The Okotoks Film Festival celebrated National Canadian Film Day on Wednesday.

They hosted a free screening of SGaawaay K'uuna, which translates to Edge of the Knife in English.

Edge of the Knife was filmed entire in the Haida language, a language which Fournell says is in need of preservation.

"The interesting thing about the Haida language is there are less than 30 people in the world who speak that language fluently," Fournell said.

The film is fully subtitled in English, and after watching the movie Fournell said it is incredibly engaging.

Fournell says National Canadian Film Day helps reduce the stigma around Canadian filmmaking.

"For some reason Canadian film has gotten this stigma... Weirdly, a compliment that you can give to a Canadian filmmaker is "it doesn't feel like a Canadian movie." Which is a terrible compliment when you think about it, because we are Canadian, and we should be proud of our cinema," Fournell said.

This is the sixth annual National Canadian Film Day.

The Okotoks Film Festival is taking place from May 31st until June 2nd.

Questions, comments, or story ideas? Email us at news@okotoksonline.com