Reminders of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 shameful treatment of Indigenous Peoples were constant as Marie Clements shot parts of her sweeping drama B次元官网网址淏ones of CrowsB次元官网网址� at a former residential school, where hundreds of suspected graves were discovered two years ago.

The writer/director says fictional scenes depicting abuse at a residential school were shot at the Kamloops, B.C., facility where the TkB次元官网网址檈mlups te Secwepemc First Nation said it had found 215 suspected unmarked graves in May 2021.

B次元官网网址淲e were literally shooting in the residential school and looking out the windows and seeing the memorial site,B次元官网网址� Clements said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, when the film premiered.

B次元官网网址淚n some ways that made it even more real, you know. It made it really (important) that we had to do it and we had to do it right.B次元官网网址�

Similar findings by other First Nations followed the Kamloops discovery, igniting waves of grief and anger across the country and calls for the religious and government authorities responsible to be held accountable.

It was a grim reminder that thisdeplorable history continues to reverberate through subsequent generations, Clements said last week by phone from her home on Galiano Island, near Vancouver.

B次元官网网址淭hese discoveries are so present and I think it really just underlines that itB次元官网网址檚 still an alive thing that people are processing,B次元官网网址� Clements said as the film prepared to hit theatres Friday.

Clements said she bracedfor the possibility of having to relocate the October 2021 shoot, but found the band council and community leaders B次元官网网址渧ery supportive of us still coming.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think their attitude around it was that they wanted people to know the truth,B次元官网网址� said the Vancouver-born Dene/M茅tis filmmaker.

B次元官网网址淏ones of CrowsB次元官网网址� recounts decades of systemic abuse against Indigenous Peoples as seen through the eyes of a Cree woman played by Secw茅pemc actress Grace Dove, whose character is haunted by painful memories until she begins to confront her abusers.

Aline SpearsB次元官网网址� story begins in 1930s Manitoba, in a happy music-filled household suddenly shattered when she and her siblings are forced into residential school and then separated. As an adult, Aline becomes a code-talker in the Second World War, marries and has a family, but increasingly finds it impossible to ignore her traumatic past and ongoing systemic racism.

Dove said she relished the chance to embody AlineB次元官网网址檚 searing pain and resilience, a challenge that proved B次元官网网址渉arder than I ever imagined, and more rewarding than I ever thought.B次元官网网址�

Dove said she went into the shoot knowing she B次元官网网址渨as not going to be the same person coming out.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭here was such a hesitation at the beginning after reading the full script because I knew immediately what it was going to take for me to go there fully, to give my heart and my spirit and my craft to this script,B次元官网网址� Dove said at TIFF alongside co-star Alyssa Wapanat芒hk.

B次元官网网址淚 honestly had to know in my heart that this would never be easy, and that this was going to be extremely hard. But I was willing to commit to that and give a piece of me.B次元官网网址�

Wapanat芒hk, who plays AlineB次元官网网址檚 younger sister Perseverance, noted her character B次元官网网址済oes down a very, very tough path.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淧erseverance was a sprightly little dancing girl. She had dreams. She had a spark. And she was feisty,B次元官网网址� said Wapanat芒hk.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think any of that went away in her adult life, but it was definitely pushed down by people and she wasnB次元官网网址檛 able to live her dreams.B次元官网网址�

The largely Indigenous cast also includes Graham Greene, Lorne Cardinal and a cameo by veteran documentary maker Alanis Obomsawin.

Clements said it so happened that the days spent at the Kamloops school coincided with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meeting with the TkB次元官网网址檈ml煤ps te Secwe虛pemc Nation to apologize for failing to meet them on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Trudeau spent part of Sept. 30, 2021 flying to Tofino, B.C., to vacation with his family, drawing widespread criticism for skipping the invitation on a day meant to honour the Indigenous children sent to government-funded, church-run residential schools where thousands died.

Clements said many people still donB次元官网网址檛 seem to grasp the scope of this legacy, and itB次元官网网址檚 important to continue talking and investigating, no matter how painful.

B次元官网网址淲e have to look at our part in things that are unpleasant, and really address it and have those conversations,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard to look at, you know, any country or any history thatB次元官网网址檚 unpleasant and go, B次元官网网址榃e were a part of that.B次元官网网址� But I do think whether youB次元官网网址檙e actively a part of it, or whether you just ignore it, or whether you just turn the other way, itB次元官网网址檚 all inaction.B次元官网网址�

Dove said the burden has been especially heavy for Indigenous communities often tasked with leading this reckoning, as well as efforts to heal. She hoped that B次元官网网址淏ones of CrowsB次元官网网址� could ease some of that strain by sparking fresh conversation.

B次元官网网址淓specially for Indigenous Peoples, this is very hard work. And watching this is going to bring up a lot of emotion. I hope that we hold our loved ones very close and close together and support our communities,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淔or non-Indigenous folks, I hope that they start a conversation and they talk to three people (about this) and really, really look into the true history of so-called Canada.B次元官网网址�

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .