At St. Joseph’s Mission School, near Williams Lake in British Columbia’s picturesque Sugarcane Valley, the past casts a long shadow. For over a century, Indigenous children were forcibly taken here, cut off from family and culture, in an attempt to assimilate them into Euro-Canadian ways. Dire abuses took place within its walls before it closed in 1981. Now, filmmakers Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat seek to shed light on this darkness in their powerful new documentary, Sugarcane.
Joining the community in investigating mounting allegations, Kassie and NoiseCat guide us through a harrowing unearthing of the truth. We learn of the investigators working to identify those who never returned home and the anguish of survivors breaking decades of silence. NoiseCat also shares his own family ties; his father was born at St. Joseph’s, though its impact has remained unspoken. Through these intimate threads, a larger portrait emerges of multigenerational trauma and a struggle for recognition.
At the same time, sugarcane celebrates the resilience of these communities. Despite immense hardship, their cultural practices and connection to the land endure. Ancient traditions take on new meaning as acts of remembrance and reclamation. Throughout, the filmmakers handle difficult subject matter with care, prioritizing Indigenous voices and bringing hard-won perspective to an often-whitewashed history.
In weaving together investigative journalism, moving testimonies, and breathtaking mountain vistas, Sugarcane offers a holistic look at historical wrongs that still echo today. Both unflinchingly honest and profoundly moving, it serves as an important call to accountability while honoring the strength of spirit of those who have suffered so much but never stopped fighting.
Weaving Truth and Reconciliation
Sugarcane tells a difficult story with care, centering four intertwining narrative threads to shed light on historical wrongs in a sensitive yet compelling way. Viewers are guided through the documentary by investigator Charlene Belleau, Chief Willie Sellars, director Julian Brave NoiseCat and his father’s story, and former Chief Rick Gilbert.
Charlene’s work delving into records and testimonies from St. Joseph’s residential school sets the scene. Through her decades of dedication, a fuller picture of the troubled past gradually emerges. Chief Sellars continues the quest for truth and justice, though he is facing resistance. He balances responsive leadership with protecting his community.
Julian explores the intergenerational impact through learning about his father Ed’s own guarded experiences. Their journey toward understanding each other offers glimpses into the quiet toll of past traumas. Meanwhile, Rick Gilbert grapples with new information, challenging his deeply held beliefs.
His emotional meeting with the Pope becomes a focal point, raw in its intimacy. By sharing such a personal crisis of faith, Gilbert exemplifies the complex reconciliation needed. Through each character, filmmakers deftly show how history resonates in the present while honoring lived realities.
The connections between these narratives are subtly and naturally revealed. Scenes alternate between investigation and ceremony, lightening heavy moments and signaling an enduring spirit. Threads independently enrich yet depend on each other, just as communities support each other in confronting pain.
With compassion, Sugarcane weaves a fuller tapestry, speaking truth in a healing way. It stays engaging not through sensationalism but through relatable humanity. In doing so, this deft documentary opens eyes while keeping them soft.
Heritage Haunts the Land
Sugarcane blends tragedy with triumph through its imagery. Stunning shots of rugged valleys and towering peaks showcase nature’s vibrant resilience, yet this verdant beauty conceals a shadowed past.
The camera paints the reserve’s terrain in vivid color, crafting vistas that are both breathtaking and bittersweet. Rolling plains stretch as far as the eye can see, yet within lie spirits that once played upon these grounds. Cryptic clues hint at lives cut short, now vanished as certainly as those who walked here.
Memories infiltrate the landscape like a scar on the land, refusing to fade with time. Though nature has always worked to heal old wounds, history’s pain has seeped deep. Its mark cannot wash away through rushing rivers or howling winds alone. Answers remain buried as surely as the lost ones rest, and bringing them into light demands stirring ground once left undisturbed.
