This River (film) explained

This River
Producer:Alicia Smith
Starring:Kyle Kematch
Cinematography:Iris Ng
Editing:Erika MacPherson
Studio:National Film Board
Runtime:18 minutes
Country:Canada
Language:English

This River is a 2016 Canadian short documentary film directed by Katherena Vermette and Erika MacPherson.[1] The film centres on Drag the Red, a volunteer group in Manitoba who search the Red River for the bodies of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.[2]

Smith has stated that it was Vermette's North End Love Songs which helped draw her attention to the perspectives of indigenous youth from the North End and the experience of having missing family members.[3]

Principal photography took place August 8 to 16, 2016, with an all-woman crew documenting the work of Drag the Red volunteer Kyle Kematch. The crew spent much of that time filming from a small fleet of donated boats. The director of photographer was Iris Ng, with Anita Lubosh recording sound.[4]

The film received the 2016 Coup de coeur du jury award at Montreal's Terres en vues/Land InSights First Peoples' Festival and had its public premiere in Vermette's hometown of Winnipeg on October 5 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.[5] At the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017, the film won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary Film.[6]

What Brings Us Here

Vermette and producer Alicia Smith also created a related Instagram work, What Brings Us Here, which offers portraits of volunteers behind the community-run Winnipeg search teams the Bear Clan and Drag the Red.[7] [8]

What Brings Us Here features photos by Winnipeg photographers Janine Kropla, Mark Reimer and Karen Asher. The online work combines images of searchers with their statements about why they are continuing to look for loved ones—and answers.[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/new-documentary-shows-lengths-taken-to-find-missing-1.3746810 "New documentary shows lengths taken to find missing family members"
  2. http://muskratmagazine.com/this-river-documentary-searches-for-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-girls/ "This River Documentary Searches for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls"
  3. News: Larkins. David. New doc explores search for missing people. 8 November 2016. Winnipeg Sun. 6 November 2016.
  4. News: Redemption on the Red. Lewis. Philip. 2015-10-02. NFB/blog. 2017-06-09. en-US.
  5. News: Local film about tragic Red River searches honoured at Montreal festival. King. Randall. 9 August 2016. Winnipeg Free Press. 11 August 2016.
  6. News: Carter. Sue. Katherena Vermette doc This River wins Canadian Screen Award. 9 June 2017. Quill and Quire. 13 March 2017.
  7. News: Cram. Stephanie. Instagram project asks what attracts volunteers to patrol Winnipeg neighbourhoods. 8 November 2016. CBC News. 29 October 2016.
  8. News: Chua. June. Instagram project chronicles search for missing and murdered Indigenous women. 9 June 2017. rabble.ca. 10 November 2016. en.
  9. News: Botelho-Urbanski. Jessica. Instagram storytelling explains why Winnipeggers pitch in to find missing persons. 9 June 2017. Metro Winnipeg. 2 November 2016. en.