Yintah

The sprawling Wet’suwet’en territory in the western part of Canada is inhabited by five different clans. It is ‘unceded’ territory, never having been signed away by the Indigenous people who lived there before the Europeans colonised North America. Yintah follows Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, the leaders of two clans from the territory, as they struggle to prevent the Canadian government and fossil-fuel companies from building a pipeline across it. The two women spearhead the resistance bravely and with moving tenacity, but the standoff gradually becomes increasingly tense and violent. Yintah, which means ‘territory’, follows Freda and Molly over a 10-year period as they lead the defence of their land, their forests, and their water. Although scarred by a long history of institutional racism and abuse, they tirelessly confront oil workers, government representatives and the police. It’s an uneven battle, but they and the rest of Wet’suwet’en are not planning on giving up. Made with intimate access to its two leads and the communities they serve, Yintah is a raw, urgent and breathtakingly beautiful experience.