# ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First Peoples from around the world. The festival includes screenings, parties, panel discussions, and cultural events.
As an organization, imagineNATIVE supports the creation of new works through their commissioning program, and national outreach to and for Indigenous communities through various off-site programs throughout the year. imagineNATIVE also commissions industry reports on the status of Indigenous film production in Canada.
Held in October each year for most of its history, in February 2024 the festival announced that it would not be held that year, and will shift to June in 2025.

## History

The festival was founded in 1998 by Cynthia Lickers-Sage in her capacity as the Aboriginal outreach coordinator for Vtape as a venue for the exhibition of short film and video work by Aboriginal artists. While initially operated through Vtape, the festival subsequently became an independent organization. An early programmer for the festival was Ojibway critic and journalist Jesse Wente, who continued in his role as programmer through 2010. In 2010, Jason Ryle took on the role of the festival's executive director; he was succeeded in 2020 by Naomi Johnson. Ryle was subsequently named the winner of the Toronto Film Critics Association's Clyde Gilmour Award for his contributions to the Canadian film industry, and joined the Toronto International Film Festival as lead programmer for Indigenous films.
In May 2023, Lindsay Monture was named the new festival director.

## Awards

The 2001 winner for Best Film went to Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner by Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk. This film was the first feature dramatic film in an Indigenous language by an Inuk director.
The 2016 festival focused on Inuit and northern films, with a special focus on films from Greenland. Award winners for that year included Bonfire, a film by Russian Sakha director Dmitry Davydov, for Best Dramatic Feature; Searchers (Maliglutit) by Zacharias Kunuk for Best Indigenous Language Production; and Angry Inuk, directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, which won Best Documentary Feature.

### Audience Choice Award

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2019 | nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up | Tasha Hubbard |
| 2020 | Brother, I Cry | Jessie Anthony |
| 2021 | Run Woman Run | Zoe Leigh Hopkins |
| 2022 | Rosie | Gail Maurice |
| 2023 | Café Daughter | Shelley Niro |

### Best Dramatic Feature

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2001 | Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner | Zacharias Kunuk |
| 2002 | | |
| 2003 | The Doe Boy | Randy Redroad |
| 2004 | The Land Has Eyes (Pear ta ma ʻon maf) | Vilsoni Hereniko |
| 2005 | The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros) | Auraeus Solito |
| 2006 | The Journals of Knud Rasmussen | Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn |
| 2007 | Four Sheets to the Wind | Sterlin Harjo |
| 2008 | Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain) | Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Ivalu |
| 2009 | The Wind and the Water (Burwa dii ebo) | Vero Bollow |
| 2010 | Boy | Taika Waititi |
| 2011 | Here I Am | Beck Cole |
| 2012 | Charlie Zone | Hank White |
| 2013 | Satellite Boy | Catriona McKenzie |
| 2014 | A White Day (Yryn kyn) | Mikhail Lukachevskiy |
| 2015 | Mekko | Sterlin Harjo |
| 2016 | Bonfire | Dmitrii Davydov |
| 2017 | Sweet Country | Warwick Thornton |
| 2018 | The Lord Eagle (Toyon Kyyl) | Eduard Novikov |
| 2019 | The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open | Kathleen Hepburn, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers |
| 2020 | The Legend of Baron To’a | Kiel McNaughton |
| 2021 | Bootlegger | Caroline Monnet |
| 2022 | We Are Still Here | Beck Cole, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne |
| 2023 | Hey, Viktor! | Cody Lightning |

### Best Short Drama

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2000 | | |
| 2001 | | |
| 2002 | | |
| 2003 | Moccasin Flats | Randy Redroad |
| 2004 | Memory | Cedar Sherbert |
| 2005 | There's No 'I' in Hockey | Dennis Jackson |
| 2006 | Hawaikii | Mike Jonathan |
| 2007 | Shooting Geronimo | Kent Monkman |
| 2008 | Sikumi (On the Ice) | Andrew Okpeaha MacLean |
| 2009 | Tungijuq | Zacharias Kunuk |
| 2010 | Redemption | Katie Wolfe |
| 2011 | Salar | Nicholas Greene |
| 2012 | Throat Song | Miranda de Pencier |
| 2013 | Abalone | Tracey Rigney |
| 2014 | The Underground | Michelle Latimer |
| 2015 | Stoerre Vaerie (Northern Great Mountain) | Amanda Kernell |
| 2016 | UFO | Gregory King |

