by MATTHEW HAYS

As part of this year's First Peoples' Festival, organizers will be screening Nanook of the North. The Robert Flaherty documentary is undoubtedly a classic, but it still feels a somewhat odd choice, seeing as the film has been cited as controversial for its treatment of its central figure.

The 1922 feature purports to show us Nanook unplugged, as his daily life proceeds: hunting, spending time with family, and so on. The film became a massive box-office success, followed by the onslaught of Nanook paraphernalia, with marketers eager to cash in on the craze. What wasn't made clear was the aftermath of the film, when the hardships not shown onscreen set in, with Nanook becoming destitute and ultimately dying a premature death. Still, the film is a landmark, and when it screens here it will be accompanied by Gabriel Thibaudeau's musical score.

Fans of the independent Sundance favourite Smoke Signals will welcome the return of actor Evan Adams and writer-director Sherman Alexie in The Business of Fancy Dancing. Again, the themes here are of struggling young natives and the outsider status branded upon them when they begin to achieve at a young age. Adams, as always, is exquisite. Filmmaker Randy Redroad, who won the Teuikan grand prize for his feature Doe Boy at last year's festival, returns with Moccasin Flats, about a young lad who desperately vies for a scholarship so he can escape the Regina community he lives in. This short film has proven so popular it is now being developed into a series for APTN.

The late activist Annie Mae Aquash was found dead in the desert with her hands cut off. In this documentary, which is part political screed and part personal homage to a friend, filmmaker Catherine Martin investigates the fate of Aquash in The Spirit of Annie Mae. Intriguingly, Martin is as critical of internal politics within native groups as she is of the FBI.

Ryerson student Pamela Matthews creates a poetic work with Only the Devil Speaks Cree, a seemingly autobiographical look back on her upbringing in residential schools, with priests and nuns depicted as creepy, disembodied masks. Activist filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin's look at the lobster wars in Burnt Church, Is the Crown at War with Us?, will also screen, and a collection of prints by Obomsawin will be on display at the Cinémathèque as well.

Ensuring that the flavour of the festival remains truly international, this year organizers are holding a tribute to famous Maori filmmaker Merata Mita, the woman behind such cinematic calls to resistance as Patu, Mana Waka, Te Pito o Te Henua Rapanui and Te Pahu. This presents a rare opportunity to see these films on the big screen and engage with the filmmaker herself after screenings.

The First Peoples' Festival 2003 screens from this Tuesday, June 10 to Saturday, June 21. Info: 998-VUES or www.nativelynx.qc.ca

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