Collective Resistance
Told from the perspectives of 2SLGBTQ+ Afro-Indigenous leaders and activists, this short documentary intends to reimagine new possibilities for relationships between Blackness and Indigeneity which is rooted in solidarity and joy.
In what we now call Canada, race relations are often viewed through a framework of Indigenous and European-settler binaries. Collective Resistance seeks to shift the focus and explore Black and Indigenous relations through a lens of social justice and radical kinship
PRESS
Sudbury filmmaker seeks to create 'a deeper understanding’
Sudbury filmmaker's short documentary Collective Resistance will have its northern Ontario premiere
Junction North announces expansion, film selections for 2024 festival
aGLIFF Announces 2023 Award Winners for PRISM 36
INSIDE OUT 2023: OUR REVIEW OF THE LOCAL HEROES SHORTS
Sudbury filmmaker looks to highlight Black-Indigenous cultural relations
SCREENINGS / AWARDS
Official Selection, Bading Film Festival, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2024.
Audience Choice Award, Best Northern Ontario Short, Junction North International Documentary Film Festival, Ontario, Canada, 2024.
Official Selection, Activists Without Borders Film Festival, London, United Kingdom, 2024.
Official Selection, Stamped Film Festival, Florida, United States, 2023.
Official Selection, Queer Voices: New York City Film Festival, New York City, United States, 2023
Official Selection, Inside Out Film Festival, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2023.
Award Winner, Queer Black Voice, aGliff Prism Film Festival, Austin, Texas, United States, 2023
Official Selection, Reel East Texas Film Festival, Texas, United States, 2023.
Best Documentary Film, Nawada International Film Festival, Bihar, India, 2023.
Official Selection, Inside Out Film Festival, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2023.
CREDITS
Director and Producer
Isak Vaillancourt
Cast
Ravyn Ariah Wngz
Shanese Indoowaaboo Steele
Producer
Ra'anaa Yaminah Ekundayo
Cinematographer, Audio-Engineer & Editor
Shawn Kosmerly / Here Here Kitty Productions
Production Manager
Riley McEwen
Community Partners
Roxanne Langermann & Rotary Club of Sudbury
Filmed on location
Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism, Toronto, Ontario
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
Supported by
Rising Youth Grant & Toronto Metropolitan University
VISION
Settler colonialism and white supremacy have contorted the relationship that Black and Indigenous people have with themselves, each other, and land. Oftentimes, advocacy efforts for shared liberation can be critiqued for internalizing colonial concepts of how peoples relate to land, resources, and wealth. There is a need for a relational framework that does not contribute to erasure, but rather acknowledges the inherent incompatibility not as paralysis, but as a meaningful starting point.
It is known that Black and Indigenous communities have a complex relationship with long interwoven histories which is rarely highlighted in mainstream media. This project will help us form a deeper understanding of cultural relations and systemic barriers.
With this documentary, we hope that audiences will be able to join the conversation, to look back, and to look ahead, as we envision a future that benefits us all.