Monday Night Film Series presents BONES OF CROWS - FR

Event date(s): November 27, 2023
Time(s): 07:30 PM - 09:40 PM
Category: Fredericton
Location: Fredericton

The Monday Night Film Series presents BONES OF CROWS on Monday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Tilley Hall, room 102.

Marie Clements’ historical epic about the life of Cree matriarch Aline Spears is a powerful indictment of the abuse of Indigenous peoples and a stirring story of extraordinary resilience and resistance.

Born in the 1920s into a large, happy family, Aline Spears (played at different ages by Summer Testawich, Grace Dove, and Carla Rae) and her siblings are forcibly removed from their home - through threats and extortion by church and local authorities - and sent to residential schools, where they are subjected to cruelties at the hands of the priests and nuns in charge. As Clements’ film vividly illustrates, this psychological and physical abuse, and attempt at cultural erasure, was the result of official government policy.

During World War II, Aline enlists in the military, where - in a case of historical irony that’s still not widely known - her contribution is highly valuable precisely because she remains fluent in Cree, one of the languages the residential schools strove to eradicate. After the war, Aline returns to Canada to raise her children. Still haunted by the crimes committed against her and her family, she endures years of anguish before she finally has the chance to confront her abusers.

Fearless in its denunciation of centuries of oppression by Canadian governments and institutions, Bones of Crows is also a memorable paean to the determination of residential school survivors - especially those who, like Aline, sought to bring these genocidal crimes to light.

This programme contains scenes that may distress some viewers especially those who have experienced harm, abuse, violence, and/or intergenerational trauma due to colonial practices.

Support is available 24 hours a day for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools and for those who may be triggered by content dealing with residential schools, child abuse, emotional trauma, and racism. The national Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available at 1-866-925-4419.

This year, 30 limited release, independent foreign & Canadian films will be shown. Admission is $10/film, but a yearly film society membership reduces admission cost to $7/film. The series is open to all. Memberships are available at Tilley 102 every Monday night.

For further info, contact NB Film Co-op:

Phone: (506) 455-1632

Email: info@nbfilmcoop.com

Website: https://www.nbfilmcoop.com/monday-night-film-series 

The NB Film Co-op in partnership with the UNB Faculty of Arts and the Toronto Film Festival presents the series.

Building: Tilley Hall

Room Number: Room 102