Sugarcane
2024 - 107 MINUTES - USA/ CANADA - IN ENGLISH AND SECWEPEMCTSÍN
A FILM BY JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT, EMILY KASSIE
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Click poster to download the high rez version
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 heartbreak and beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to survive.
“Delicately infuriating documentary Sugarcane digs deep into pain of Canada’s residential school system” - Globe and Mail
“Devastating Doc about Canadian Residential Schools Should be Required Viewing” - Original CIN
“sears the mind and haunts the soul” - Toronto Star
“unforgettable storytelling and a compassionate testament to resiliency” - A Behind the Scenes Blogspot
“captures the spirit and painful legacy of First Nations communities in Canada with grace and gravity” - Overly Honest Reviews
“through its sensitive portraiture, sheds a new light on those past events, showing them within a breakable cycle.” - In the Seats
Julian Brave NoiseCat initially didn’t want “Sugarcane” to be such a personal film. (Interview) - City News
“Kassie and NoiseCat produce exactly the kind of high-impact filmmaking that can truly make a difference” - Alliance of Women Film Journalists
‘Sugarcane documentary explores residential school intergenerational trauma and resilience’ - CBC.ca
“A must see” - What She Said
“the latest of the recent films about Indigenous issues, is the most stunning yet” - National Observer
“How a Documentary Helped a Community Heal” - Range
“Must-see Doc Breaks New Ground in Canadian Residential Schools Story” - Vancouver Sun
“Documentary on Residential School turns personal for director Julian Brave NoiseCat” - APTN