“We are honoured to have Rise premiere at Sundance next year. There has never been a more urgent time to be telling these stories,” said Michelle Latimer, Algonquin/Métis filmmaker, Rise. “Rise is groundbreaking through its voicing of important issues around land, decolonization, and political governance told through an Indigenous point of view by showcasing the people who are leading this change globally.”

A condemnation of colonialism and a celebration of Indigenous people worldwide, Rise is a vibrant, gripping, and immersive documentary series that takes viewers to the frontlines of global Indigenous resistance. In two of the three episodes featured atSundance, host Sarain Carson-Fox, of Anishinaabe lineage, will embark on a journey into Indigenous cultures to examine the social and political factors that threaten their liberation in the 21^st century.

Along with an extended Q&A featuring Latimer, episodes to be screened at Sundance include: “Sacred Water,” focusing on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation where the largest gathering of Indigenous people in more than a century have come together to protect their water from the “black snake” of the Dakota Access Pipeline; “Apache Stronghold,” focusing on Arizona’s San Carlos Apache tribe and their stand to protect the sacred lands of Oak Flat; and “Red Power,” focusing on the evolution of the Red Power Movement. Using today’s unprecedented occupation at Standing Rock as a jumping off point, “Red Power” follows land protectors and warriors to chart the evolution of the Indigenous Resistance Movement from past to present.

“We are extremely proud to be providing a platform for Indigenous stories to be told to audiences both in Canada and around the world,” said Colette Watson, Senior Vice President, TV and Broadcast Operations, Rogers Media. “To be included in the SundanceFilm Festival is a testament to the heart and hard work that has gone into creating this series and will only serve to bring further awareness to this important narrative.”

The Sundance Film Festival takes place from January 19 to 29, with screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City, and at Sundance Mountain Resort, Utah. For the first time this year, Sundance is focusing its programming efforts to drive attention and action around a specific theme: climate change and environmental preservation. The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Boyhood, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, The End of the Tour, Little Miss Sunshine, Reservoir Dogs, An Inconvenient Truth, Frozen River, Precious, and Napoleon Dynamite.