WATERLOO - A touring Indigenous film festival rolls into uptown Waterloo next week.

Wapikoni, Cinema on Wheels, is exactly what it sounds like. It's a caravan equipped with a projection screen and dozens of inspiring films made by Indigenous youth, and this year it is travelling to communities across the country.

The films vary from animated shorts to music videos and documentaries, as well as a few stories about different legends retold by family members.

"They're all heartwarming, some of them might be a bit more serious, but they are uplifting and inspiring," said Jocelyn Piirainen, a native of Resolute Bay, Nunavut, who is travelling across the country, with the caravan, as a projectionist.

The Wapikoni Mobile program has been around since 2004 and it takes production vans full of film equipment to Indigenous communities all over Canada, so youth can have free access to it and make their own films.

"It's a way for Indigenous youth to share their stories and voices," Piirainen said.

She said the youth can get involved on many different levels, whether they are in front of the screen or behind it with a camera in hand.

"They gain a lot of confidence through this process."

The touring film festival is part of a larger project called "From Coast to Coast: Reconciliation through the Media Arts."

Piirainen said the nonprofit group is hoping to make more connections as it travels from west to east across the country this summer.

Many of the films have made the rounds at film festival circuits and been featured at the Toronto International Film Festival among others.

The free screening in uptown Waterloo is on Tuesday, Aug. 8 starting at 9 p.m. at Waterloo Public Square. The films will be in English, French and Indigenous languages.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

It will feature 14 general shorts, 10 short films directed by teens and eight shorts directed by children aged seven to 12 years old.

To learn more, visit the website at www.wapikoni.ca.