Four New NFB Films Featured At imagineNATIVE 2025 in Toronto & Online

 (Images provided by the NFB)

Four films from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will showcase powerful Indigenous documentary and animated storytelling as the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto celebrates its milestone 25th anniversary.

Filmmakers Kim O’Bomsawin and Sinakson Trevor Solway delve into themes of Indigenous youth and masculinity in a pair of compelling feature documentaries. There’s excellence and innovation in short filmmaking, too, from Amanda Strong and legendary Abenaki creator Alanis Obomsawin.    

imagineNATIVE’s in-person screenings will take place June 3 to 8 in Toronto, with its online festival streaming June 9 to 15. Unless indicated, all NFB films are available in-person and online.

NFB selection at imagineNATIVE

Ninan Auassat: We, the Children by Kim O’Bomsawin (93 min) | TORONTO PREMIERE

Thursday, June 5, at 11:00 a.m. | TIFF Lightbox 3

Shot over more than six years, Abenaki director Kim O’Bomsawin’s Ninan Auassat celebrates the power and vitality of Indigenous youth from three different nations—Atikamekw, Eeyou Cree and Innu. Filmed from “a child’s eye-view” and without adult voices, the film reveals the dreams of a new generation poised to take flight.

Awards and Festivals

TIDES Award for Best Canadian Documentary

Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada (2024)

Magnus Isacsson Award

Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal, Canada (2024)

Official Selection

Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie, Moncton, Canada (2024)

Official Selection

Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma - RVQC, Montreal, Canada (2025)

Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man by Sinakson Trevor Solway (77 min)

Saturday, June 7, at 2:30 p.m. | TIFF Lightbox 1 (screening in-person only) | Filmmaker in attendance

Siksika filmmaker Sinakson Trevor Solway intimately portrays the lives of Blackfoot men as they navigate identity, kinship and the complex expectations of manhood. Through unfiltered moments set against the breathtaking landscape of the Prairies, Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man reimagines what it means to be a Native man.

Awards and Festivals

Official Selection

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival, Toronto, Canada (2025)

         

                         

My Friend the Green Horse by Alanis Obomsawin (11 min 20 s) | 

ONTARIO PREMIERE, filmmaker in attendance

Sensory Friendly Screening: Wednesday, June 4, at 11 a.m., TIFF Lightbox 2

Short Film Program: FAMILY MATTERS | Sunday, June 8, at 1 p.m. | TIFF Lightbox 3

Often feeling alone in her waking life, a young Alanis Obomsawin found friendship with the Green Horse, a benevolent being she visited regularly in her dreams. In this short film combining stop-motion animation and live action, the Green Horse and other animal spirits guide Alanis to realize the immensity of the gift of life and the power of kindness.

Alanis will also take part in ReMatriate the Lens, a women’s roundtable discussion on Friday, June 6, at 4:15 p.m. at The Well, presented as part of imagineNATIVE Industry Days.

Inkwo for When the Starving Return by Amanda Strong (Spotted Fawn Productions/NFB, 18 min 27 s)

Short Film Program: WITCHING HOUR | Friday, June 6, at 10 p.m. | TIFF Lightbox 3 | Filmmaker in attendance

Michif/Métis creator Amanda Strong’s Inkwo is a stop-motion animated adaptation of a short story by Richard Van Camp in which a gender-shifting warrior uses their Indigenous medicine (Inkwo) to protect their community from a swarm of terrifying creatures. Featuring such voice talents as Paulina Alexis and Tantoo Cardinal.

Awards and Festivals

Best Canadian Short Film

Available Light Film Festival, Whitehorse, Canada (2025)

Official Selection

Sundance Film Festival, Park City, U.S.A. (2025)

Official Selection, Canada's Top Ten of 2024

TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival, Canada (2024)

Official Selection – Short Cuts

TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival, Canada (2024)

Official Selection

Ottawa International Animation Festival - Panorama, Canada (2024)

Official Selection

Atlantic International Film Festival, Halifax, Canada (2024)

Official Selection

Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada (2024)

Official Selection

Edmonton International Film Festival, Canada (2024)

Official Selection – Canadian Competition

Sommets du cinéma d'animation, Montreal, Canada (2025)