Thursday Lates Film Screening: So Surreal: Behind the Masks

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Join us for a screening of So Surreal: Behind the Masks, by Neil Diamond and Joanne Robertson.

The storied journey of Indigenous masks into the hands of the Surrealists

So Surreal: Behind the Masks is a feature documentary that traces the storied journey of Indigenous masks from the far reaches of Turtle Island (North America) into the hands of European Surrealists, influencing the work of some of the most well-known modern artists and writers of all time including Max Ernst, André Breton and Joan Miró – all while following the dramatic quest to return a mask that was brutally stolen from Canada’s northwest coast over a century ago. Part caper, part road trip, part spiritual journey, Behind the Mask follows award-winning Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond (Reel Injun) as he travels coast-to-coast and across the Atlantic and back, gradually piecing together this groundbreaking global story of influence and hopeful restitution.

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CREATOR BIOS

JOANNE ROBERTSON, WRITER & DIRECTOR

Joanne Robertson is a director, screenwriter, researcher, and producer based in Montreal. For over 25 years, she has worked in the documentary field, contributing to numerous documentary projects including Cree Spoken Here, Une histoire du cinéma for the National Film Board of Canada, Ports d’attache, Chacun son île, and the feature film Rougemania. Joanne has also produced artistic works such as Kara Blake’s art installation Lasciare Suonare and Todd Stewart’s animated short film Quand le vent souffle. In 2024, she co-directed, alongside Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, the feature film Behind the Masks, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

NEIL DIAMOND, WRITER & DIRECTOR

Neil Diamond is a Cree filmmaker from Waskaganish, Quebec, located on the coast of James Bay in Canada. Neil co-directed the award-winning feature documentaries Reel Injun and, more recently, Red Fever, as well as One More River, Cree Spoken Here, and Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec. He also co-directed Inuit Cree Reconciliation, The Last Explorer, and the documentary series Dab Iyiyuu. He is an award-winning photographer and co-founder of The Nation magazine, the first news magazine serving the Cree of northern Quebec and Ontario. In 2024, he co-directed the feature-length documentary So Surreal: Behind the Masks.

An older woman with gray hair and glasses smiles while touching a colorful totem pole inside a bright, modern room—an atmosphere reminiscent of So Surreal: Behind the Masks.
A person wearing a traditional green and red Indigenous mask with black and reddish hair stands in a forest, surrounded by greenery—capturing the mysterious vibe of So Surreal: Behind the Masks.
Three people kneel and perform a dance on a sandy shore under a cloudy sky; the central figure wears a white animal mask with fur. In this So Surreal: Behind the Masks scene, dancers in blue pose before mountains and water in the background.
A woman stands in a wooden museum gallery, admiring Indigenous masks and carvings in the
A group of people pose outside a building; one man hangs upside down from a ladder while another stands on top with a bicycle. Several others, some smiling, watch in front of large windows and a
An elder in traditional regalia with a feathered headdress and beaded headband raises his arms outward, appearing to dance, in front of a museum display case containing a saddle—an evocative scene from So Surreal: Behind the Masks.