Follow filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as she creates an intimate portrait of her community and the impacts of the substance use and overdose epidemic. Witness the change brought by community members with substance-use disorder, first responders and medical professionals as they strive for harm reduction in the Kainai First Nation.

Director: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot / Sami)
Producers: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, David Christensen, Lori Lozinski
Writer: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot / Sami)

Canada | 2021 | 124 mins | English

PREVIEW SHORT FILM:

A STORY OF DRUG ADDICTION, MAORI WAHINE,
AND THE POWER OF RECOVERY.

“There is a demon on its way. It is a demon that will arrive stealthily and deviously; you will not even see it coming. So when you see the effect in the eyes of your mokopuna, do not punish them, instead clothe them with a korowai of love.”

These words, phophesised in 1883, could easily have been written about Jesse’s and Rochelle’s story. Close sisters, they share their moving and at times painful journey, opening up about lost childhoods, marital abuse, destructive behaviour and finally the road to recovery. Their story is all too familiar to Dame Naida Glavish DNZM, who uncovers long-forgotten truths Aotearoa has buried - revealing how a disconnection with wairua (spirituality) creates fertile ground for addiction to take hold of young wāhine such as Jesse and Rochelle.

NOTE: This film is available in the BIRRARANGGA Film Festival 3-pass and 5-pass ticket packages.