The Spirit of Annie Mae
A tribute to a native activist and glimpse into a period of social upheaval in North America, from a native perspective.
Friday Night Docs by Cinema Politica Fredericton
Friday March 13, 2009
Screening begins 19h00
Venue: Conserver House, 180 St. John St.
Catherine Anne Martin / Canada / 2002 / 73 mins
In 1975 Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, a 30-year-old Nova-Scotia born Mi'kmaw, was shot dead, execution style, on a desolate road in South Dakota. Nearly three decades later, the crime remains a mystery.
Aquash was highly placed in the American Indian Movement (AIM), a radical First Nations organization that took up arms in the 1970s to fight for the rights of their people. The film provides a glimpse into a period of extraordinary social upheaval in North America, from a native perspective. AIM-like the Black Panthers and anti-Vietnam war protesters-were threatening the established order.
The Spirit of Annie Mae is a moving tribute from the women who were closest to her: the two young daughters who fled with their mother when she hid from the FBI; the young women she inspired to embrace native language and spirituality; and the other activists like Buffy Sainte-Marie and investigative journalist Minnie Two Shoes.
Director
Catherine Anne Martin
Producer
Kent Martin
Cinematography
Kent Nason
Bronze Plaque Award - Category: Social Issues
International Film and Video Festival
November 1 2003, Columbus - USA
Jury Award - Best Documentary
Big Bear Lake International Film Festival
September 12 to 14 2003, Big Bear Lake - USA
Award of Distinction - Category: Documentary Feature
Indian Summer Deltavision Film & Video Image Awards
September 10 to 12 2003, West Allis - USA
Award for Best Documentary Feature
Great Plains Film Festival
August 1 to 14 2003, Lincoln - USA
2nd Prize Rigoberta Menchu Tum - Category: Community
First Peoples' Festival ( Land InSights )
June 10 to 22 2003, Montréal - Canada
