As the world's largest presenter of Indigenous-made screen content, the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is all about celebrating and uplifting Indigenous filmmakers, artists and their stories.

Its 2023 lineup is stacked with screenings, exhibitions parties and extra special events that welcome everyone to step into the world of Indigenous artistry. 

Touching down in Toronto from Oct. 17 to Oct. 22, there will be nearly 85 film screenings, plus 21 digital and interactive works, and 17 audio works, from all around the world.

Each work or film presented has been created by an Indigenous artist, including creatives representing 74 Indigenous Nations.

Indigenous market at the Welcome Gathering event at the 2022 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. (David Coulson)

Film tickets are priced at an affordable $10 for individual tickets, but you can also save a few dollars by bundling your purchase through ticket packages. The 5-Ticket Package costs $45, and the 10-Ticket Package costs just $80. Student and senior discounts for certain events are also available.

Want to check out some no-cost programming? All film screenings taking place on Friday, Oct. 20 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox are completely free! 

They also feature free access to the iNdigital Space at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Gallery, which is imagineNATIVE's curated showcase of video games, augmented reality, virtual reality, podcasts, and more works, running from Oct. 18 to Oct. 22.

While the six-day festival is absolutely jam-packed with screenings and presentations — including free and family-friendly programming — we've nailed down some must-see events at Toronto's 2023 imagineNATIVE Festival.

There's something for everyone

With a robust schedule of 14 feature films and 70 short films from 11 film programs, imagineNATIVE offers six days of Indigenous cinema magic.

No matter what genre or theme you're looking for, whether horror, documentary, sci-fi, or experimental, there's a ton of choice on offer.

Highly-anticipated films include the opening night feature (and Canadian premiere) Fancy Dance from Erica Tremblay on Oct. 17 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, and imagineNATIVE’s closing night screening Hey, Viktor! from director Cody Lightning on Oct. 22.

Audience enjoying the film 'Gidiskin' during the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. (Natalia Lopez-Woodside)

The festival is proud to showcase films by 2SLGTBQIA+ artists. Check out movies from Two- Spirit and Indigiqueer storytellers like Inky Pinky Ponky, Short Film Program 5: Queerdom and Short Film Program 6: "That's My Baby!" as well as TIFF- circuit premiere favourites like Tautuktavuk (What We See), The New Boy, and closing night film Hey, Viktor!

There will also be family and kid-friendly programming, including Short Film Program 1: For the Grandbabies and Red, White & Brass.

imagineNATIVE works hard to make its festival as accessible as possible. Every film is presented with English text on screen for every word spoken, via translated English subtitles, transcriptions or English captions for all of the film's spoken dialogue. Key sound cues for Deaf and/or hard-of-hearing audience members will also be shown.

Head over to imagineNATIVE's site to see the full festival schedule and read more about the films from over 40 Indigenous languages, including Māori, Innu-aimun, Inuktitut, and Northern Sāmi, to name a few.

Parties and performances

To kick off the festival on a high note, a free Welcome Gathering with diverse musical and artistic talents will touch down at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, featuring acts like Manitou Mkwa Singers, Cotee Harper, Sake Dancers and poet Jennifer Alicia.

Musical performance at the special The Beat event, from the 2022 imagineNATIVE's Film + Media Arts Festival. (Brendan, Photographers Without Borders)

Following this, the Opening Night Party sponsored by CBC will take place at Steam Whistle Brewery, featuring a glam 360 photo booth and multiple DJs, including headliner DJ Shub who will definitely get you up on your feet. 

On Oct. 21, imagineNATIVE will present 18 awards (and over $66,000 in prizes to winners) at its Awards Presentation, hosted by eTalk's Michaella Montana. The Awards Presentation is a free, ticketed event, featuring performances by Sebastian Gaskin and Juno nominee Nimkii and the Niniis.

Also on Oct. 21, the festival-favourite event The Beat sponsored by the Slaight Family Foundation and Fab Collab will take place at the TD Music Hall. This must-attend dance party will be hosted by the hilarious Kairyn Potts with performances from Indigenous artists like Chandra Melting Tallow, Mr. Sauga, Semiah, and headliner DJ Kookum.

Art Crawl

It’s not just movies and films that keep festival-goers busy at imagineNATIVE, the celebration also has an art crawl across the city featuring exhibitions from Indigenous creatives.

Every year, imagineNATIVE collaborates with established and local artist-run galleries to present an array of national and international exhibitions featuring Indigenous artists who continue to push the boundaries and expectations of what Indigenous storytelling can be.

Guests admiring Souvenir by artist Jordan Bennett, as part of an exhibition curated by Ryan Rice at the 2022 imagineNATIVE Art Crawl. (Naomi Johnson)

On Oct. 18 at 4 p.m., imagineNATIVE's free Art Crawl will descend onto multiple venues and galleries in Toronto for a night of engaging exhibitions! Seven exhibits and 19 artists will take centre stage and cover themes of cultural identity, gender, sexuality, and anti-colonialism.

Moving across multiple Toronto gallery spaces with a closing reception at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the 2023 Art Crawl will be showcasing incredible works from many Indigenous media artists. 

iNdigital Space and imagineNATIVE Arcade

Experience multi-media art at this year's imagineNATIVE Festival at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

The iNdigital Space is a free showcase of digital and interactive works where festival-goers can explore digital arts through Indigenous-made virtual reality, 360-video, augmented reality, video games and more. Don't skip out on the imagineNATIVE Arcade, where you can play some classic arcade games with the whole family.

Industry networking and iNdigital Days

Indigenous artists can meet with and listen to other Indigenous screen industry professionals if they apply to participate in imagineNATIVE's Industry Days, hosting fascinating panels and networking events.

Behind the scenes on production for the 2022 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival trailer, with director Lindsay Sarazin. (Naomi Johnson)

For movie lovers of all cultural backgrounds, there are also opportunities to hear from film directors themselves with special Q&A sessions following select screenings. Don't forget iNdigital Days, a two-day professional development event for digital artists to hone their craft, open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks alike.

There is truly so much to experience at this year's imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival that no matter which events you attend, you'll join a great crowd in a dynamic celebration of Indigenous artistry.

Head on over to imagineNATIVE's website to learn more about programming and purchase tickets before the festival starts on Oct. 17!