NSI IndigiDocs alumni Keisha Erwin from Spiritwood, Saskatchewan, celebrates the world premiere of pî-kiwîk (Come Home) at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival on October 19. The short documentary screens at 7 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 as part of the Queerdom shorts program sponsored by the National Screen Institute.

In this heartfelt film, produced through the NSI IndigiDocs training program, Keisha shares their transformative journey of reconnecting with their family and culture in Northern Saskatchewan, demonstrating the power of healing through reconnection.

pî-kiwîk also screens at the Santa Fe International Film Festival on October 22; American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco on November 6; and RNCI Red Nation International Film Festival in Los Angeles on November 8.

The following films by National Screen Institute alumni also screen at imagineNATIVE.

• Redlights by director Eva Thomas (NSI Totally Television) Short Program 4: Staying Vigilant at 4 p.m. on October 19 at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
• N’xaxaitkw by associate producers Andy Alvarez and Diana Parry (both TELUS STORYHIVE) – Short Program 8: Into the Unknown at 6:15 p.m. on October 21 at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4
• Nisihkason Lex by director Kaayla Whachell (TELUS STORYHIVE) and Our Grandmother The Inlet by director Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos (TELUS STORYHIVE) – both play as part of Short Program 10: Long Line of Ladies at 2 p.m. on October 22 at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

imagineNATIVE takes place October 17 to 22 in Toronto and October 23 to 29 online.

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NSI IndigiDocs 2021-23 was funded by Program Partners APTN, Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and RBC Emerging Artists; Indigenous Training Programs Partner Directors Guild of Canada (DGC); Strategic Sponsors documentary Channel, CBC Gem; Supporting Sponsors Telefilm Canada, A&E Networks; Provincial / Territorial Sponsors Creative BC through the Daryl Duke & William Vince Scholarship Fund, Creative Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Media Production Industry Association (SMPIA); Industry Partners the National Film Board of Canada, Warner Bros. Discovery Access Canada, IATSE 856; Industry Supporters Entertainment Partners, Final Draft, imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Documentary Organization of Canada; Service Sponsors Line 21 Media, iSplice Films. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.