A stunning tribute to the resilience of Indigenous people and their way of life, SUGARCANE, the debut feature and Oscar-nominated 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 beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere.
“Stunning in every sense of the word, the new documentary film explores the lasting pain caused by a culture of silence in the Catholic church.”
– Rohan Naahar, The Indian Express
“Sugarcane is as harrowing as it is vital. It’s a remarkably explicit consideration of intergenerational trauma that manages to center specific suffering without forgoing any aspects of the conditions that birthed such violence.”