Can You Feel It Now

Set in a speculative future on Turtle Island, where ancestral dreams and visions shape reality, the film follows the poetic journey of the Welcomer, a vessel of First Nations resilience, and the Arrivant, a traveller from the African diaspora. The Welcomer, reflecting on the echoes of a past reshaped by colonization, envisions a future liberated from its violence. The Arrivant, seeking a place to anchor their journey through time and space, is drawn to the Welcomer’s vision.

When their paths finally cross, they redefine the moment of First Contact—not as a collision of the Uninvited but as a convergence of kindred spirits. Guided by the rhythm of poetry, the Welcomer and the Arrivant share their knowledge and teachings, fusing their identities, histories, and imagined futures into a vibrant tapestry of connection and healing. Through their poetic exchange, they create a sanctuary of solidarity that transcends mere survival, reclaiming the power to define what it means to encounter and be encountered.

Inspired by Afrofuturism and Indigenous Futurism, they envision a world that might have been—and still can be—where Black and Indigenous lives are intertwined in kinship, resistance, and the shared wisdom of their ancestors.

Creative Team: Ra’anaa Yaminah Ekundayo, Connor Lafortune & Isak Vaillancourt
Director & Producer: Isak Vaillancourt
Cast & Writers: Ra’anaa Yaminah Ekundayo & Connor Lafortune
Language Specialist (Anishinaabemowin): Connor Lafortune
Finance Coordinator - Ra’anaa Yaminah Ekundayo
Cinematographer, Colourist, and VFX: Mathieu Taillefer
First Assistant Director: Riley McEwen
Editor - Bosmo Kosmerly Composer: Emilio Portal
Production Assistants: Casey McGee, Sam Barry & Selina Stos
Makeup Artists: Melissa Dunwell & Adonia Dunwell
Illustrator: Jenelle Lewis 

Filmed on Location: Dokis First Nation
Archival Footage - G.E. Mortimore, Guelph University

2023 - 25 | Independent Initiative

This film was supported by the Ontario Arts Council (OAC).


  • Red Nation International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA – Official Selection, 2025

  • Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival, N’Swakamok (Sudbury, ON) – Official Selection, 2025

Awards & Screenings