Belcourt was born in Ottawa, Ontario on December 30, 1972, to parents Tony Belcourt and Judith Pierce-Martin (née Streatch).[2] He is the brother of graphic designer Suzanne Belcourt and painter Christi Belcourt.[1]
The majority of his work explores and celebrates Canadian indigenous issues and culture.[3] He wrote and directed the short films The Squeeze Box (2005) and Pookums (2006) before his debut feature film, Tkaronto, premiered at the 2007 imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.[4]
Following Tkaronto, he directed additional short films, including Boxed In (2009),[3] Keeping Quiet (2010), F*%K Yeah!! (2010), Say Yes (2012) and A Common Experience (2013). He was a writer and director on Lisa Charleyboy's APTN documentary series Urban Native Girl, and codirected the television documentary Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier with Lisa Jackson for CBC Docs POV.[5]
His second feature film, Red Rover, premiered in 2018.[6]
His documentary film Beautiful Scars, about musician Tom Wilson and his late-life discovery of his Mohawk heritage, premiered at the 2022 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[7]
His third narrative feature film, Warrior Strong, went into production in 2022,[8] and premiered at the 2023 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival.[9]
His documentary film Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.[10]
