"Operates from a place of pure and total empathy."—Valerie Complex, Deadline
"Something more meaningful than a mere history lesson. It’s a portrait of what remains when injustice occurs."—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire
"Profoundly evocative, with spoken memories and moments of inability to muster the words gut-punching with equal measure."—Peyton Robinson, RogerEbert.com
A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, this 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, this documentary illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere.
