Reel Alternatives closes season with compelling doc about missing Indigenous masks

From Reel Alternatives

The surprising connection between missing Indigenous ceremonial masks and the Surrealism art movement of the 20^th century is explored in So Surreal: Behind the Masks, Reel Alternatives’ season finale on Monday, June 2.

Part detective story and part illuminating history, this compelling film is a must-see for anyone who loves art, culture, and entertaining docs. The film is generously sponsored by Coles Art Market and screens at the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville. 

Cree director Neil Diamond, accompanied by a cadre of cultural preservation workers and art experts, journeys across the ocean to try to locate the Raven Transformation Mask, one of the invaluable cultural items taken from the Yupʼik and Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw nations at the turn of the last century. Using illustration and engaging storytelling, Diamond tells how masks like this left their homelands, tracing them from one prolific collector to museums and an antique store in New York — into which the German Surrealist Max Ernst wandered. He subsequently introduced the masks to his artist friends who, like him, were greatly influenced by their power and creativity. 

With dreamy Surrealist imagery interspersed with Yup’ik dancers in masks, interviews with current-day carvers and art experts, and one particularly arresting scene in the Louvre with Yup’ik artist, storyteller, and dancer Chuna McIntyre, this doc masterfully weaves together the threads of cultural and artistic histories. The suspense is fueled by the question – will they find the elusive Raven Transformation Mask? Tickets for all films are available for $10 online at reelalternativeshuntsville.ca or algonquintheatre.ca, at the door or by calling the Algonquin Theatre box office at 705-789-4975. Reel Alternatives Huntsville gratefully acknowledges their partnership with Film Circuit, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival, and its sponsors and supporters.

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