80 minutes – Documentary, Indigenous
Language: English with Cree and French subtitles
Festival release date: October 1, 2023 – Vancouver International Film Festival
Release date: TBA
Production company: National Film Board of Canada
Distributor: National Film Board of Canada

For generations, the suffering of residential school Survivors has radiated outward, impacting Indigenous families and communities. Children, parents and grandparents have contended with the unspoken trauma, manifested in the lingering effects of colonialism: addiction, emotional abuse and broken relationships. In her efforts to help the children of Survivors, including herself and her family, filmmaker Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin made the difficult decision to step in front of the camera and participate in the circle of truth. She is joined in this courageous act of solidarity by members of her immediate family, as well as an array of voices from Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. Moving beyond burying intergenerational trauma, WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) is an invitation to unravel the tangled threads of silence and unite in collective freedom and power. The feature-length documentary employs a range of innovative cinematic means, including collage, soundscapes and set design, the documentary illustrates not only the complex and deep-seated emotional undercurrents at work but also the layered stories of the people, embedded in the land itself. In learning how to actively demonstrate love and break the cycle of abuse, Indigenous ways of being, as well as creativity, play an enormous role—whether it’s filmmaking, poetry or learning to hunt in the Ancestral way.

The archival photo above is of children attending an Indian Residential School in Canada. Photo credit: Courtesy of National Film Board of Canada.