Full Circle First Nations Performance presents the 16th Annual Talking Stick Festival – Kwèykw`áystway: Speaking With One Another February 16-26, 2017,Western Canada’s premier Indigenous Multi-Disciplinary Performing Arts Festival.

The Festival is proud to announce the Reel Reservations: Cinematic Indigenous Sovereignty Series February 23-25, 2017, three nights of short and feature films showcasing the creative work of Indigenous artists. With Angry Inuk and Colonization Road, it has some of the most exciting films screening in Western Canada, and an amazing line up of shorts from veteran and emerging Indigenous filmmakers. Curated by Colin Van Loon.

Angry Inuk Director Alethea Arnaquq-Barol, follows the controversy of seal hunting, which has been a critical part of Inuit life. Inuit are spread across large lands and waters, and their tiny population is faced with a disproportionate responsibility for protecting the environment. In their opposition stands a herd of well-funded activists and well-known celebrities.

Angry Inuk premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (Vimeo On Demand Audience Award and Canadian Documentary Promotion Award). It received the Alanis Obomsawin Best Documentary Award (ImagineNATIVE Film Festival) and both the Womens’ Inmates Award and the Magnus Isacsson Award (Montreal International Documentary Festival). Angry Inuk was also named to theToronto International Film Festival’s annual Canada’s Top 10’s List.

In Colonization Road, Anishinaabe comedian and activist Ryan Mcmahon takes us to his hometown of Fort Frances and down its main drag called “Colonization Road” to witness the startling reminders of the colonization of Indigenous territories and displacement of First Nations people throughout the towns and cities in Ontario. McMahon journeys throughout Ontario and examines how the Public Lands Act of 1953 was put in place and the impact these policies had on Indigenous people, their Nations, the lands and waters they have lived in relation to for thousands of years.

Ryan McMahon was the first Native comedian to ever record a full mainstream comedy special with CBC TV (UnReserved) and is one of Canada’s busiest Indigenous artists. He has appeared at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, QC. McMahon has written for the Globe and Mail, VICE, CBC, APTN, among others.

The Reel Reservations film series will be presented during the Talking Stick Festival 2017. It also features other films such as Short Series and The Fast. Angry Inuk will be featured on February 23rd at 8pm at the Vancity Theatre. Short Series will be shown on February 24th at The Cultch and Colonization Road and The Fast on February 25th at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema SFU Woodwards.

The Talking Stick Festival features 11 days of entertainment celebrating traditional and contemporary and interdisciplinary work of Indigenous creators from all disciplines. Proudly located on the traditional unceded territories of the Coast Salish People.

For more information on the Talking Stick Festival, and complete schedule and tickets please visit the website at talkingstickfest.ca For Media Inquires and Interviews contact: Suzette Amaya – Talking Stick Festival – Publicist publicity@fullcircle.ca