Auntie Danis Goulet (Cree-Métis) - Director, Night Raiders, Advocate for Indigenous Filmmaking

AUNTIE: Wa’tkwanonhweráton Sewakwékon. On this edition of The Aunties Dandelion we visit with Danis Goulet – a Cree-Metis, award-winning director and screenwriter who is best known for her 2021 film Night Raiders which is set in a dystopian future. The widely popular movie had the highest budget of any Indigenous-led Canadian film and stars Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as a mother who joins a resistance movement to save her daughter. In Night Raiders – as in all of her films – Danis focuses on how Indigenous worldview can bring new insight and practice to an industry largely devoid of human care and community. DANIS: The film industry was built to exploit and so if you want to work in the film industry. So if you want to go into the film industry how do we do this in a way that is driven by values and then obviously in Indigenous production you’d be looking at what are your values that come from your community or your specific culture that can inform the film process. AUNTIE: Danis spent years advocating for Indigenous creators in the film industry and co-authored a 2013 report for Telefilm with Kerry Swanson that helped lay the ground work for funding, offices and initiatives that now support Native filmmakers – including The Aunties Dandelion – Nya:wen. Danis is a passionate visual storyteller who creates strong matriarchal characters and weaves her own Cree language into her productions as a spiritual guide. DANIS: It is good for the spirit and any time there is a chance to put it on screen its like those are my favourite things to shoot to hear it. To commit it to screen where you know it is going to live on through this medium. AUNTIE: I’m Kahstoserakwathe and we are Yéthi Nihsténha ne Tekarónyakénare. The Aunties Dandelion. We’re focused on revitalizing our communities through stories of land, language, and relationships. And we want to say Nyá:wenkò:wa – or big thanks – to Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office – teyonhkiwihstekénha – for making this podcast possible through their New Media fund. We make space here for real conversations to unfold like when we visit in our communities. So take a breath, make some tea –  and listen to your Aunties. And when you are done – please follow us, provide some feedback, and share these visits with others. It helps us continue these visits together.