### Best Canadian Short Drama (2006–2016)

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2006 | 133 Skyway | Randy Redroad |
| 2007 | The Colony | Jeff Barnaby |
| 2008 | A Small Thing | Adam Garnet Jones |
| 2009 | Shi-Shi-Etko | Marilyn Thomas |
| 2010 | Lumaajuuq | Alethea Arnaquq-Baril |
| 2011 | Amaqqut Nunaat (The Country of Wolves) | Neil Christopher |
| 2012 | A Red Girl's Reasoning | Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers |
| 2013 | Mohawk Midnight Runners | Zoe Hopkins |
| 2014 | Indigo | Amanda Strong |
| 2015 | Clouds of Autumn | Trevor Mack |
| 2016 | God's Acre | Kelton Stepanowich |

### Best Short Work (Cynthia Lickers-Sage Award, 2017–Present)

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2017 | I Will Always Love You Kingen | Amanda Kernell |
| 2018 | Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) | Amanda Strong |
| 2019 | Moloka’i Bound | Alika Maikau |
| 2020 | Njuokčamat (The Tongues) | Marja Bål Nango and Ingir Bål Nango |
| 2021 | Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman's Apprentice | Zacharias Kunuk |
| 2022 | | |
| 2023 | Nigiqtuq (The South Wind) | Lindsay McIntyre |

### Best Indigenous Language Production

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2007 | Nikamowin (Song) | Kevin Lee Burton |
| 2008 | L'Amendement | Kevin Papatie |
| 2009 | The Wind and the Water (Burwa Dii Ebo) | Vero Bollow Igar Yala Collective |
| 2010 | File Under Miscellaneous | Jeff Barnaby |
| 2011 | Samson & Delilah | Warwick Thornton |
| 2012 | Throat Song | Miranda de Pencier |
| 2013 | The Script (Baybayin) | Kanakan Balintagos |
| 2014 | This May Be the Last Time | Sterlin Harjo |
| 2015 | Bulunu Milkarri | Sylvia Nulpinditj |
| 2016 | Searchers (Maliglutit) | Zacharias Kunuk Natar Ungalaaq |
| 2017 | Bowhead Whale Hunting With My Ancestors | Carol Kunnuk, Zacharias Kunuk |
| 2018 | Eternity (Wiñaypacha) | Oscar Catacora |
| 2019 | The Book of the Sea | Aleksei Vakhrushev |
| 2020 | Kapaemahu | Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu |
| 2021 | Matuna, la sombra del Guerrero | Rafael Roberto Mojica Gil |
| 2022 | Məca | Ritchie Norman Hemphill |
| 2023 | The Bull of Cold | Alexander Moruo |

### Kent Monkman Award: Best Experimental/Innovation in Storytelling

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2000 | | |
| 2001 | | |
| 2002 | | |
| 2003 | Thorn Grass | Robin Hammer |
| 2004 | Wagon Burner | Terrance Houle |
| 2005 | My Big Brother (Su naa) | Helen Haig-Brown |
| 2006 | Women in Canada: A Trilogy | Marnie Parrell |
| 2007 | Nikamowin (Song) | Kevin Lee Burton |
| 2008 | Tsu Heidei Shugaxtutaan 1 | Nicholas Galanin |
| 2009 | Horse | Archer Pechawis |
| 2010 | Burnt | Alejandro Valbuena |
| 2011 | The Gift | Terril Calder |
| 2012 | Her Silent Life | Lindsay McIntyre |
| 2013 | He Who Dreams | Dana Claxton |
| 2014 | Covered | Tara (Beier) Browne |
| 2015 | Tai Whetuki - House of Death | Lisa Reihana |
| 2016 | Dolastallat | Marja Helander |
| 2017 | Three Thousand | Asinnajaq |
| 2018 | Birds in the Earth (Eatnanvuloš Lottit) | Marja Helander |
| 2019 | The Creation of the World (Hant Quij Cöipaxi Hac) | Antonio Coello |
| 2020 | Suodji (Shelter) | Marja Helander |
| 2021 | Puisi | Pilutaq Lundblad |
| 2022 | The Original Shareholder Experience | Petyr Xyst |
| 2023 | Aykuo | Ayaal Adamov |