Still, through struggle, springs strength. Where oppression attempted to sever roots of identity, tradition took hold ever deeper. Sacred music swells through scenes, weaving heritage through present-day living. Lilting melodies carry the voices of generations, ensuring cultural continuity, though many threats once loomed to smother song forever.
Sounds of jingle dresses and sacred drums become the backdrop’s heartbeat, a reminder that despite the darkness that descended, spirit survives. Nature and legacy, intertwined, unite in defiance of those who tried to divide what was meant to be one. Though scars linger on the land and its people, in their communion also lies solace and renewal.
Beauty touches even the depths here. Sugarcane proves that through understanding history’s wounds, we learn to see a landscape—and those who call it home—in all their complexity. Its imagery speaks to the truth that life persists in spite of all attempts to choke its roots.
Truth Laid Bare
Sugarcane does not shy away from shining a light on dark deeds. It boldly shares survivors’ harrowing tales, allowing atrocities to be known, though not easy to hear. Viewers witness raw pain laid bare as those abused revisit pasts they’ve kept locked away for lifetimes.
Through interviews, these individuals find strength to speak out about secrets long buried. We see anguish resurface with each suppressed memory excavated. Yet they persevere, owning stories reclaimed from those meant to silence them. By sharing most private torments, truth emerges from shadows those in power tried concealing within.
This unflinching candor comes with a cost. Viewers experience horror through those hurt most; their trauma is tangible. But in vulnerability comes validation—a step towards healing long denied to these communities. Though disturbing, allowing such violations visibility combats injustices’ invisibility and deprives darkness of its power over light.
Moments of respite offset darkness, too. Scenes of ceremonial song and tranquil vistas remind us that light also exists. Gentle assurances that resilience and community persevere where oppressors aim to destroy them. Between anecdotes arise reminders that, though scarred, spirit survives where flesh and bone fell before barbarism.
This balance of bleakness and beauty echoes the film’s heart. Noisecat’s connection offers an intimate look at impacts reverberating across generations. Personal family ties show the defiance of those hoping to sever Indigenous ancestry’s threads. Though darkness’ depths damage in ways perhaps never mended, bonds of relations, relations, and culture prove stronger than any wishing to break them.
The truth brings its own pains. But only light can illuminate paths ahead, and sugarcane shines such light with courage, care, and conviction. Audiences leave with heavier hearts, eyes further opened to realities, and some work kept shut. And with that knowledge, understanding grows where ignorance once reigned undisturbed.
Honoring Traditions Through Truths Revealed
For too long, cruel acts aimed at eradicating proud peoples and stories that shaped lands were swept into the shadows. Sugarcane brings these hidden matters into light, but not to dwell in the darkness of the past. Instead, it illuminates paths towards comprehending shared heritages and building bridges where once there were only divides.
Through survivors sharing most private wounds and the landscape presenting a vibrant culture persisting despite pains inflicted, viewers glimpse deep-rooted traditions that surviving schools are set to tear asunder. Song, dance, and spiritual ceremonies woven throughout remind us of lively ancestral roots maintained despite forces that tore children from loving arms to sever these roots from sprouting.
By revealing long-veiled injustices, the film opens eyes to the blights upon the dignities of Indigenous communities. But it’s focused not on injuries but on ensuring histories no longer pass untaught so injustices repeating can find no fertile soil. It presents not accusatory fingers but open hands, inviting understanding between all the people who now share these lands.
Rather than accusations, survivors offer their testimonies not for outrage or vengeance but for education. So audiences listening with open hearts can grasp the multi-generational effects alive today and why acknowledgement and allyship matter to communities still healing. True peace begins when all sides see each other, and sugarcane helps more see truths too long concealed from sight.
Proud traditions persist through tales of resilience, even as film brings awareness to the scars of sorrow borne. In sharing struggles known all too well within these communities, it fosters appreciation for strengths and beauties held tight despite torments some wish erased. Through building comprehension, it pays respects to those who came before by ensuring their stories and heritages will not be forgotten, and it creates space for healing where once it was only hurt. Its impacts will resonate through greater care, respect, and solidarity among all people going forward.
