Kwakwaka'wakw director Barb Cranmer has created two short films that recreate the experience of the modern-day potlatch, still practiced in her community of Alert Bay, British Columbia. The first film is a 10-minute narrative documentary showing the potlatch ceremony and discussing its importance in the passing down of history and connection to ancestry.
The second 13-minute film immerses the viewer in the experience itself with a powerful soundscape that was filmed in the Bighouse during this traditional ceremony that connects families and community for Canada's Indigenous Northwest Coast people.
Barb Cranmer
23 minutes | 2011