Netflix-backed imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival Completes 20 Years

Following its partnership with imagineNATIVE, the world's largest presenter of Indigenous-made screen content, last June, Netflix is now the lead presenter of the 20th anniversary edition of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto.

"Indigenous communities in Canada are rich with unique stories, and organizations like imagineNATIVE, are vital to ensuring these voices are heard," Netflix Canada's Director of Public Policy, Stéphane Cardin had said last June.

Running from October 22-27, imagineNATIVE's program includes 126 film and video works in 30 languages curated from 18 countries and 101 Indigenous Nations/Tribes. It includes 40 world premieres. The program also boasts of 9 feature films, 13 documentary features and 12 shorts programmes.

Netflix's support has enabled imagineNATIVE to present this year's iNdustry Days program, that will focus on advancing the careers of Indigenous creators, and strengthen their networking skills. The newly introduced Netflix + You program will acquaint the creators with the work of Indigenous screen organizations who have recently partnered with Netflix. These, apart from imagineNATIVE, include The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) and Wapikoni Mobile. iNdustry Days will feature panels, pitch competitions, awards, the Indigenous Feature Futures Forum, Digital Development Day, among other programs. This year marks the largest iNdustry Days program in imagineNATIVE's history, as the organization continues to expand its industry initiatives to further develop content under the Indigenous screen sector in Canada and internationally.

At the end of iNdustry Days, the $60,000 APTN / imagineNATIVE Web Series Pitch Competition Award and the $50,000 NFB/imagineNATIVE Digital Project Prize will be announced. imagineNATIVE and Sesame Street have also announced a new pitch opportunity for Indigenous filmmakers that will be launched in Spring 2020 and will be open to Indigenous communities around the world.

"The imagineNATIVE Institute strives to provide Indigenous-led professional development opportunities that address gaps within the industry," says Daniel Northway-Frank, Institute Director. "We have continued to expand our industry initiatives at the Festival to further support the development of the Indigenous screen sector in Canada and around the world," he added.

The festival's opening film is One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk by Zacharias Kunuk and the closing night gala film is The Sun Above Me Never Sets by first-time feature film director Lyubov Borisova.

A Wall is a Screen, a special event, which is part walking tour, part film screening, will recur in the festival's latest edition wherein short films will be projected onto various surfaces across Toronto's downtown along a secret, designated path. Another event, imagineNATIVE's Art Crawl, will feature stops at five Toronto galleries showcasing a dynamic selection of visual art works, curatorial and artist talks and a live performance.

The 20th anniversary festival will culminate with imagineNATIVE's 20th birthday pNetfarty which will be an evening of celebration and music.