want to be.”

And while she is working, she has a process.

The filmmaker told CityNews that most of the time — before she interviews someone with her camera — she speaks to them, interviewing them off camera.

“I like to listen,” said Obomsawin. “This is how I realize the fact that I listened for a long time until I really think I really know and understand the story.”

“Then when I go back with the camera, I have this beautiful sound,” she added. “The voices of women, men, children, the way they talk.”

“They feel free, they’re in trust.”

Her advice to documentary filmmakers, and anyone who dreams of making an impact: be able to really listen to someone.

“I tell them about the word,” said Obomsawin. “How important it is and how sacred it is.”

The Abenaki American-Canadian filmmaker was born in New Hampshire, United States — and at six months old, returned with her family to the Odanak reserve in Quebec.

She is certainly known for her filmmaking, but Obomsawin also has performance roots.

“I did a big concert in Vancouver a few months ago,” she explained. “I was thinking, I was so nervous. I was on the stage, and I thought, have I got a voice? After all, I’m 92 years old.”

Her song Bush Lady was re-released in June 2018 — marking her album’s 30th anniversary. 

The exhibit at the MAC runs until Jan. 26^th and is a true testament to her work — giving a voice to Indigenous peoples in Canada, from their perspective.

Among her numerous awards and honorary degrees, it is clear that it is her work — the people’s stories she shares — is what drives her every day.

“Know and feel,” said Obomsawin. “That everybody in the world is important.”