The Children Have to Hear Another Story—Alanis Obomsawin

Alanis Obomsawin was born into a dark period of Indigenous history, yet somehow she was able to manifest a light in that darkness. Over the course of many decades, this light has grown from an initial spark to a fire around which many gather to share counsel and hear stories. A member of the Abenaki Nation and one of Canada’s most respected artists, Obomsawin (b. 1932) is an activist filmmaker and producer at the National Film Board of Canada, where she has worked since 1967. Her documentary cinema is deeply committed to the social justice of her peoples, whose songs and stories she continues to tell. 

Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin, presents an exhibition with Obomsawin focused on her remarkable documentary films. Since the 1970s, Obomsawin has created a model of Indigenous cinema that privileges the voices of her peoples and challenges core assumptions (economic, environmental, political, epistemic, ontological) of the world system determined by colonialism that we all now inhabit and contend with. She has done this so effectively and with such integrity that she is respected within Indigenous communities internationally. 

This exhibition traces Obomsawin’s artistic activism over the last five decades of history between Indigenous communities, the Canadian government, and the media, and contributes to the current discourse in Europe on histories of representation. Bringing together a vivid selection of her films, prints, and music, The Children Have to Hear Another Story reflects on Alanis Obomsawin’s lifework of documentary making, storytelling, and listening.

A public program will include guided tours, talks, and film screenings.

Curators: Richard William Hill and Hila Peleg

An accompanying book Alanis Obomsawin: Lifework (eds. Richard William Hill, Hila Peleg, and HKW) is published in English by Prestel. Authors include Karrmen Crey, Richard Fung, Monika Kin Gagnon, Richard William Hill, Jessica L. Horton, Ursula Johnson, Alexandra Juhasz, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Doreen Manuel, Joseph Naytowhow, Monique Nolett-Ille, Alanis Obomsawin, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Jason Ryle, Lisa Steele, Loretta Todd, Robert Verrall, and Jesse Wente.

The Children Have to Hear Another Story—Alanis Obomsawin is made possible by a partnership between Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin; Art Museum at the University of Toronto; and Vancouver Art Gallery, in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada, and through the generous support of Canada Council for the Arts; Embassy of Canada, Berlin; and CBC/Radio-Canada. 

Part of The New Alphabet (2019–22) supported by the Minister of State for Culture and the Media due to a ruling of the German Bundestag.