Critical Acclaim for an Impactful Documentary
Sugarcane received widespread critical praise upon release, with many pointing to its importance in bringing overlooked historical harms to light. The film debuted at esteemed festivals like Sundance, where the response was overwhelmingly positive.
Directors Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat earned Sundance’s US Documentary Directing Award, recognizing their nuanced, empathetic treatment of difficult subject matter. Interweaving investigative journalism, survivor testimonies, and personal stories, they crafted an alluring yet unflinching portrait of intergenerational trauma.
Reviewers hailed the filmmaking duo’s ability to immerse audiences while maintaining a focus on healing. Despite hard-to-watch revelations, Sugarcane’s focus on resilience and cultural continuity was celebrated. The Guardian called it “a documentary of care, concern, and courage, asking only that its audience listen closely and open their hearts.”
Elsewhere, praise highlighted the film’s educational values. IndieWire stated that Sugarcane “deepens understanding of a shameful historical period.” Screen International commended its “sensitive handling of deeply troubling subjects.”
Accolades kept coming. Sugarcane took home Best Documentary honors from the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival. It was also shortlisted for the Canadian Screen Awards.
Such reception affirms the importance of Sugarcane’s mission—shining needed light on dark chapters and promoting reconciliation through authentic, empathetic portrayals of ongoing impacts. With its awards and response, the film has undoubtedly deepened public awareness of this history’s painful realities and healing path forward.
Impact That Will Resonate
Sugarcane tells a story that has too long gone untold, shedding light on a painful chapter in history that continues to affect communities today. By centering survivors voices and exploring the intergenerational impacts of trauma, directors Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat crafted a profound documentary experience.
The film draws viewers in with its nuanced characterization and evocative imagery. From Edward Archie NoiseCat’s moving journey of self-discovery to Chief Willie Sellar’s leadership amid hardship, individuals’ stories engage our empathy. Sweeping landscapes showcase the natural beauty these communities have persevered within.
But what will linger most is sugarcane’s ability to educate and motivate change. It highlights investigators’ crucial work to uncover the full truth and society’s duty to acknowledge dark pasts if we aim for a just future. While truths remain incomplete and wounds continue healing, the film ensures these stories can no longer be forgotten or minimized.
Above all, sugarcane inspires by affirming human resilience in the face of immense suffering. Despite all they endured, communities preserved their language, practices, and tight-knit support systems. The film sends a message: by standing together and amplifying each other’s voices, progress is possible even for deep-seated injustices.
Portraying heavy subjects with care, empathy, and cultural understanding, Sugarcane leaves us grappling with America’s ongoing need to rectify historical wrongs. Its impact will resonate for a long time, challenging more of us to listen and to take meaningful action toward real reconciliation. Its messages of courage, connection, and hope are ones our world deeply needs.
The Review
Sugarcane
Sugarcane tells a story that demands to be brought to light. It does so with grace, empathy, and care for those continuing to feel the effects of deep intergenerational trauma. Directors Kassie and NoiseCat have crafted a sensitive yet unflinching look at truth and reconciliation that educates, engages empathy, and ensures these tragic histories can no longer be forgotten. In conclusion, Sugarcane is a formidable work of advocacy through documentary storytelling. It illuminates injustice while also inspiring resilience and the power of communal ties. This is an undeniably important film that more than achieves its goal of bringing these crucial narratives to the fore.
PROS
- Sensitively handles difficult subject matter while centering survivors voices
- Evokes empathy through emotional storytelling and character development
- Sheds much-needed light on hidden histories that still impact communities
- Raises important questions about reckoning with the past and pursuing justice
- Crafted with care through cinematography, score, and cultural authenticity
CONS
- Some may find the content emotionally difficult or retraumatizing for survivors
- The timeline occasionally jumps in a way that can feel disorienting
- Leaves some questions unanswered due to the scope of much larger issues
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