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Sugarcane

Directed by Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat
Canada / United States, 2024 (documentary, 107 minutes, colour, English / Secwepemctsin)
Also known as "Sugarcane : les ombres d'un pensionnat", "Sugarcane: Sombras de Um Colégio Interno"

Film Description:
"A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, Sugarcane, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities. Set amidst a groundbreaking investigation, Sugarcane illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere."
-- National Geographic Documentary Films (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Produced by: Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn
Cinematography: Christopher LaMarca, Emily Kassie
Film Editing: Nathan Punwar, Maya Daisy Hawke
Music: Mali Obomsawin
Production Company: Doc Society, Fit Via Vi, Hedgehog Films, Impact Partners, Kassie Films
(sources)

Award won by Sugarcane

Notes about Sugarcane

(sources)

Quote about Sugarcane

"Our film is about what happens when the world breaks open, the memories of the departed return, and the truth finally gets its day. It's about the devastating past and present consequences of a continent-wide policy of removing Indian children from their homes and families. It's about the hard conversations families, communities, and nations avoid but need to have. And it's about how returning to deeply Indigenous and human connections—to family, place, community, and culture—can pull the shards of these broken worlds back together."
-- Julian Brave NoiseCat (source)

Web Sites about Sugarcane


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