[mother-of-many-children--Film-list-image]

1977 / 57 minutes

Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
Country of production
Canada

In her first feature-length documentary Alanis Obomsawin honours the central place of women and mothers within Indigenous cultures. An album of Indigenous womanhood, the film portrays proud matriarchal cultures that for centuries have been pressured to adopt the standards and customs of the dominant society. Tracing the cycle of Indigenous women’s lives from birth to childhood, puberty, young adulthood, maturity and old age, the film reveals how Indigenous women have fought to regain a sense of equality, instilled cultural pride in their children and passed on their stories and language to new generations.

In the 2023 RAI Film Fest , Lifetime Achievement Award – Alanis Obomsawin category