The mission of the Centre d'art et essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ) is to primary program Quebec-made documentaries and independent fiction, as well as international documentaries, animated and foreign films, while encouraging opportunities for meetings between the public and the artists. Its programming is presented in conjunction with the Cinémathèque québécoise’s under the label New releases.
The August 16 screening will be followed by a Q&A (in English) with Jennifer Wickham
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary, Hot Docs 2024
Yintah, meaning “land” in the Wet’suwet’en language, tells the story of an Indigenous nation asserting sovereignty. It is the story of the Wet’suwet’en people reoccupying their territory and resisting the construction of multiple pipelines. The film follows Tsakë ze’ Howilhkat Freda Huson and Tsakë ze’ Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, along with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and fellow land defenders, as they reoccupy and protect their traditional land in a decade-long battle to keep out the companies that seek to exploit it.
Jennifer Wickham
Jen is Cas Yikh (Grizzly House) from the Gidimt’en (bear/wolf) clan of the Wet’suwet’enpeople. Jennifer grew up in and around Wet’suwet’en territory, and has actively participated in her nation’s governance system since 2008. Jen's background is in writing and Indigenous resurgence, with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria and an Education degree from the University of Northern British Columbia. She has worked as an educator, a mental health advocate, and community support worker. She is a founding member of the Indigenous Life School on Wet’suwet’en territory. From 2018 to 2020, Jen worked as the Executive Director of the Witsuwit’en Language and Culture Society. Since 2018, and currently, Jen has been the Media Coordinator for the Gidimt’en Checkpoint.
Bio: EyeSteelFilm
Brenda Michell
Brenda Mitchell is Tsakë ze’ K-eltiy of the Unist'ot'en people of the Wet'suwet'en Nation. She has lived in the Wet'suwet'en communities of Witset and Burns Lake all her life, and was groomed to participate in Wet'suwet'en governance from a young age. Brenda is trained as a Wet'suwet'en language instructor and has worked as a post secondary education coordinator for the Lake Babine Nation Band for decades, and is currently the resident Elder, language teacher, and addictions counselor at the Unist’ot’en Healing Centre. Brenda is a grandmother of ten and this fight is about protecting the Yintah for her grandchildren. She believes that this film is an important way to tell her people’s story and listen to the words of her Grandmother Knedebeas who always told her children, “Don’t let no white man take my yintah.”
Bio: EyeStillFilm
Michael Toledano
Michael Toledano is an award winning filmmaker and photojournalist based in British Columbia Canada. Michael’s work has been published by outlets including VICE, Al Jazeera America, and Democracy Now!, and has been shown across every major Canadian television news network. They are known for vibrant, ground-level documentation of social movements ranging from Black Lives Matter to the Wet’suwet’en resistance to pipelines.
Bio: EyeSteelFilm