Discover the International First Peoples' Festival in Montréal
Summer Culture, arts and heritage Festivals and events
Known as Tiohtià:ke in Kanien’kéha and Mooniyang in Anishinaabemowin by the Indigenous populations who’ve long known and cared for the lands upon which Montréal rests, the city’s First Peoples history is one recognized in land acknowledgment, cultural spaces, ceremony and the city’s flag. The annual commemoration culminates with the International First Peoples’ Festival (IFPF), celebrating its 36th edition this August 4 to 13, 2026. And be sure to keep an eye to the skies over the city for IFPF 2026’s mascot Enukunnu, the Innu Spider!
First Peoples’ cinema from around the globe
Indigenous filmmakers like Alanis Obomsawin, Zacharias Kunuk and Danis Goulet are some of Canada’s most celebrated cinematic artists, and each year the IFPF spotlights an international roster of new films from shorts to full-length features. Here’s just 11 of hot ticket presentations.
Film: Nitassinan directed by Joséphine Bacon and Kim O’Bomsawin
- Screening: August 4, 2026, Théâtre Outremont
- The Buzz: This year’s opening event is the world premiere of the feature-length documentary Nitassinan, paying tribute to the Innu people whose ancestral homeland includes the Labrador-Québec peninsula. The fiilmmakers will be in attendance.
Film: Runa Simi directed by Augusto Zegarra
- Screening: August 5, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: Telling the story of a Peruvian actor, activist and artist’s dream to dub Disney’s The Lion King into the Quechua language, Runa Simi received the Best New Documentary Director award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Film: Arctic Ghosts directed by Konstantin Timofeev
- Screening: August 5, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: Hailing from the Sakha Republic of Siberia, Arctic Ghosts is a horror film based in Yakutsk, the coldest city in the world. Presented in the Yakut language, it’s a ghost story unlike any other.
Film: Flora Aurima Devatine: The Stars of Dawn – Te feti’a taiao ‘averau directed by Estelle Castro-Koshy, Tokainiua Jean-Daniel Devatine and Matahi Tutavae
- Screening: August 7, 2026, Salle Alanis-Obomsawin
- The Buzz: A film-length tribute to Tahitian poet, Indigenous activist and feminist Flora Aurima Devatine, whose life’s work focuses on the recognition of French Polynesian arts and literature. The filmmakers and Devatine will be in attendance.
Film: Dreams Travel with the Wind directed by Inti Jacanamijoy
- Screening: August 8, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: Presented in the Wayúu language, Dreams Travel with the Wind tells the tale of an Indigenous man separated from his family and culture as a child in Colombia, living between reality and dreamscapes where he interacts with ancestors, the earth and death.
Film: Oienkonton – Hanging Tobacco directed by Ellen Gabriel
- Screening: August 9, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: Focusing on the 1990 barricades against an encroaching golf course expansion at Kanehsatàke, Oienkonton – Hanging Tobacco presents an important piece of Québec’s Indigenous history. Director Ellen Gabriel will be in attendance.
Film: Our Body is an Expanding Star directed by Semillites Hernández Velasco and Tania
- Screening: August 9, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: Breaking through colonial narratives of identity, Our Body is an Expanding Star blends animation, choreography, collage and personal manifesto in its portrait of queer siblings and filmmakers Semillites and Tania.
Film: Un lugar más grande directed by Nicolas Défossé
- Screening: August 10, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: Facing growing violence and corruption, the town of Tila in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas expelled police and city hall politicians from their posts and undertook self-governance. Director Nicolas Défossé will be in attendance.
Film: River of Spirits directed by Colectivo Tawna
- Screening: August 12, 2026, Place des Festivals
- The Buzz: Created by arts and activist collevctive Tawna, River of Spirits highlights Ecuador’s Achuar peoples in the face of pollution and infrastructure projects that threaten their traditional ways of life.
Film: Mārama directed by Taratoa Stappard
- Screening: August 13, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: Set in 1859, this stunningly filmed Māori gothic horror unleashes the terrors of generational imperial violence on a young teacher from Aotearoa in search of her roots in New Zealand.
Film: Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] directed by Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil
- Screening: August 13, 2026, Cinéma du Musée
- The Buzz: IFPF’s closing film Aanikoobijigan, winner of the Audience Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, documents the efforts of MACPRA (Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance) to reclaim and rebury Indigenous human remains held in museums.
