Directed by one of Canada’s most distinguished filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin, member of the Abenaki Nation and a director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada – Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair is Ms. Obomsawin’s 53rd film – premiered as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, as part of its special Celebrating Alanis retrospective.

The film intercuts a seminal speech delivered by Senator Murray Sinclair when he accepted the WFM-Canada World Peace Award with the moving and sometimes heartbreaking personal testimonies of survivors of Canada’s Residential School system.

The honouring of Senator Sinclair reminds us to honour the lives and legacies of the tens of thousands of Indigenous children taken from their homes and cultures, and leaves us with a profound feeling of hope for a better future.

The short serves as a summary not just of Sinclair’s important work, but also how Obomsawin’s recent work contributes to contemporary Indigenous issues in Canada. – Brett Pardy, Seventh Row

Awards and Nominations

TIFF – Toronto International Film Festival (2021),
Canada’s Top Ten – Shorts