Media for social change

Alanis Obomsawin, a director at the National Film Board of Canada and member of the Abenaki Nation, is one of Canada's most distinguished documentary filmmakers. She began her career as a singer, writer and storyteller and entered filmmaking in 1967 when she was invited to the National Film Board as an advisor. Driven by the need for her people's voices to be heard, Obomsawin went on to direct over 20 uncompromising documentaries on issues affecting Canadian Aboriginal people. In this interview she talks about her films, people's responsibility towards one another, the capacity of film to travel and touch audiences, and how her films are an outlet for her people from generations of abuse.