Featuring
Helen Haig-Brown & Gwaii Edenshaw · 2018 · 1h39m
A stunning cinematic achievement and a spellbinding tale of pride, tragedy, and remorse set in Haida Gwaii in Canada’s Pacific Northwest in the 1800s.
SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna – Edge of the Knife is an award-winning film about transformation and redemption and the first feature film entirely in the Haida language.
Set in the early 1800’s, Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown’s powerful film tells the story of a Haida man who, having caused a fatal accident, disappears into the epic wilderness of Haida Gwaii. When he emerges a year later, he is profoundly changed.
We are honoured that Co-Director Gwaai Edenshaw will join us remotely after the screening for a Q & A along with researcher Kahente Horn-Miller (Mohawk) to discuss the themes and the in-depth community process of making the film, and how it connects to language revitalization.
The film is preceded by Louise BigEagle’s remarkable short, To Wake Up the Nakota Language, about Armand McArthur, one of the last fluent Nakota speakers in Pheasant Rump First Nation.
A post-screening discussion with directors Helen Haig-Brown and Gwaii Edenshaw, along with researcher Kahente Horn-Miller (Mohawk), will follow the projection.
Please join us! No tickets are required.
Wednesday, February 15 5:30 PM
St. Patrick’s Building, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa
Room SP100
This is a presentation of Carleton University’s Film Studies Program, the Faculty of Canadian and Indigenous Studies, and Cinema Politica
This presentation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council.