Sovereign Shorts #1

A selection of shorts showcasing Indigenous stories: of legends and traditions, connections to land, perspectives on survival, and celebrations of culture; all touching upon the deeper need for the protection of land, sea and waters.

Sovereign Shorts #1 showcases the voices of First Nations Peoples across Canada, Sápmi, Mexico, the United States and Australia, through animation, documentary and storytelling.

Háldi (2021) | Sámpi, Norway
A unique Sámi short film, created in the boundaries of film and music, highlighting the power of female relations in Sámi tradition and mythology. 

Kii Nche Ndutsa (2020) | Mexico
In Mesoamerica, the seashell is a symbol for time. This short film invites you to reflect on the past, present and future in a changing landscape where the natural environment is slowly disappearing.

Pili Ka Mo'o (2021) | United States
The Fukumitsu ʻOhana of Hakipuʻu are Native Hawaiian taro farmers and keepers of ongoing ancestral practices. When nearby Kualoa Ranch, a large settler-owned corporation, destroys their familial burial grounds to make way for “development”, they must navigate the world of real estate and judicial proceedings to fight for their heritage and home.

The Fourfold (2020) | Canada
Based on the ancient animistic beliefs and shamanic rituals in Mongolia and Siberia, this stunning stop-motion animation explores Indigenous worldviews and wisdom, sharing the sacred beliefs of nomadic Mongolic peoples.

Premonition: On the Eve of Signing Treaty 6 (2021) | Canada
In both Cree and English we hear the premonitions of an Elder in the 1870s North West US, while images of a changing landscape are visualised and animated into something beyond their original form. The storm post-treaty is coming, yet there is hope and resiliency just beyond.

Warburdar Bununu: Water Shield (2019) | Australia
A young leader is devastated when the Northern Territory’s Borroloola Town Camps are bombarded with water contamination notices. No one seems to be taking responsibility and with continued mining up river, his family’s way of life is under constant threat. This documentary follows him as he sets out to find answers, knowing that his Elders will never leave their ancestral homelands. 

Veins of the Country (2020) | Gooniyandi (and Bunuba, Walmajarri, Nyikina, Warrwa)
"We’re all part of that river, we drink one water from the one main rainfall. Everybody."

Elder Gooniyandi artist Mervyn Street shares his art and storytelling about the waters of the Warlibiddi/Margaret and Martuwarra/Fitzroy Rivers catchment, and their vital significance to the Country and people’s lives.

Sovereign Shorts #1 is showing as part of ‘EFFA presents: Sovereign Cinema’, a one-day cinema event celebrating Indigenous perspectives on climate, ecology, culture and custodianship. This screening will include opening speeches and ceremony.

5% of all ticket income goes to Pay The Rent.