Rating: NNNNN
IMAGINENATIVE must be the bravest film festival in the world. Launched by the Centre for Aboriginal Media and video distributor V Tape, this first-ever event runs September 9 to 11 – right in the face of the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s a gutsy move. ImagineNative’s films and tapes come from the Americas, Australia, even Taiwan. With new work by Shirley Cheechoo and Drew Hayden Taylor and retrospectives devoted to Alanis Obomsawin and Loretta Todd, it’s ground zero for anyone interested in Original. The festival opens Saturday night with two premieres. Michael Glassbourg and William Cann’s Elvii: More Than One Elvis dives into the world of Elvis impersonators, a surprising number of whom are native. Kent Monkman’s Blood River does a dazzling cut-and-mix job on the dilemmas of living urban and native. Jennifer Podemski stars as an adopted woman waking up to her native family. Tantoo Cardinal plays her aunt and her white adoptive mother. Another gutsy move. NNN (Innis College, September 9-11)
