A variety of films that complemented and preluded the stories of Feature films in imagineNATIVE's Official Selection. These shorts programs may differentiate from the shorts programs presented at our in-person festival screenings due to the various geoblocking restraints on each film.

“Windsong” is a lush, visually poetic music video from Kalyn Fay’s album Garden, filmed on location at the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where nature, art, and sound intertwine in a dreamy meditation on growth and longing. Loren Waters (Cherokee/Kiowa) is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Waters Media, where her work spans directing, producing, and casting.

Windsong

A stop-motion short film about different ways to meet the ones we love. Wayra Ana Velásquez is a writer and photographer. She has a Master’s Degree in Literature with a mention in Creative Writing from the Simón Bolívar Andean University (2023) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Communication with a mention in Development from the Salesiana Polytechnic University (2020).

KINKU

The filmmaker’s firsthand account of the 2021 catastrophic wildfire season in the Nlaka’pamux Nation, weaving together historical and contemporary issues her community faces. Jade Baxter’s work includes non-fiction and narrative film, creative short form writing, and Nlaka’pamux fibre arts.

Why Would I Leave

Materia transforms ordinary objects into vast terrains of texture and light. Through macro and microscopic imagery, the film explores the hidden kinship between the human body and the mineral world. Alisi Telengut is a Mongolian Canadian animation artist creating award-winning, handcrafted, frame-by-frame films.

Materia

Traditional Sámi reindeer herding is on the brink of change due to the rapidly warming climate. No matter what, reindeer herders must adapt, otherwise, the reindeer starve, and there will be no future left. Sámi filmmaker Aslak Paltto has firsthand experience of the negative impacts of a changing climate as a reindeer herder.

Vuogáiduvvan (Adaptation)

An Indigenous ballerina attempts to reignite her passion for dancing following a traumatic incident with her previous coach. Dana Solomon is a multidisciplinary artist residing in Mississauga, Ontario. Dana is Anishinaabe/Guyanese and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation.

Niimi

Louise, an Anicinabe woman, found the strength to move on after the loss of her husband by devoting herself to the art gallery she opened in his honour. Through this process, she shows how healing can bring positivity and renewal. Louise Thomas hails from Sucker Creek First Nation, a Cree Nation in northwestern Alberta.

Honor of the Paintbrush

Short Film Program:  Opening Acts

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Please note that not all films screened during the in-person Festival will be available online. Online Festival works are subject to location geoblocking and distribution rights. Access to online screenings starts on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET and ends Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET; this cutoff applies to all forms of access, including online single tickets purchased after June 11, 2026 (which is the last day to purchase for a guaranteed 72-hour access window).

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