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Directors (1975)
"a" (74)

Dennis Allen (4)

Dennis Allen

Dennis Allen

Inupiat/Gwich’in filmmaker and storyteller Dennis Allen premiered his first film, Someplace Better, at the 2001 Sundance Festival, and later won imagineNATIVE’s Alanis Obomsawin Best Documentary Award for CBQM, his big-hearted tribute to a radio station known as the “moccasin telegraph,” located in the Gwich’in community of Fort McPherson. Crazywater, in which he explores historical, colonial and intergenerational factors behind Indigenous substance abuse, received an Honourable Mention at Vancouver’s DOXA Festival. Allen was co-creator of Cashing In, an episodic TV series set within the world of an Indigenous-run casino.

  • CBQM
    CBQM
    Dennis Allen 2009 1 h 6 min
    This feature-length documentary pays tribute to CBQM, the radio station that operates out of Fort McPherson, a small town about 150 km north of the Arctic Circle in the Canadian Northwest Territories. Through storytelling and old-time country music, filmmaker and long-time listener Dennis Allen crafts a nuanced portrait of the "Moccasin Telegraph," the radio station that is a pillar of local identity and pride in this lively northern Teetl'it Gwich'in community of 800 souls.
  • CBQM
    CBQM
    Dennis Allen 2010 1 h 6 min
    Long métrage documentaire sur la station de radio CBQM, qui émet dans tout le delta du Mackenzie. À Fort McPherson, à 148 kilomètres au nord du Cercle Arctique, le soleil ne se montre pas pendant des semaines entières l’hiver, laissant 766 âmes dans l’obscurité et le froid. Les animateurs de la radio locale s’occupent de réchauffer le cœur de la communauté avec leur musique, leurs messages et leur fidèle compagnie.
  • Crazywater
    Crazywater
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    Dennis Allen 2013 56 min
    This feature-length documentary from Inuvialuit filmmaker Dennis Allen is an emotional and revealing exploration of addiction among Indigenous people in Canada.

    After years of struggle and shame, 5 Indigenous Canadians bravely come forward with their stories of substance abuse, presenting the sensitive topic of alcoholism in an honest and forthright manner. Alex, Paula, Desirae, Stephen, and Dennis himself maintain a deep and devoted commitment to their traditional culture to achieve long-term sobriety. Through their voices, this insightful doc offers an inspirational beacon of hope for others.
  • Eau-de-feu
    Eau-de-feu
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    Dennis Allen 2013 56 min
    Long métrage documentaire sur l’alcoolisme dans les communautés autochtones, un sujet rarement abordé ouvertement. Le cinéaste Dennis Allen, dont le souvenir du premier verre remonte à l’enfance, raconte vaillamment la lutte qu’il a menée – et remportée – contre ses démons personnels. Levant le voile sur la dimension humaine d’un problème trop souvent occulté, Eau-de-feu nous présente avec courage et honnêteté plusieurs récits sur la toxicomanie. En relatant leur trajectoire, les protagonistes du documentaire, dont le réalisateur lui-même, aideront bien des gens à emprunter la voie de la guérison et prouveront que l’on peut arriver à bon port.

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