The Spirit Who Swims / Indigenous food sovereignty

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This documentary explores the Indigenous practice of ‘life as ceremony’ through the annual migration of Salmon along the Fraser River in Canada. Journeying over 1000 kilometres from ocean to spawning grounds, we meet Indigenous communities who share their deep spiritual and material bonds with ‘the Spirit Who Swims’ and the consequences if it disappears. Through stunning aerial and underwater cinematography, it becomes both a love manifesto to the Salmon and a call to restore balance between people and our natural world. ‘The Spirit Who Swims’ is more than a documentary - it documents the challenges First Nations communities face along the Fraser River while exploring themes including colonization, food sovereignty, human-nature relationships, and community resilience.

Director: Bev Sellars, Garry Tutte
Canada, 2024
English with English subtitles
56 min

Event 

The event will begin with a brief introduction by the event’s co-hosts, the Copenhagen Decolonization Collective. The documentary is followed by a panel discussion with the film director, Bev Sellars, dramaturg and sound artist, Siri Paulsen, and Aviâja Lyberth Hauptmann, who will be sharing insights from working as an Associate Professor at the Institute of Health and Nature at Ilisimatusarfik Kalaallit Nunaat (University of Greenland). The panel will explore the role of awareness and education in indigenous practices. Drinks will be served in Asta Bar after the screening. The event will be in English.