Film: WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) • National Day for Truth & Reconciliation

Drop in for this afternoon documentary film in the Bowen Library Annex, honouring residential school survivors and their families this weekend of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Come a little early to get a comfortable seat.

• 2023
• 80 minutes
• Documentary
• Original English version, Cree and French subtitles

Synopsis

Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin’s deeply personal documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) asks the difficult question: “Who are we without our pain?”

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, Koostachin makes 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.

A National Film Board of Canada Production, directed by Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin.

Trailer

Awards and Festivals

• Official Selection, Available Light Film Festival, Canada (2024)
• Official Selection, Victoria Film Festival, Canada (2024)
• Best BC Film Award, Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada (2023)
• Official Selection, ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival, Canada (2023)
• Official Selection, Yellowknife International Film Festival, Canada (2023)
• Official Selection, Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), Canada (2023)
• Winner APTN award, Montreal First Peoples Film Festival