SUGARCANE (2024) 107 min — A 2021 investigation of unmarked graves, abuse, and missing children at a Catholic Church-run Indian residential school ignites a reckoning in the lives of survivors and their descendants on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve, including the film’s co-director, whose father was born—and nearly buried—at the school.
Director: Erica Tremblay (Seneca-Cayuga), 2023, 91 mins. Cast: Lily Gladstone, Isabel Deroy-Olson, Ryan BegayFollowing her her acclaimed performance in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, Lily Gladstone delivers another powerful performance in Erica Tremblay’s FANCY DANCE, which begins as a road movie but gradually turns into a far deeper investigation into the complexities and contradictions of Indigenous women at the mercy of a failed justice system in a colonised world. Following her sister’s disappearance, Jax cares for her niece Roki, managing to scrape by on the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma. When not occupied raising Roki, Jax desperately searches for her sister, With the threat of losing custody of Roki to her white grandparents looming, the two hit the road setting off a series of events that will change both their lives… In an assured and unpredictable feature debut, filmmaker Erica Tremblay creates an indelible depiction of hardship and joyful resistance that sheds light on the strength and resilience of Indigenous women who hold their communities together through both joyful and tragic times.
Taumanu (Reclaim) – Taratoa Stappard, 22′ 2022. New Zealand. 1929. When a parcel is delivered to a colonial manor house, mysterious Māori performers arrive to reclaim the contents. Soon the Māori head butler finds himself drawn into bloody, century-old vengeance.
The Brylcreem Boys – Rafer Rautjoki, 15′ 2022. Kara is tasked with discovering why her Uncle’s first love abandoned him on the opening night of his band’s national tour.
European Premiere
A Boy Called Piano – The Story of Fa’amoana John Luafutu – Nina Nawalowalo | 57′ 2021 | 57 min. Arriving to New Zealand from Samoa as a young child in the 1950s, Fa’amoana was taken from his family and placed in state care, suffering terrible abuse alongside thousands of other Māori and Pasifika children. This documentary explores his journey through state care, prison, gang membership, as well as the intergenerational impacts of these experiences; and ultimately, healing for Fa’amoana and his Family through harnessing the power of his voice as a storyteller.
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