Abstract

Chapter Five makes a claim for the therapeutic value of Indigenous cinemas by drawing on the body of Indigenous scholarship which conceives of decolonization as healing process. This chapter foregrounds Barry Barclay's theory of Fourth Cinema which emphasizes the centrality of traditional Indigenous values to Indigenous filmmaking, and asks how such values can be affectively embedded in a film for political and therapeutic effect. Kanakan Balintagos’ film Palawan Fate serves as an intercessor for thinking about cinema's contribution to social projects for healing and decolonization across the Fourth World, from Canada to the Philippines and beyond.

Keywords: Kanakan Balintagos, Fourth Cinema, Indigenous Cinema, Decolonization

“I make films to heal my people.”

If we as Maori look closely enough and through the right pair of spectacles, we will find examples at every turn of how the old principles have been reworked to give vitality and richness to the way we conceive, develop, manufacture and present our films. […] It seems likely to me that some Indigenous film artists will be interested in shaping films that sit with confidence within the First, Second and Third cinema framework. While not closing the door on that option, others may seek to rework the ancient core values to shape a growing Indigenous cinema outside the national orthodoxy.