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Nuhoniyeh: Our Story
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Nuhoniyeh: Our Story (1996)
This year, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is very proud to present
the Canada Award to the documentary film Nuhoniyeh: Our Story.
The Canada Award, supported by the Multiculturalism Program of the Department
of Canadian Heritage, honours excellence in mainstream television programming
which best reflects the cultural diversity of Canada. It aims to promote greater
opportunities within the broadcasting industry, on both sides of the camera,
for professionals from a diversity of backgrounds. The recipient of this prestigious
award is chosen by a special jury of industry professionals.
The Canada Award jury, chaired by 1995 Canada Award recipient, producer Nancy
Trites-Botkin, received 23 submissions for consideration this year. After screening
each of the entrants, one program was unanimously decided upon by the jury as
a clear representative of the cultural diversity of Canada. The jury felt that
Nuhoniyeh: Our Story encompassed and surpassed the criteria established for this
special award.
Produced and directed by Allan and Mary Code, Treeline Productions, Nuhoniyeh:
Our Story "preserves the oral history" of the Sayisi Dene people of
Northern Manitoba who have been denied title to their traditional homeland for
over zo years and as a result have suffered greatly, yet refuse to give up reclaiming
what is rightfully theirs.
For Mary Code this documentary is particularly poignant. Four-years-old when her family and people were exiled from their homeland, Mary and Allan were asked by Sayisi Chief Ila Bussidor to do the video now, because she wanted "Outsiders" to appreciate what the Dene people had gone through. This powerful documentary is a moving tribute and testament to the Sayisi Dene and exemplifies strong storytelling and production skills with few resources.
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