Tailfeathers studied acting at the
Vancouver Film School. She then went to the
University of British Columbia where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in
First Nations studies and a minor in
women and gender studies in 2011.After acting for a period of time, Tailfeathers shifted her focus to filmmaking and began to work as a writer, director, and producer. Her work has garnered attention for its focus on women of colour and
First Nations issues. Tailfeathers has worked in "mediums including narrative fiction, docudrama, documentary, mockumentary, and experimental film." •
ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival 2011 • Yellowknife International Film Festival 2011 • Skábmagovat Film Festival 2012 • Vancouver Women in Film Festival 2012
''A Red Girl's Reasoning'' ''A Red Girl's Reasoning'' (2012) is a short film that was created in response to the growing numbers of
missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. This film centres around a survivor of
sexual assault and her quest to bring
justice to the perpetrators of violence against Indigenous women. The film was the winner of the 2012 Vancouver Crazy8s Competition, where filmmakers were challenged to create a film in under eight days.
Rebel (Bihttoš) Rebel (Bihttoš) is an experimental documentary where a young woman (played by Tailfeathers) explores her complex "relationship with her father through an examination of family photos and the family lore surrounding her parents’ courtship and marriage."
Bihttoš combines
"animation, re-enactments, and archival photos."
cəsnaʔəm, the city before the city cəsnaʔəm, the city before the city (2017) is a feature film on the history of the land now known as
Vancouver. Made in partnership with
Musqueam First Nation, the film was part of a larger exhibition in partnership with the
Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the
Museum of Vancouver, and the Musqueam Cultural Centre. The film premiered at the
2019 Berlin Film Festival in the Generation program and had its Canadian premiere at the
2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It was nominated for six
Canadian Screen Awards, including
Best Motion Picture, and won three. Tailfeathers shared the
Canadian Screen Award for Best Director with Hepburn. The film also won the
Toronto Film Critics Association's
$100,000
Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. ==Awards and recognition==