Acclaimed Doc ‘Sugarcane’ Trailer About an Indigenous Community
by Alex Billington
July 10, 2024
Source: YouTube
“I want to know the whole story.” National Geographic has revealed the full official trailer for an acclaimed documentary film titled Sugarcane, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It won a major doc award for Best Director there, celebrating the film’s two filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, both making their first feature. The film follows a shocking investigation into the Canadian Indian residential school system, focusing on abuse and many missing children, igniting a reckoning in the lives of survivors & descendants on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve (in British Columbia, Canada). A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, Sugarcane is an invigorating cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. It received rave reviews at Sundance, stating that it’s “as much a piece of art about the sins of the past as it is about living with the memory of those sins in the present.” It looks like a remarkably meaningful and important story to share with the world. Don’t skip this.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Brave NoiseCat & Kassie’s doc Sugarcane, direct from YouTube:
In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of a local Indian school run by the Catholic Church in Canada (part of the Canadian Indian residential school system). After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation, abuse that 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 formal investigation, Sugercane illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere. Sugarcane is a documentary film co-directed by filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie, both making their feature directorial debut. Produced by Emily Kassie and Kellen Quinn. This initially premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it also won the Directing Award. National Geographic will debut Sugarcane in select US theaters starting August 9th, 2024. For more info, visit the official site.
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