Caribou in the Archive

At the heart of this personal found footage film are the enigmatic events that led to saving an important piece of family history from being lost forever. Rustic VHS home video of a Cree woman hunting caribou in the 1990s is combined with NFB films of northern Manitoba from the 1940s-70s, commenting on what becomes part of official history and archives, and what does not.

  • Jennifer Dysart
    Director
    Kewekapawetan: Return After the Flood
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Ethnographic Film, Home Movie, Found Footage, Archival film, experimental film, archive
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 4, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    16mm and mixed formats
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival (France)
    Clermont-Ferrand
    France
    February 3, 2020
    France Premiere
    www.clermont-filmfest.org/en/short-film-market/market-screenings/
  • Canada Now Tour of Germany
    Brühel, Bremen, Freiburg In Breisgau, Weisbaden, Munich, Marburg
    Germany
    November 6, 2019
    Tour of Germany
    www.canadanow.de/tour-dates/
  • Skábmagovat Film Festival
    Inari
    Finland
    January 26, 2019
    European Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Pleasure Dome Fly By Night
    Toronto
    Canada
    July 5, 2019
  • ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts
    Toronto
    Canada
    October 18, 2019
  • Montreal First Peoples Film Festival /Terres En Vues
    Montreal
    Canada
    August 12, 2019
  • Particle and Wave Festival
    Calgary
    Canada
    January 30, 2020
  • A Wall is a Screen Toronto
    Toronto
    Canada
    October 16, 2019
  • Denver Indigenous Film Festival
    Denver
    United States
    October 13, 2019
  • Regent Park Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    November 17, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Re:Frame Film Festival
    Peterborough
    Canada
    January 26, 2019
    Official Selection
  • Les Percéides
    Gaspésie
    Canada
  • WNDX
    Winnipeg
    Canada
    October 2, 2019
  • Groupe Intervention Vidéo (GIV)
    Montréal
    Canada
    August 12, 2019
  • Winnipeg Film Group Members screening 2020
    Winnipeg
    Canada
    January 31, 2020
Distribution Information
  • Winnipeg Film Group
    Country: Canada
    Rights: Internet, Video / Disc
Director Biography - Jennifer Dysart

Jennifer Dysart is an archive enthusiast with a deep love of found footage and experimental films. Her films Caribou in the Archive (2019), Kewekapawetan: Return After the Flood (2014) and Moss Origins (2011), Hooked Up: NDNs Online (2007) and I'll Sing to You (2006) have screened around the world. She was born in Alberta, raised in BC and has Cree roots from South Indian Lake in northern Manitoba, Canada.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Caribou in the Archive (2019) is Jennifer Dysart's second film that delves deep into official Canadian archives to expose and counter how her Cree community at South Indian Lake Manitoba is represented in the official historical record. Her film Kewekapawetan: Return After the Flood (2014) was the first documentary in this series that uncovered invaluable black and white film showing meetings between Manitoba Hydro and the people of South Indian Lake in 1968 which initiated massive environmental disruption that erodes their traditional way of life. Caribou in the Archive shows a precious personal home movie of an elder lady hunting a caribou in the 1990s which is a testament to the resilience of the people of the north.