Authenticity and authority over Indigenous storytelling key for ImagiNATIVE'S new director

For Lindsay Monture, recently named the director of the imagineNative Film and Media Festival, Indigenous narrative sovereignty is key.

She's driven by the concept of Indigenous people taking control over the stories told about them and it's why she's taken on the new role with imagineNATIVE. 

Monture is Kanyen'kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Six Nations of the Grand River. A graduate from York University with a bachelor of arts in film and media studies, she's worked with several non-profit organizations like the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Maoriland Film Festival, the Royal Conservatory of Music and Indigenous Climate Action. 

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. Why is Indigenous narrative sovereignty so important to you?

A. Indigenous narrative sovereignty is us reclaiming our stories and telling them in a more authentic way. To me, imagineNATIVE creates a space for nations to come together and to show each other, who we are and where we come from and there's teachings in all of our stories.

I think the physical experience of seeing ourselves on the big screen, you know capturing everybody's time and attention to learn something new or relate to us is very powerful.

There's not too many opportunities where our people get to see ourselves so big like that. I think it's so important for us to be able to to feel that power, the power that we have and who we are and and our story.

Q. What would you say is the state of Indigenous filmmaking today?

A. I think it's in a very good place and it only keeps getting better. Our films, our stories are getting stronger.

We have a lot more influences and mentors than our filmmakers did in the past and I think that they play such a big foundational role in why our stories are being told in such a powerful way.

I'm a mother and I have two little girls who are growing up in a totally different world than I did growing up. They're going to see so much more of themselves reflected back at them than I did.

My girls have a whole library of films that they're going to grow up with and be validated.

The way technology has grown so quickly in the last like 10 years has been insane. Everyone's got a camera on their phone and they're using them and they're telling their stories. That's just social media, but that's one example of how stories are constantly being told, so that's only going to produce more and more strong works as it pertains to Indigenous film.