3rd Annual Stseptékwles re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival kicks off this week with a sold out screening of SUGARCANE
September 25, 2024
IFF runs Friday, Sep 27th to Sunday, Sep 29th at the Paramount Theatre
Kamloops, BC (September 25, 2024) The Kamloops Film Society is proud to present the 3rd Annual Stseptékwles re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival (IFF), in partnership with Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc, taking place from September 27th to 29th, 2024 at the Paramount Theatre. IFF promises three days of discovery, connection, and celebration and includes 6 feature films, a short film showcase, filmmaker panel, art exhibit, artisan market, Closing Night Party drag show, and more!
“On behalf of the Kamloops Film Society and IFF Committee, I am honoured and excited to announce the launch of our 3rd Annual Stseptékwles re Sk’elép”, says Laura Michel, Kamloops Film Society Board Member and IFF Committee Member. “Through the sharing of stories, Indigenous People share knowledge and understanding that storytelling is a vital educational tool. Stories can introduce new concepts and shape our thoughts and feelings about the world around us. This oral storytelling tradition can be carried on through film and start to impact views on important political and social matters, bring the audience to unfamiliar places and experiences, and overall, engage in a meaningful way about Indigenous narratives.”
IFF was thoughtfully curated by an all-Indigenous Festival Committee with films ranging from documentary and drama to horror and comedy. IFF kicks off on Friday, September 27, 2024 with a sold-out screening of Sugarcane co-directed by Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat, that investigates the abuse and missing children at the Indian residential school on the Sugarcane Reserve outside of Williams Lake. A post-film discussion with Charlene Belleau, one of the main investigators in the film, will be moderated by IFF Committee member, Ryan Deneault, founder of Healing Between Worlds.
Family friendly films include the Maori film, Whale Rider and Smoke Signals (1998), recognized as being the first feature-length film written, directed, and produced by Native Americans to reach a wide audience both in the US and abroad.
Regional highlights include the feature documentary, Sugarcane; the short documentary Slides on the Mountain about two Lil’wat Nation youth skiers; Horse Woman (sn̓kłca̓ʔsqáx̌aʔ tkłmílxʷ), a documentary short directed by Syilx storyteller and artist Mariel Belanger about a young woman who saved three wild horses from the White Rock Lake Fire in 2021; and Indian Road Trip, a comedy by director Allan W. Hopkins filmed around the Kamloops and Merritt areas.
On Saturday, free events include the Indigenous Short Film Showcase featuring three documentaries and a horror film by up-and-coming regional filmmakers; an Indigenous Storytelling in Film panel; followed by an Artist Networking Reception where patrons will have a chance to connect with the filmmakers and local artists over light refreshments.
Festival goers will want to arrive early to the Saturday night screening of Fancy Dance, starring the Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone, in order to check out the quilts on display in the Paramount lobby, part of the Material Fragments art exhibit. Tickets to Fancy Dance include a pre-show artist talk starting at 6:00 p.m.
An Indigenous Artisan Market will run Saturday (10am-2:00pm) and Sunday (12pm-3:30pm) in the TNRD Atrium, 465 Victoria Street. The three-day festival culminates on Sunday, September 29th with the Closing Night Party Drag Show starting at 8:15 p.m. Ella Lamoureaux presents: A Tale of 2Spirits features three incredible queens: Ella Lamoureux, Belle Ini, and Khalora Form, bringing together hilarious comedy, mesmerizing performances, and lively conversations. Tickets are $20 online or $25 at the door, and include one drink ticket and appetizers. This is a 19+ event.
Tickets are available online at thekfs.ca and in-person at the Paramount Theatre, 503 Victoria Street, Kamloops. Doors open 30 minutes before showtimes. Everyone is welcome.
IFF 2024 LINEUP:
Friday, September 27th
6:15pm – SUGARCANE
Saturday, September 28th
11:00am – WHALE RIDER
1:00pm – INDIGENOUS SHORTS SHOWCASE *free event
3:00pm – INDIGENOUS STORYTELLING IN FILM + ARTIST NETWORKING RECEPTION *free event
6:00pm – FANCY DANCE + Material Fragments Artists Talk
Sunday, September 29th
1:00pm – SMOKE SIGNALS
3:00pm – RED FEVER + post-film discussion with TRU associate teaching professor, Heather MacLeod.
6:00pm – INDIAN ROAD TRIP + pre-recorded interview with director Allan W. Hopkins
8:15pm – CLOSING NIGHT PARTY + DRAG SHOW
Films and events take place at the Paramount Theatre, 503 Victoria Street, Kamloops.
The Kamloops Film Society is grateful for the support of festival partner, Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc. IFF is made possible with grant funding from the BC Arts Council and City of Kamloops and the generous support of the following sponsors: Tourism Kamloops, Highland Valley Copper / TECK, Stingray Radio, TRU Indigenous Education, the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission, Simpcw Resources Group, Indigenous Resurgence Project, Aboriginal Training and Employment Centre, the First Nations Tax Commission, Skeetchestn Dodeca-Homes, Q’wemtsin Health Society, Skowtum Services Ltd., and the Kamloops Naturalist Club.
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The Stseptékwles re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival, presented in partnership with Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, was launched in the fall of 2022. Guided by an all Indigenous Committee, the festival showcases three days of feature films and highlights Indigenous artists through special engagement events and is now an annual staple of the film society’s offerings. The 3rd annual IFF takes place at the Paramount Theatre September 27-29, 2024.
The Kamloops Film Society (KFS) is a non-profit organization that operates the Paramount Theatre and runs the following programs and events: The Thursday Film Series, the Stseptékwles Re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival, CinéLoops French Film Festival, Kamloops Black Film Festival, Kamloops Queer Film Festival and the annual Kamloops Film Festival (KFF) in March, which includes the Kamloops Independent Short Shorts (KISS) Festival. The KFS has been operating for 50 years, officially incorporating under the British Columbia Societies Act on August 17, 1994. www.thekfs.ca
The Kamloops Film Society (Paramount Theatre) acknowledges that they are located on Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc territory, situated within the unceded ancestral lands of the Secwépemc Nation.
Kamloops Film Society
The Kamloops Film Society is the umbrella organization that operates the Paramount Theatre and runs two main events: The Thursday Film Series and the annual March Kamloops Film Festival, which includes the Kamloops Independent Short Shorts Festival. The KFS has been operating for over 45 years and was officially incorporated under the BC Societies Act on August 17, 1994. In the spring of 2019, The Kelson Group purchased the Paramount Theatre and leased the venue to the KFS. The support of The Kelson Group and Ron Fawcett has made the venture possible as The KFS continues to make the theatre a cultural venue.
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