Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
OPENING RECEPTION: THE GIMLI FILM FESTIVAL
Government House
Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 6:00 p.m.
(please check against delivery)
Fans of film and lovers of artistic expression – welcome to the Gimli International Film Festival.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I honour and acknowledge that we are gathered on Treaty One land, and in the heartland of the Red River Metis.
This beautiful and diverse province is also the ancestral and the present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples.
I also recognize that northern Manitoba includes lands that were, and are, the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
Together, we will continue to work to hear truths, and to advance understanding, opportunity, and healing for all.
Sharing of visions, ideas and experiences is an essential part of being human –it’s at the heart of our efforts to learn and to create a better world and to experience the beauty and share the challenges of the world we inhabit.
It’s something that predates the invention of film by thousands of years – going back to those artists who ventured into caves in Spain and Indonesia 50,000 years ago to paint images by torchlight.
At the Gimli International Film Festival we celebrate the diversity of visions created by artists who paint with light today. We gaze in wonder, we ponder dream-like images, we feel a shock of recognition or a wave of empathy, we flinch with suspense and we laugh.
We share the worlds created by film artists from across Canada and from around the world, hearing stories told in English, French, Inuktitut, Arabic, Ukrainian, Icelandic, Tagalog, German and at least a dozen other languages.
Whether we’re watching experimental short films in a small screening room or enjoying a blockbuster on Gimli Beach, the imagination and artistry of these creators brings us together for a special moment.
Through film, music, dance, theatre, literature, painting, sculpture and more, Manitoba’s artists inspire, entertain and challenge us. They invite us to shake off the cobwebs and experience the world anew.
To all of those who create and support this art and to all who make this festival possible, thank you for enabling this celebration of vision and sound.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich.
