From one of Canada's pre-eminent documentarians comes a comprehensive, essential review of the cataclysmic events of the summer of 1990. "Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance" provides searing images, and a much-needed context for the standoff between the Mohawks of Kanehsatake and the forces of the Quebec police and Canadian army. Director Alanis Obomsawin was the only filmmaker to stay behind the barricades for the full length of the siege, and she has provided a compelling picture of what is only the latest and largest flaring of this country's most fundamental conflict. It all began with a golf course. Citizens of Oka, a town just outside of Montreal and neighbouring Kanehsatake, first began playing golf on Mohawk land in the 1930s. The land was expropriated for a nine-hole golf course in 1947 and, when plans were made in 1990 to expand the course to 18 holes, the Mohawk community resisted. The dispute escalated until the Sret de Qubec were called in, and Mohawks in nearby Kanawake blockaded Montreal's huge Mercier bridge in solidarity. One Sret officer was killed, the army was sent in, Mohawks were physically and verbally assaulted, and both sides settled in for a long, hot summer of tension and violence. Obomsawin brings to this conflict a deep understanding of its history, showing how Mohawks' use of their own land has been consistently eroded over nearly 300 years. The Mohawk Warriors and their supporters, who stuck it out despite the army barricade, display the absolute conviction of people pushed beyond their limit. Asked how far she's willing to go to defend their land, one woman says firmly, "Six feet under." But Kanehsatake also reveals the pride and love that shaped the Mohawks' resolve, the internal conflicts that show the complexity of the issue, and the support given by the hundreds who flocked to the area from all over North America. It cost the federal government more than $155 million to turn Kanehsatake into a war zone. Obomsawin sheds light on all the contours of that terrain with a keen eye for what's important, and a strength that comes from absolute compassion.

FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING HISTORY

1993 - 18th Festival of Festivals

2021 - 46th Toronto International Film Festival

Perspective Canada

Celebrating Alanis Obomsawin

TIFF CINEMATHEQUE PROGRAMMING HISTORY

2012 SummerFirst Peoples Cinema: 1500 Nations, One Tradition

2017 SummerCanada on Screen

TIFF YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMMING HISTORY

2015National Aboriginal History Month

SUBJECTS

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