Edmonton is home to something most Canadians don't know exists the oldest surviving Indigenous film festival in Canada, and the second oldest in the world.
The Dreamspeakers International Indigenous Film Festival returns to the city April 15 to 19, bringing together filmmakers, performers and artists from Indigenous communities across the globe for five days of screenings, storytelling and cultural exchange.
This year's lineup features over 30 films spanning shorts, features, documentaries and animations, representing Indigenous perspectives from Canada, the United States, Australia, Brazil and Fiji.
Where the Name Comes From
The festival's name carries its own story. When the first Dene filmmaker returned home to his community in the north, he struggled to explain his work to the Elders the word "filmmaker" simply didn't exist in their language. The Elders listened and called it Dreamtalking. The festival took its name from that moment, positioning film not as an industry term but as something older a way of sharing dreams with a community.
How It Started
Dreamspeakers was first presented in Edmonton in 1992, founded by Indigenous filmmakers and creatives responding to a growing industry that wasn't making space for Indigenous voices. It was the first festival of its kind in Canada. The festival has navigated financial challenges over its three decades it went dark in 1999 after failing to secure a city arts grant, was revived in 2003 as part of Edmonton's Global Visions Film Festival, and relaunched independently in 2004.
It is now a Canadian Screen Award qualifying festival.
Opening Night Is Free
The festival opens April 15 with a free screening of Nika & Madison at Metro Cinema at the Garneau a film fresh from its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, presented as part of National Canadian Film Day.
The main in-person program then runs April 16 to 19 at Landmark Cinema in downtown Edmonton at 10285 101 Street NW. For those who can't attend in person, a curated selection of films will be available to stream online from April 20 to 27 through the Eventive platform.
Why It Matters
Edmonton sits within Treaty 6 territory and is home to one of the largest urban Indigenous populations in Canada. Dreamspeakers is one of the few institutions in the city dedicated specifically to Indigenous-led storytelling in film and media and one of the few anywhere in the world to have sustained that work for more than 30 years.
The festival is also a practical industry vehicle. Dreamspeakers requires that either the filmmaker or a key creative on each submitted film be Indigenous, and its Canadian Screen Award qualifying status means films screened here carry real weight in the industry.
Tickets and Information
Tickets and passes are available through the Dreamspeakers Festival Society. More information is available at dreamspeakers.org or by contacting the organization directly at info@dreamspeakers.org or 780-378-9609.
