SYNOPSIS
Both a requiem and an honouring of Canadas First Nations, Métis and Inuit women, Michelle Latimers Nimmikaage (She Dances for People) deconstructs the layers beneath the recorded pageantry of Canadian nationalism. Images of the natural world alternate with archival footage of Indigenous women asked to perform in traditional roles for an audience. The women are observed from a distance, objectified to serve the agenda of those behind the camera. But Nimmikaage reverses the colonial lens. Wide shots of the audiences for whom these images were captured are intercut with hauntingly intimate individual close ups of Indigenous women and girls. It is eventually the First Nations, Métis and Inuit women who emerge as grounded in the real world, and the European Canadian audience members who appear curious and exotic.

Fortified by the emotional resonance of Tanya Tagaqs Flight, Nimmikaage shifts the balance of power to reclaim the Canadian narrative, putting the enduring strength and resilience of Indigenous women at the forefront.

CREDITS
Director: Michelle Latimer
Editor: Ros Kalloo
Music by: Tanya Taqaq
Produced by: The National Film Board of Canada

SELECTED FESTIVALS
ImagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts
Hot Docs International
Oberhausen
Aspen
Pan Am Games Indigenous Pavillion
National Gallery of Canada

TRAILER
Nimmikaage Trailer

FILM
Nimmikaage Film