### Best Documentary - Short Format

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2005 | Wirriya (Small Boy) | Beck Cole |
| 2006 | Coureurs de nuit | Shanouk Newashish |
| 2007 | The Vanishing Trace | Keesic Douglas |
| 2008 | Le rêve d'une mère | Cherilyn Papatie |
| 2009 | How People Got Fire | Daniel Janke |
| 2010 | Do Not Tell (Ne le dis pas / Nika tshika uiten mishkut) | Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush |
| 2011 | Spirit of the Bluebird | Jesse Gouchey, Xstine Cook |
| 2012 | Songline to Happiness | Danny Teece-Johnson |
| 2013 | Inuit Cree Reconciliation | Neil Diamond, Zacharias Kunuk |
| 2014 | Treading Water | Janelle Wookey, Jérémie Wookey |
| 2015 | Nowhere Land | Bonnie Ammaq |
| 2016 | Cree Code Talker | Alexandra Lazarowich |
| 2017 | Lelum' | Asia Youngman |
| 2018 | Fast Horse | Alexandra Lazarowich |
| 2019 | The Boxers of Brule | Jesse Adler |
| 2020 | êmîcêtôcêt: Many Bloodlines | Theola Ross |
| 2021 | Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again | Courtney Montour |
| 2022 | First Time Home | Noemi Librado-Sanchez, Esmirna Librado, Esmeralda Ventura, Heriberto Ventura |
| 2023 | Grape Soda in the Parking Lot | Megan Kyak-Monteith, Taqralik Partridge |

### Best Documentary - Long Format (Alanis Obomsawin Award)

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2000 | | |
| 2001 | | |
| 2002 | | |
| 2003 | Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole | Gil Cardinal |
| 2004 | The Ghost Riders | V. Blackhawk Aamodt |
| 2005 | Mohawk Girls | Tracey Deer |
| 2006 | Waban-aki: People from Where the Sun Rises | Alanis Obomsawin |
| 2007 | Water Flowing Together | Gwendolen Cates |
| 2008 | March Point | Cody Cayou Nick Clark Tracy Rector Annie Silverstein Travis Tom |
| 2009 | C.B.Q.M. | Dennis Allen |
| 2010 | And the River Flows On (Y el rio sigue corriendo) | Carlos Pérez Rojas |
| 2011 | The Tall Man | Tony Krawitz |
| 2012 | My Louisiana Love | Monique Verdi |
| 2013 | Who Will Be A Gurkha? | Kesang Tseten |
| 2014 | My Legacy | Helen Haig-Brown |
| 2015 | The Price of Peace | Kim Webby |
| 2016 | Angry Inuk | Alethea Arnaquq-Baril |
| 2017 | Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier | Shane Belcourt Lisa Jackson |
| 2018 | Marks of Mana | Lisa Taouma |
| 2019 | Mothers of the Land (Sembradoras de vida) | Alvaro Sarmiento, Diego Sarmiento |
| 2020 | Compañía | Miguel Hilari |
| 2021 | Warrior Spirit | Landon Dyksterhouse |
| 2022 | Šaamšiǩ – Great Grandmothers Hat | Anstein Mikkelsen, Harry Johansen |
| 2023 | Mama | Xun Sero |

### Best Music Video (2000–2016)

| Year | Title | Director |
| 2000 | | |
| 2001 | | |
| 2002 | | |
| 2003 | Music is the Medicine | Randy Redroad |
| 2004 | Slangblossom: Possibly | Daybi Slangblossom |
| 2005 | Tamara Podemski: Meegwetch | Bruce McDonald |
| 2006 | The Dust Dive: A Minor Disturbance | Blackhorse Lowe |
| 2007 | Punassiun | Spencer St-Onge Francis Grégoire Carl Grégoire Jean-Christophe Gabriel James Chescappin Marco Bentz Jonathan Germain Wendy Germain Nicolas Paradis Jean Philippe Robertson |
| 2008 | Warrk Warrk | Tommy Lewis Julia Morris |
| 2009 | Ariana Tikao: Tuia (Stitched) | Louise Potiki Bryant |
| 2010 | Haunted | Shane Ghostkeeper |
| 2011 | I Lost My Shadow | Nanobah Becker |
| 2012 | Sides | Mosha Folger |
| 2013 | Row | Houston R. Cypress |
| 2014 | Haida Raid 3: Save Our Waters | Amanda Strong |
| 2015 | Nitahkôtân (I Have Arrived) | Moe Clark |
| 2016 | We Are Still Here | Sofia Jannok |

