Documentary about B.C. residential school nominated for Oscars

A B.C.-based film is in the running for best documentary feature category at this years Academy Awards.

‘Sugarcane,’ co-directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat, a member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation in B.C. and Emily Cassie of Toronto, received the nomination Thursday.

The film tells the story of St. Joseph’s Mission residential school in Williams Lake, B.C., near Sugarcane Reserve, and connects its history to that of NoiseCat’s family.

Williams Lake First Nation Chief Willie Sellars, who is featured in the documentary, says the film will help heal Indigenous communities still struggling with the aftermath of the residential school system.

“It’s a massive victory for Indigenous people across this country and into the United States that these stories are being told — and on a world-wide stage.” Sellars told 1130 NewsRadio.

“When we talk about healing, when we talk about reconciliation, it’s the history and legacy of residential schools in our Indigenous communities and the story of why we are the way that we are. It has to be told.”

The film was met with acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Best Director award for U.S. documentaries

Sugarcane has since been acquired for distribution by National Geographic and is now streaming on Disney+.

“As we continue to talk about this history, we all of a sudden see this movement that’s happening in the United States with the Indian boarding schools and the education around them, and the impact that they had on tribes in the South. It’s sparking these conversations.” Sellars said.

The 97th Academy Awards will be held on March 2.