Rezolution Pictures’ CBC documentary The Oka Legacy has been nominated for a Rockie Award in the History and Biography category at the Banff World Media Festival. The awards will be handed out Tuesday, June 14 during the Festival, which takes place June 12-15 in Banff, Alberta.
The documentary examines the events of summer 1990 in the small town of Kanehsatake – or Oka – Quebec. Plans to expand a golf course on ancestral land triggered a standoff between the Mohawk people of Kanehsatake, the police and eventually the army. The Oka Crisis, which lasted 78 days and drew worldwide attention, had a profound impact on Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Kanehsatake filmmaker Sonia Bonspille-Boileau was just shy of 11 years old during the 1990 conflict, but vividly recollects the events of that summer. In this moving first-person documentary, Bonspille-Boileau takes us on a journey to discover how the Oka Crisis sparked the resurgence of Indigenous identity and ultimately helped change the course of Canadian history, igniting developments like Idle No More, successful and historic land negotiations, and ultimately, the landmark Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The documentary is also nominated for 3 Golden Sheaf Awards at the Yorkton film festival, taking place in Saskatchewan. It screens on Saturday, May 28.
This 44-minute documentary, which first aired on CBC-TV’s documentary series, Firsthand, on November 19, 2024, is Executive Produced by Catherine Bainbridge Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick and Ernest Webb of Rezolution Pictures, an Aboriginal-owned TV and film production company and produced by Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick and Lisa M. Roth, the same team that produced the multiple-Gemini and Peabody Award-winning film, Reel Injun, as well as several award-winning documentaries and television series, including Mohawk Girls, Smoke Traders, Club Native and Down The Mighty River.
Additionally, Bonspille-Boileau has a 13-episode, half-hour series debuting on APTN in June. Princesses, which she created and co-directed, talks about about how each Aboriginal nation has its own, often complex customs and about debunking myths, redefining the ideals of Indigenous female beauty.
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