INVASION (2019)

INVASION

Invasion was the first major project connected to Amplifier Films, produced by Mutual Aid Media in direct collaboration with the Unist’ot’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. The film was created at the request of Freda Huson, who wanted a documentary that would show what life was like in her territory in the wake of the RCMP invasion and the forced entry of Coastal GasLink onto unceded Wet’suwet’en lands.

Franklin López, founder of Amplifier Films, served as a producer on the film and led the edit out of Amplifier Films Studios. The result was a powerful 20-minute frontline documentary that captured both the brutal reality of colonial enforcement and the enduring strength of Wet’suwet’en resistance.

Invasion premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2020 and quickly became a key mobilization tool for land defense actions.

Media as Mobilization

Released just as the #ShutdownCanada movement was erupting across the country, Invasion wasn’t just a film—it was a tool of resistance, widely shared and screened to amplify the Wet’suwet’en struggle in real time. One of the most iconic moments came when the film was projected onto the walls of the British Columbia Parliament building in Victoria, turning colonial architecture into a screen for Indigenous resistance.

A Precursor to Yintah

Invasion laid the narrative and political groundwork for the feature-length documentary Yintah. Many scenes edited by Franklin López for Invasion were later expanded and incorporated into Yintah, making the short film an essential building block of the longer story.

Where Invasion delivered urgency, Yintah brought depth—but both films were shaped by the same commitment to land, truth, and resistance.

Festival and Awards

• Tolpuddle Radical Film Festival – Small Axe Radical Short Film Awards – Best Documentary, 2020

• Cinalfama Film Awards – Best Short Film, 2020

• Sapporo International Short Film Festival – Peace Award, 2020

• San Diego International Film Festival – Kumeyaay Award, 2020

• Cinéma sous les étoiles – Best National Short Documentary, 2020

• Edmonton International Film Festival - Best Documentary Short, 2020

• Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Montreal International Documentary Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• American Documentary and Animation Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Doc Edge Documentary Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Cinema Politica – Multiple chapters across Canada and internationally – Official Selection, 2020

• imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Sapporo International Short Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Santa Fe Independent Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• San Diego International Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Indie Memphis Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• SCAD Savannah Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Aesthetica Short Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• NorthWest Fest – Official Selection, 2020

• Tacoma Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• New Orleans Film Festival – Official Selection, 2020

• Cinema Politica (multiple chapters) – Official Selection, 2020