Movies

Set in the midst of a ground-breaking investigation into abuse and death at a Native American boarding school, the film empowers participants to break cycles of intergenerational trauma by bearing witness to painful, too-long-ignored truths—and the love that persisted within their families despite the revelation of genocide.

In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves near an Indian boarding school run by the Catholic Church in Canada sparked national protests over the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced in this network of segregated boarding schools designed to slowly destroy the culture and social fabric of Indigenous communities. When Kassie, a journalist and filmmaker, asked NoiseCat, her old friend and colleague, to direct a film documenting Williams Lake First Nations research on the Mission of St. Josipa, she couldn't even imagine how close that story was to his family. As the investigation continued, Emily and Julian returned to the rivers, forests and mountains of his homeland to hear the countless stories of survivors. During filming, Julian's own story became an integral part of this beautiful multi-layered portrait of the community. By offering space, time and deep empathy, the directors revealed what was hidden. Kassie and NoiseCat encountered both the unusual pain these individuals had to suppress as a survival tool and the unique beauty of a group of people finding the strength to persevere.