### Best Radio (2000–2013)

| Year | Genre | Title | Director |
| 2000 | | | |
| 2001 | | | |
| 2002 | | | |
| 2003 | | The Aboriginal Music Experience: A Radio Documentary Series | |
| 2004 | | Great Indian Bus Tour | Andre Morriseau |
| 2005 | | Red Album Radio Show | Richard Hunter |
| 2006 | | Charles Shoots the Enemy | Native Vibes |
| 2007 | | Red Moon | Dawn Dumont |
| 2007 | Documentary, Current Affairs & Talk | Good Medicine Radio Show: Tobacco Show | Rita Chretien Wanbdi Wakita |
| 2008 | Arts & Entertainment | The Plex Show | Doug Bedard |
| 2008 | Documentary, Current Affairs & Talk | ReVision Quest: "Alcohol" | Kim Ziervogel |
| 2009 | | ReVision Quest | Wab Kinew |
| 2010 | | ReVision Quest: "What's So Funny About Being Native?" | Kim Ziervogel |
| 2011 | | Bring Your Drum | Janet Rogers |
| 2012 | | Trailbreakers: Cindy Blackstock | Angela Sterritt |
| 2013 | | Native Waves Radio: Resonating Reconciliation | Janet Rogers |

### Best Television (2000–2004)

| Year | Title | Director |
| 2000 | | |
| 2001 | | |
| 2002 | | |
| 2003 | Moccasin Flats | Stacey Stewart Curtis |
| 2004 | Kunuk Family Reunion | Zacharias Kunuk |

### Best New Media (2000–2014)

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2000 | | |
| 2001 | | |
| 2002 | | |
| 2003 | | Daybi |
| 2004 | Fire This Time | Kokonda Dub |
| 2005 | HorizonZero Issue 17: Tell | Cheryl L'Hirondelle |
| 2006 | Wepinasowina | Cheryl L'Hirondelle |
| 2007 | An Indian Act: Shooting the Indian Act | Archer Pechawis |
| 2008 | Rabbit and Bearpaws | Chad Solomon |
| 2009 | Time Traveller | Skawennati Fragnito |
| 2010 | Otsì:! Rise of the Kanien'kehá:ka Legends | Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC) |
| 2011 | God's Lake Narrows | Kevin Lee Burton |
| 2012 | Sense of Home | Leena Minifie |
| 2013 | Skahiòn:hati / Rise of the Kanien'kehá:ka Legends | Skins 3.0 Collective |
| 2014 | Uhke | Cheyenne Scott |

### Best Audio Work (since 2014)

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2014 | The Soul of Darwin: The Centenary of the Kahlin Compound | Lorena Allam |
| 2015 | Reach For the Stars | Crystal Favel |
| 2016 | The Story She Carries | Angela Sterritt |
| 2017 | Elcrys | Michael Wilson |
| 2018 | Trans Mountain Pipeline, B.C. Wolf Cull and Dog Sled Massacre | Crystal Favel |

### Best Digital Media Work (since 2015)

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2015 | Sky Pets | Shandiin Woodward |
| 2016 | Ch’aak’ S’aagi (Eagle Bone) | Tracy Rector |
| 2017 | Thunderbird Strike | Elizabeth LaPensée |
| 2018 | Aeasi | Amie Batalibasi |

### Best Interactive Work (since 2018)

| Year | Film | Director | Ref |
| 2018 | Biidaaban: First Light | Lisa Jackson | |