A concert series of unique artists
Throughout the festival’s run, the IFPF 2026 also presents a series of concerts on Place des Festivals alongside the grand tipi constructed each year, and Jardins Gamelin in the Village neighbourhood.
This year’s lineup of performers includes ANYMA ORA’, John Metza, Pako, Q052, Big Tones, Shub, Rei, Leonard Sumner, DJ Uaeietilu, Shanipiap, TDH, Kris Kinokawin, William C. WikcEmna Yamni SAM Wanzi and the theatrical performance ATANUKAN featuring Saulnia Jean-Pierre.
Finally, on August 14, 2026 at Théâtre Outremont, the commemorative concert Here Stood the Tree of Peace marks the 325th anniversary of the Great Peace of 1701 with a large ensemble featuring Forestare Guitar Ensemble, Richard Desjardins, Joséphine Bacon, Jacques Newashish, Andrée Levesque Sioui, Marianne Lambert, Sandrine Masse-Savard, Éric Dupont, Élise Turcotte, Hélène Collin, Kate Bevan Baker, Benjamin Tremblay Carpentier, Marc Morin, and Elvira Misbakhova under the guiding hand of artistic director Alexandre Ethier.
Unmissable exhibitions
Each year the IFPF also presents a series of exhibitions, showcasing artists and artisans. This year’s festival features four such shows, each a must for any arts lover.
Title: Pride and Joy: The Interconnectedness of Life in the Arctic
- Location: La Guilde
- Artists: Displaying a selection of Ivujivik-based printer Mary Paningajak’s small but powerful works, Pride and Joy portrays the relationships between the Nunavimmiut and the natural world. Curated by Katsitsanoron Dumoulin Bush.
Title: Qamutik: When the Dogsled Becomes Art
- Location: La Guilde
- Artists: The first solo exhibition from Kuujjuaq-based artist Thomas Whiteley, also curated by Katsitsanoron Dumoulin Bush, Qamutik exhibits the artist’s woodwork and printmaking tributes to the traditional Inuit dogsled.
Title: Ota – Ici – Ute
- Location: Maison du développement durable
- Artists: An interdisciplinary meeting between photographer Christine Berthiaume, Atikamekw artist Jacques Newashish and Innu poet Maya Cousineau-Mollen, Ota – Ici – Ute blends painting, poetry and photography in an unforgettable intercultural dialogue.
Title: Black-and-White Photography Exhibition
- Location: Place des Festivals
- Artists: Photographer Martin Loft, a co-founder of the Native Indian/Inuit Photographers’ Association, shows a collection of his works in stark black and white. He’ll also be hosting Pinhole Photography Workshops as well.
Special events and more
Alongside IFPF’s film, arts and music programming, a series of special events also offer enriching experiences for the whole family.
Event: 9th International Conference Revisioning the Americas Through Indigenous Cinema
- Where and when: NFB Space (August 9, 2026), Université du Québec à Montréal (August 10, 2026) and Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center, in Kahnawà:ke (August 11, 2026)
- What: Featuring presenters ranging from filmmakers to academics, this three-day conference takes an in-depth look at the current state of international Indigenous filmmaking. Free admission and live on-site translation available.
Event: Archéo-Discovery – Archaeology Day
- Where and when: Place des Festivals, August 6 and 7, 2026
- What: Presented by Archéo-Québec, this day full of activities and history interpretation exercises brings archaeology into focus for participants of all ages. There’s also an Archaeological Dig Simulation on August 8, 2026!
Event: Skateboard Painting Workshop
- Where and when: Place des Festivals, August 5, 2026
- What: Led by Atikamekw Iskwew artist Andrea Ottawa, this workshop will utilize traditional Indigenous practices in transforming skateboards into living works of art. Show off your new deck at the Skate Park VANS, also set up in the Place des Festivals throughout the IFPF.
Mark Hamilton
Mark Hamilton is the community director for QueerMTL, a musician in the projects Woodpigeon, Frontperson and Brittle Dreams and a curator and historian specializing in LGBTQ+ activism and zinemaking. He’s lived in Montréal since 2015, during which time he’s most often spotted atop a BIXI bike usally running a few minutes late.