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Mis en ligne 25-07-16

International First Peoples Festival, a Wave Sweeping through Montreal August 5–14

Montreal, July 16^th, 2025. A wave of First Peoples presence is expected to sweep through Montreal in August 2025. The wave of creativity rising among the Indigenous peoples of the world, bearers of millennia-old traditions and prophetic visions, will bring a tsunami of diverse activities to the city, ranging from film to music, dance to performance, skateboarding to drumming—a seismic movement heralding the transformations to come.

Does Montreal deserve the title of most anti-MAGA city in the Americas? At FIPA, we dare to believe so.

Under its new flag, at the center of which shines the great white pine, symbol of the indigenousness of the place, major concerts will make the stars shine in the sky and on the Quebecor stage. Notably, a great polyphonic work, Song to the Whales with Bunna Lawrie, a wise Aboriginal man with a dreamlike connection to the spirit of whales and guest of honour who will participate in the concert-ritual with voices from Aotearoa and Nunavik. August 6^th and 7^th, at Place des Festivals. From Portland, another city that could compete for the title above attributed to Montreal, comes the liberating punk rock of the band 1876, preceded by Kong, a super-rapper from Whapmagoostui (Poste-à-la-baleine, incidentally). And, in a unique concert entitled Les passeurs, the songs and poetry of Jacques Newashish, an Atikamekw elder, and Andrée Lévesque-Sioui, a Wendat artist, will be accompanied by the guitars of Forestare on Sunday, August 10^th.

In 2025, a major tribute will be paid to Innu song with the world premiere of the film Florent Vollant: Innu and performances by the groups Maten, Shauit, and Native Mafia Family. Incidentally, in the FIPA program, Indigenous languages flourish in song as well as in cinema. Notable examples include Ka Whawhai Tonu, a historical fiction film in the Maori language, and Kinra, a feature film set in contemporary Peru that follows a young Aymara man in search of his destiny. And Amazonian languages, such as Apalaï spoken in Bibiru, the story of a dog struck by bad luck, and Mbya Guarani in Canuto, built around the legend of a man transformed into a leopard, the film imperceptibly shifts from documentary to fiction.

The festival offers an immersion into the diverse and little-known cultures of the indigenous peoples of our Mother Earth, rooted in thousands of years of history. Don’t miss Cosmographies, filmed in the Atacama Desert, Aymara territory, a unique ecosystem where indigenous traditions coexist with the most advanced astronomical observatories and NASA robots being tested there for the exploration of Mars. Also worth seeing is The Falling Sky (Cannes, Directors’Fortnight 2024) with the powerful voice of Davi Kopenawa, Yanomami shaman and leader.  Another unique experience is Sanajiit ᓴᓇᔩᑦ (Inuit Makers), an innovative documentary series completed in 2025 that offers an immersive journey into the heart of Inuit creativity and tradition, life as it unfolds naturally in real time. Presented at the NFB Space and the Daphne Art Center on August 8^th, 9^th and 10^th.

Right from the start, with three short films, we will already have grasped the breadth of contemporary Indigenous arts with Vientre de la luna, a very personal documentary from Mexico, the first film by a young Tsotsil director, and Inkwo, a superb, animated film by Amanda Strong. And above all, a genre film, the official opening film of FIPA: Midnight at the Lonely River.  Already with his first films made with the Wapikoni Mobile teams, Abraham Côté stood out for his sense of narrative cinema. And now we are witnessing the birth of a true filmmaker, as this short film is a prelude to feature films to come. It should be noted here that genre films are becoming an increasingly popular path for First Nations filmmakers. One example is the unclassifiable UFO that is The Dim, a sci-fi thriller, a splendid B movie, with free popcorn for those who come to see it at La Métropolitaine, a trendy underground venue where the festival is making its debut. Those who prefer to stick to more familiar territory can see the annual selection of films in competition at the Cinéma du Musée.

FIPA would like to thank its many partners, such as the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation, Mainfilm, Les Films du 3 mars, Espaces autochtones Radio-Canada, Air Canada, and others, who are associated with this annual celebration of excellence in Indigenous film production in Canada and around the world. Several documentaries from South America are in the lineup, including films in which women share their perspectives on rediscovered historical memory: The Memory of Butterflies (Peru), Memoria implacable (Chile), Senda india (Argentina) and Las Almas (Argentina). And in the screening room of the Grande Bibliothèque, FIPA offers festivalgoers a great opportunity to catch up on works they may have missed during the year, with the films competing for the APTN Award being shown there.

And we haven’t mentioned yet that for its 35^th anniversary, the First Peoples Festival is taking over the Outremont, a splendid historic venue where the opening ceremony will be held. Our Elders will speak there, and the tireless Sedalia Fazio, Kanyen,kehà:ka, will beat the drum to kick off the festivities. Bunna Lawrie, an artist and environmentalist from Australia, will also pay tribute to Montreal, an Indigenous territory. And on Friday, August 8^th, the world premiere of Florent Vollant: Innu, a biographical film directed by Isabelle Longnus about this giant of Indigenous arts, will be held there.

As part of this anniversary, which we are very proud of, an exhibition is being prepared at the Grande Bibliothèque to highlight the continuity of the event. Indigenous Presences: Graphic Design and Mirrored Cultures, an exhibition produced by BAnQ in partnership with Land Insights and in collaboration with the Société des designers graphiques du Québec. From August 1^st to 31^st.

Soon, the iconic large teepee will be erected on the Place des Festivals, around which drums, traditional dances, artisan kiosks, a skateboard ramp, and other activities will invite young and old alike to join in the festivities. Yes, young children too, as morning activities have been planned with day camps.

The festival will officially end with a screening of the feature film Free Leonard Peltier. Recognized as a political prisoner by Amnesty International, this great Indigenous leader continues, now under house arrest, his incarceration of more than fifty years. Oppression and colonialism are still active forces, sometimes through intergenerational trauma. Also worth mentioning is Genocide in the Wildflower State, an Australian film about Indigenous residential schools. The methods and consequences of establishing these concentration camps for children are the same there as they were and still are here in Canada.

But beyond its recognized dates, FIPA is going nomadic and allowing itself to venture cheerfully outside its usual boundaries. Several concerts will be held at the Jardins Gamelin: Pako, Esther Willow, Malorie Picard, Eadsé, among others, will be there throughout August. This is thanks to a collaboration with the PQDS, to whom we extend our thanks.

And some exhibitions can be seen throughout August, Tshitauhitin nimushianassina Nitawihewan nipakekineskisin/Je te prête mes mocassins: parcours de femmes autochtones à Roberval, at the Center for Sustainable Development. When the Birds Return, bringing together more than 25 artists from Inuit nations around the theme of birds, from July 31^st to September 13^th at La Guilde.

Then there are film screenings in Kahnawake in collaboration with the cultural center and the Eastern Connection Film Festival. And films that will be shown on ICI TOU.TV.

But it is above all in our hearts and minds that FIPA will live on. The spirit of intercultural camaraderie, the memory of unforgettable encounters, the imprint of our joyful resistance that makes us all happy and peaceful resisters, forever impervious to the calls of Trumpian neo-fascism, which is breathing its last breath.

With Captain Turtle Island as our figurehead, we proudly set sail for another 35 years of Indigenous Presence.

www.presenceautochtone.ca

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Film photos: https://bit.ly/4kEB1yE
Press kit: https://bit.ly/4nP48lx

Information and interviews: IXION Communications, 514 495-8176, henry.welsh@ixioncommunications.com

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