BIIDAABAN: FIRST LIGHT
ABOUT
Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square is flooded. Its infrastructure has merged with the local fauna; mature trees grow through cracks in the sidewalks and vines cover south-facing walls. People commute via canoe and grow vegetables on skyscraper roofs. Urban life is thriving. Rooted in the realm of Indigenous futurism, Biidaaban: First Light is an interactive VR time-jump into a highly realistic—and radically different—Toronto of tomorrow.
Toronto-based Lisa Jackson is one of Canada’s premiere artists, an award-winning filmmaker whose work has shown at top festivals including SXSW, Berlinale, Hotdocs, Tribeca and Sundance, aired widely on television, and exhibited in galleries. Her work ranges from documentary to fiction, animation to 3D IMAX. Her 2018 VR Biidaaban: First Light was nominated for a Webby, has been exhibited around the world, and won a Canadian Screen Award (Canada’s Oscar), the second time she’s received this honour. She is Anishinaabe (Aamjiwnaang), has an MFA in Film from York University, and lives in Toronto.