Screening times:
Friday, August 9, 6:30 PM
Saturday, August 10, 6:30 PM - Half-capacity screening
Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie | Documentary | United States, Canada | 2024 | 107m | English and Secwepemctsín with English subtitles
Sugarcane is the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie. It's a portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. Set amidst an investigation into abuse and death at an Indian residential school, the film bears witness to survivors looking to break cycles of intergenerational trauma by grappling with painful, long-ignored truths. The film reveals and pays tribute to the love that endures within families despite the revelation of genocide.
In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves near an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church sparked a national outcry about the forced separation, assimilation, and abuse many children experienced at this network of segregated boarding schools designed to destroy the culture and social fabric of Indigenous communities. When Emily Kassie a journalist and filmmaker asked her old friend and colleague, Julian Brave NoiseCat, to direct a film documenting the Williams Lake First Nation investigation of St Joseph’s Mission, she never imagined just how close this story was to his own family.
As the investigation continued, the filmmakers travelled to hear the myriad stories of survivors. During production, Julian’s own story became an integral part of this multi-stranded portrait of a community. By offering space, time, and empathy, they unearthed what was hidden, encountering both suppressed pain as a tool for survival and the unique beauty of a group of people finding the strength to persevere.
"This is documentary filmmaking at its best. A credit to the genre. Compelling, spiritual and enlightening." -Dwight Brown, DwightBrownInk
"‘Sugarcane’ deftly and profoundly provides a means by which the greater process of understanding is to be accomplished." -Jason Gorber, POV Magazine
"‘Sugarcane’ is something more meaningful than a mere history lesson. It’s a portrait of what remains when injustice occurs." -Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire
Directing Award - US Documentary - Sundance Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature - San Francisco International Film Festival
Grand Jury Prize - Special Mention - Seattle International Film Festival
Tickets $8.75 ($8 cash at the door if available).
Saturday - Half capacity
