Montreal, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 — SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO, the new feature length documentary from award-winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard (nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, Birth of a Family) will have its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Film Festival in the Land | Sky | Sea programme which showcases films about our relationship to our environment. The film is eligible for the Award for Best Environmental Documentary and the Audience Award.
Richly visualised and deeply uplifting, SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO is an epic reimagining of North America through the lens of buffalo consciousness and a potent dream of what is within our grasp, which follows Indigenous visionaries and communities who are rematriating the buffalo to the lands they once defined.
SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO is written and directed by Hubbard and produced by Hubbard, Jason Ryle (Amplify), George Hupka (nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, Obmin, On the Edge), associate produced by Marie-Eve Marchand (Iniskim), and executive produced by Bonnie Thompson (The Secret Society, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up). A one-hour version will be broadcast on CBC The Nature of Things, feature version on APTN later in 2025. Canadian distribution is handled by Cinema Politica.
Hubbard (Cree) is an award-winning filmmaker, a buffalo academic and buffalo activist. Together with Blackfoot Elder Leroy Little Bear, Hubbard weaves an intimate story of humanity’s connections to buffalo and meticulously reveals how their return to the Great Plains can indeed usher in a new era of sustainability and balance. On her journey spanning eight years, Hubbard explores the challenges faced by buffalo allies and shares the positive steps already taken towards the ultimate – but uncertain – goal of buffalo rematriation. After their dark recent history of almost extinction, and in this time of immense environmental degradation and global uncertainty, the buffalo can lead us to a better tomorrow.
“Buffalo have long been a bright light in my life,” said Tasha Hubbard, “holding me up as I made challenging films and deepened my connection to my Indigenous community. Singing Back the Buffalo at Hot Docs, in this program, is deeply significant to me. This film leans into beauty, hope, and Indigenous agency, as well as the incredible power of the buffalo to create much needed recovery.”
SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO is produced in association with CBC and APTN and produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Indigenous Screen Office and Telefilm Canada, with the assistance of the Government of Alberta, the participation of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and Rogers Documentary Fund, as well as fiscal sponsorship provided by Redford Center.
Read our full press release here.
