WITNESS: ARCTIC INDIGENOUS VOICES III Makes Market Debut at Clermont-Ferrand 2026

WITNESS: ARCTIC INDIGENOUS VOICES III, the latest edition of the groundbreaking Indigenous-led film training and mentorship initiative Witness, will have its Market Premiere at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market in February 2026, followed by a World Premiere in March. The filmmakers are part of a larger international delegation represented by the Indigenous Cinema Alliance (ICA) at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, one of the world’s most influential showcases for short-form cinema.

Led by the Arctic Indigenous Film Fund (AIFF), Witness is a first-of-its-kind initiative supporting Indigenous filmmakers across the circumpolar region to create short, first-person documentaries (3–5 minutes) that examine the immediate, lived impacts of climate change on their home communities. Launched in 2023 with the support of Telefilm Canada and other partners, the program is now in its third year and continues to be championed by both the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) and Telefilm Canada.

The Witness program has already demonstrated a powerful record of international recognition. A standout film from the 2023–2024 cycle, Sadetlo Scott’s Edaxadets’eete won Best Canadian Short at the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival. The 2024–2025 cohort (Witness II) saw its compilation film screen at nearly 20 international festivals following its world premiere at the world’s northernmost Indigenous film festival, Skábmagovat, with awards from the NYU Climate Change Film Festival,International Cell Phone Cinema Showcase, and the Aulajut: Nunavut International Film Festival. Three films from that cycle were also acquired by the Horniman Museum in London, UK, for its permanent collection.

Witness III marks a strategic evolution of the initiative, expanding its scope to include producer and co-production components. Past participants returned as producers, paired with new directors to foster intergenerational knowledge exchange and continuity of care. By centering Indigenous kinship networks, cultural protocols, and relational accountability, the model moves beyond colonial borders to support international collaboration grounded in shared responsibility and care across Indigenous territories. Guided by mentors Darlene Naponse and Jason Ryle, the cycle included an intensive in-person workshop in Toronto centered on impact producing, ethical community protocols, and sustainability—ensuring each film functions as both a creative work and a tool for local advocacy and global awareness.

WITNESS: ARCTIC INDIGENOUS VOICES III

This new collection brings together four urgent, first-person documentaries created by Indigenous filmmakers whose communities are among the world’s earliest and most direct witnesses to climate change. Speaking with authority rooted in lived experience, the films connect ancestral knowledge, cultural survival, and the frontline realities of a changing world.

Program representatives attending Clermont-Ferrand include producers Aslak Paltto, Sadetło Scott, and Princess Daazhraii Johnson, alongside mentor Jason Ryle, as part of the ICA’s broader international market presence.

THE FILMS

Deneege Leł Ghu Kk’ots’eedeneeyh Te Heł Hoozoonh Ts’e Denots’edeneeyh
(We Get Better When We Tan Moose Hides)
Director: Brittany Woods-Orrison (Koyukon Dene, Alaska)
Producer: Sadetło Scott (Tłı̨chǫ Dene, Yellowknife)
Project Mentor: Darlene Naponse
In Alaska, Dene women reclaim strength and sovereignty by reviving the ancestral practice of brain-tanning moose hides, transforming traditional labor into an act of cultural survival.

Vuogáiduvvan (Adaptation)
Director: Aslak Paltto (Sámi, Finland Sápmi)
Producer: Marc Fussing Rosbach (Inuk, Greenland)
Project Mentor: Jason Ryle
A Sámi reindeer herder confronts shifting seasons and state neglect, articulating the existential stakes for his land, his livelihood, and his identity.

Sukkaillutit Uqaruk (Say It Slowly)
Director: Ashley Qilavaq-Savard (Inuk, Iqaluit)
Producer: Sara Beate Eira (Sámi, Norway Sápmi)
Project Mentor: Darlene Naponse
A lyrical exploration of how environmental change and the erosion of the Inuktitut language are intertwined—and how intergenerational care sustains both land and voice.

Tamatta Ataqatigiippugut (We Are All Connected)
Director: Arina Kleist (Inuk, Greenland)
Producer: Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Neets’aii Gwich’in, Alaska)
Project Mentor: Jason Ryle
A contemplative reckoning from Greenland that invokes ancestral spirits to examine humanity’s fractured relationship with Nature.

SELECT BIOGRAPHIES

Brittany Woods-Orrison (Director)
A Koyukon Dené from Dleł Taneets, Brittany lives her culture through harvesting, traditional games, and storytelling. Her filmmaking centers community care and Yukon River traditions.

Aslak Paltto (Director)
Aslak isa Sámi filmmaker, reindeer herder and journalist from Leammi in Northern Finland. His films include Through a Reindeer Herder’s Eyes and Eat, Feed, Sleep, Repeat, as well as his latest feature for the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Committee, Reindeer.

Ashley Qilavaq-Savard (Director)
An Inuk writer, artist, and filmmaker from Iqaluit, Ashley explores decolonization and Indigenous narratives. A returning Witness participant, this cycle marks her first as sole director.

Arina Kleist (Director)
A filmmaker based in Qaqortoq, South Greenland, Arina’s debut short Ivikkisartoq Kingulleq won Best Short Film at the Nuuk International Film Festival, signaling her emergence as a vital Arctic voice.

Sadetło Scott (Producer)
A Tłı̨chǫ Dené filmmaker from Yellowknife, Sadetło runs Zahk’e Productions and holds degrees in Indigenous Governance and Film Production, focusing on cultural revitalization.

Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Producer)
A Lower Tanana Dene writer, director, and producer from Alaska, Princess is an Emmy®-nominated writer (Molly of Denali), a producer on True Detective: Night Country, and a leading advocate for Indigenous sovereignty in the arts.

Marc Fussing Rosbach (Producer)
A Greenlandic filmmaker, composer, and founder of Furos Image, Marc is known for blending Greenlandic culture with innovative genre storytelling.

Sara Beate Eira (Producer)
A Sámi producer based in Guovdageaidnu, Sara brings a background in journalism and was a core team member on the acclaimed feature Ellos Eatnu – Let the River Flow.

In WITNESS: ARCTIC INDIGENOUS VOICES III, Indigenous filmmakers step forward as both artists and witnesses, documenting the urgent realities of a changing North.