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TORONTO — Indigenous filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin never thought she would see this in her lifetime.

Fifty years after starting her distinguished career amid major funding roadblocks, the Quebec-raised 85-year-old is elated to see Indigenous filmmaking finally at an “exciting” place heading into 2018, with new initiatives including an Indigenous Screen Office in Canada.

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“Any Indigenous person who wants to make a film … if ever there was a possible time — this is it,” the acclaimed Abenaki documentary maker says from Montreal, where she’s editing her 51st feature-length project.

“I feel that we’re really going someplace where we’ve never gone before. I know that Canadians are really listening now and want to know the truth.”

After decades of misrepresentation and under-representation of Indigenous culture in Canada’s screen industry, the community is experiencing a boost.

One of the biggest game-changers is the Indigenous Screen Office, a collaboration between the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, the CBC, the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Media Producers Association, and the National Film Board of Canada.