Sugarcane

Near an Indigenous community in Canada stands a former residential school. For more than a century these schools took Indigenous children from their families, housed them and forbade them their language. In 2021 it is announced that there may be unmarked graves around the schools and the community begins its own investigation. The documentary follows that process: the search of archives, the testimony of witnesses, the survey of the ground, and the argument inside the community. Alongside it, the stories of several families are told. Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat direct. The documentary dates from 2024. One of the directors comes from inside the subject; NoiseCat's father was born at one of those schools and the documentary does not hide the connection. Its hardest section is the conversation between father and son; the camera stands plainly in the middle of a family matter. The documentary ties its claims to documents; records found in church and state archives are shown directly. The narrative includes the social argument as well; the community is divided over whether the ground should be dug. The film won a directing award at Sundance and was nominated for the documentary Oscar. Its method is patient; the crew stayed a long time with the community and the narrative does not hurry. Who it is for: anyone curious about investigative documentary and the history of Indigenous peoples. Who it is not for: the subject is extremely heavy, the narrative slow, and some testimony is hard to listen to.