Surviving Sins – short films

A collection of short films from across the globe curated by our Artistic Director Tony Briggs.

El Mulatto

Director: Andy Hodgson

Canada | 2022 | 4 mins 38 sec | English

A young mixed-race man 'unearths' his freedom in the face of racism. Through the poetic words by Omari Newton and the cinematic images shot on Kodak 35mm, this film explores the identity struggles of a person born half-black and half white

Koftepolitiet (Indigenous Police)

Director: Egil Pedersen (Sámi)

Norway | 2021 | 12 mins | English subtitles | Sámi

Three Sámi men travel to the capital of Norway. One of them is wearing gákti, the Sámi traditional costume, to attract Norwegian women. The second one believes it unethical to do this, and the third is bitter that he doesn't attract women when he wears the gákti.

How to Lose Everything: A Field Guide

Directors: Christa Couture (Cree), Bekky O'Neil

Canada | 2021 | 5 mins | English

Through the loss of her leg, her children, her marriage, and her voice, Christa Couture learned how to lose everything.

Pili Ka Mo'o

Director: Justyn Ah Chong (Native Hawaiian)

USA | 2021 | 14 mins | English | Hawaiian

A Native Hawaiian taro farming family is drawn into a logistically and emotionally complex quest to preserve their ancestral land.

Grape Soda in the Parking Lot

Director: Megan Kyak-Monteith (Inuit)

Canada | 2022 | 8 mins | English

Taqralik Partridge asks what if every language that had been lost to English — every word, every syllable — grew up out of the ground in flowers? Taqralik’s grandmother’s Scottish Gaelic and her father’s Inuktitut unfold in memories of her family, of pain, and of love.

Hawaiian Soul

Director: Aina Paikai (Native Hawaiian)

USA | Hawaii | 2020 | 30 mins | English | Hawaiian

Against the backdrop of the 1970s native rights movement, George Helm, a young Hawaiian activist and musician must gain the support of kūpuna (community elders) from the island of Maui to aid in the fight of protecting the precious neighbouring island of Kahoʻolawe from military bombing.

A Bear Named Jesus

Director: Terril Calder (Métis)

Canada | 2022 | 5 mins 30 sec | English

At Archer’s Aunty Gladys’ funeral, he hears a tap on the window — it’s a bear named Jesus, who has come for Archer’s mom. A Bear Named Jesus is an allegory for religious interference, with an aching yet humorous look at estrangement and mourning for the loss of someone still living.

Unborn Biru

Director: Inga Elin Marakatt (Sami)

Norway | 2023 | 19 mins | English subtitles | Sami

A pregnant widow is in desperate need of help. Without help from the community, she decides to steal silver from a dead body, in order to survive and feed her daughter. But the silver is cursed, and it has consequences for all of them, including the unborn.