### Emerging Talent (Cynthia Lickers-Sage & Jane Glassco Awards)

| Year | Award | Film | Director |
| 2000 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | | |
| 2001 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | | |
| 2002 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | | |
| 2003 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | | Geoffery Parenteau |
| 2004 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Swallow | Ariel Lightningchild |
| 2005 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Meskanahk (My Path) | Kevin Lee Burton |
| 2006 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Eggs Instead | Lena Recollet |
| 2007 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Fighter | Erica Lepage |
| 2008 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Mémere Métisse | Janelle Wookey |
| 2009 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Nia's Melancholy | S.F. Tusa |
| 2010 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Redemption | Katie Wolfe |
| 2011 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Amaqqut Nunnat (The Country of Wolves) | Neil Christopher |
| 2012 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Scar | Tiffany Parker |
| 2013 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | El Último Consejo (The Last Council) | Itandehui Jansen |
| 2014 | Jane Glassco | Sumé - Mumisitsinerup Nipaa (Sume - The Sound of a revolution) | Inuk Silis Høegh |
| 2014 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Sumé - Mumisitsinerup Nipaa (Sume - The Sound of a revolution) | Inuk Silis Høegh |
| 2015 | Jane Glassco | The Routes | James McDougall |
| 2015 | Cynthia Lickers-Sage | Le Dep | Sonia Boileau |
| 2016 | Jane Glassco | Ohero:kon – Under the Husk | Katsitsionni Fox |
| 2017 | Jane Glassco | Morit Elena Morit | Inga-Wiktoria Påve Anders Sunna |
| 2018 | Jane Glassco | ANORI (Wind) | Pipaluk Kreutzmann Jorgensen |

### Best Youth (Ellen Monague Award)

| Year | Film | Director |
| 2010 | Kurt-E: In My Blood | Kurt Filiga |
| 2011 | The Dimming | Ippiksaut Friesen |
| 2012 | Le Joie de vivre | Jérémy Vassiliou |
| 2013 | Before She Came, After He Left (Før Hun Kom, Etter Han Dro) | Marja Bål Nango |
| 2014 | #nightslikethese | Amber Midthunder, Shay Eyre, Hannah Macpherson |
| 2015 | Lo que quiero decirte | Raquiel Palomino Ochoa |
| 2016 | Smoke That Travels | Kayla Briët |
| 2017 | RAE | Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs |
| 2018 | A World of Our Own | Morningstar Derosier |
| 2019 | The Cursed Harp | Peter Hiki |

### Sun & Moon Jury Prizes

| Year | Jury | Film | Director |
| 2017 | Sun | Sunday Fun Day | Dianna Fuemana |
| 2017 | Moon | Birth of a Family | Tasha Hubbard |
| 2018 | Sun | Edge of the Knife (Sgaawaay K'uuna) | Gwaai Edenshaw, Helen Haig-Brown |
| 2018 | Moon | My Friend Michael | Ian Leaupepe, Samson Rambo |
| 2019 | Sun | nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up | Tasha Hubbard |
| 2019 | Moon | Ribadit | Elle Sofe Sara |
| 2020 | Sun | Mooz Miikan | Evelyn Pakinewatik |
| 2020 | Moon | Pilluarneq Ersigiunnaarpara | Nivi Pedersen |
| 2021 | Sun | Hiama | Matasila Freshwater |
| 2021 | Moon | Run Woman Run | Zoe Leigh Hopkins |
| 2022 | Sun | Night | Ahmad Saleh |
| 2022 | Moon | Kikino Kids | Barry Bilinsky |
| 2023 | Sun | Tautuktavuk (What We See) | Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk |
| 2023 | Moon | Cu-Ckoo | Lindsay McIntyre |

### August Schellenberg Award of Excellence

Named in memory of actor August Schellenberg, the August Schellenberg Award of Excellence is a lifetime achievement award honoring indigenous actors. The award was presented for the first time in 2015.
* 2015 - Tantoo Cardinal
* 2016 - Tom Jackson
* 2017 - Tina Keeper
* 2018 - Michael Greyeyes
* 2019 - Michelle Thrush
* 2020 - Lorne Cardinal
* 2021 - Shirley Cheechoo
* 2022 - Gary Farmer
* 2023 - Jennifer Podemski

## Commissions
### NFB/imagineNATIVE Interactive Partnership

NFB/imagineNATIVE Interactive Partnership was started in 2012 for the commissioning and production of new digital and interactive works by established Indigenous artists. Works produced through this program include De Nort (2012) by the ITWE Collective, Similkameen Crossroads (2013) by Tyler Hagan, Ice Fishing (2014) by Jordan Bennett and Red Card (2016) by Cara Mumford. Ice Fishing was subsequently selected to represent Canada at the 2015 Venice Biennale.

### Stolen Sisters Digital Initiative

The Stolen Sisters Digital Initiative (SSDI) was a 2012 imagineNATIVE artistic commission and national exhibition of four, one-minute digital works by award-winning Canadian Indigenous filmmakers. The commissioned works were created to reflect and respond to the Stolen Sisters, a term adopted by the Aboriginal community and larger social justice organizations of the struggle to find answers for the hundreds of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women across Canada. The four commissioned works were:
* Like it Was Yesterday by Calgary-based artists Jesse Gouchey and Xstine Cook
* Snare by Vancouver-based Anishinaabe artist Lisa Jackson
* When it Rains by the Métis/Chippewa Cree filmmaker Cara Mumford
* Your Courage Will Not Go Unnoticed by the Gitxsan/Lax Gibu artist and journalist Angela Sterritt
This was the first time the Festival partnered to present a simultaneous national exhibition. Working with Amnesty International Canada and Pattison Onestop, a national media company, the short videos were exhibited throughout Toronto's subway system, on display screens in 33 shopping centres across Canada, at the Calgary International Airport, and at the TIFF Bell Lightbox leading up to and during the 2012 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

### Zwei Indianer Aus Winnipeg

In 2009, the festival commissioned Zwei Indianer Aus Winnipeg, a short film by Saulteaux filmmaker Darryl Nepinak. The film subsequently screened at the 2009 Berlinale.

### Embargo Collective

In March 2008, imagineNATIVE formed the Embargo Collective, an international group of seven Indigenous artists for the purposes of collaborating and challenging one another to create seven new films. Collective members included Helen Haig-Brown, Heiltsuk/Mohawk filmmaker and actress Zoe Leigh Hopkins and Anishnaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson. The resulting films were subsequently screened at the 2010 Berlinale. Following this, Brown's The Cave was awarded a top-ten recognition at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was screened at the 2011 Sundance Festival, while Jackson's Savage won a 2011 Genie Award for best live action short drama.
In 2014, Embargo Collective II focused on women filmmakers. It was curated by Danis Goulet, and included Hopkins, Blackfoot/Sami filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Caroline Monnet. Among the films produced that year was Roberta.

## Other programs
### imagineNATIVE Film + Video Tour

The imagineNATIVE Film + Video Tour provides regional and remote communities access to Indigenous-made film and video from Canada and abroad. In addition to bringing a Festival-favourite feature presentation to these communities, the Tour encourages youth to explore the creation of film and video through a Youth-focused film and video program, discussion and hands-on video-making workshops. The video-making workshops assist and lead youth to create and edit short videos using readily-available technology such as cellphones and webcams. The videos are featured on imagineNATIVE's website and open to public voting, sending the winner to Toronto for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

### indigiFLIX Community Screening Series

The indigiFLIX Community Screening Series, presented by imagineNATIVE, is hosted in cultural and community centres to reach a broader First Nations, Métis, Inuit and non-Native audience beyond the annual Festival in Toronto. Films are selected from past imagineNATIVE Festivals in an effort to keep these important films alive and accessible to the Indigenous community. imagineNATIVE is committed to supporting artists through payment of industry-standard artist fees for all works presented.

### Canadian Indigenous Film Producer Mini-Lab

The Canadian Indigenous Film Producer Mini-Lab was started as a program to develop skills and talent for emerging Indigenous producers. Among its alumni are Cara Mumford, Michelle Latimer and Jeremy Torrie.

### Jeff Barnaby Grant

In 2023, imagineNATIVE and Netflix partnered on the Jeff Barnaby Grant, a granting program for emerging indigenous speculative fiction filmmakers created in memory of film director Jeff Barnaby following his death in 2022. The inaugural recipients, announced in May 2023, were Bronwyn Szabo, Walter Scott, Kristina Fithern-Stiele, Gavin Baird and Tank Standing Buffalo.