This River
This River is a 2016 Canadian short documentary film directed by Katherena Vermette and Erika MacPherson.[1] The film centres on Drag the Red, a volunteer group in Manitoba who search the Red River for the bodies of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.[2]
| This River | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Alicia Smith |
| Starring | Kyle Kematch |
| Cinematography | Iris Ng |
| Edited by | Erika MacPherson |
Production company | |
Release date | 2016 |
Running time | 18 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Smith has stated that it was Vermette's North End Love Songs which helped draw her attention to the perspectives of indigenous youth from the North End and the experience of having missing family members.[3]
Principal photography took place August 8 to 16, 2016, with an all-woman crew documenting the work of Drag the Red volunteer Kyle Kematch. The crew spent much of that time filming from a small fleet of donated boats. The director of photographer was Iris Ng, with Anita Lubosh recording sound.[4]
The film received the 2016 Coup de coeur du jury award at Montreal's Terres en vues/Land InSights First Peoples' Festival and had its public premiere in Vermette's hometown of Winnipeg on October 5 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.[5] At the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017, the film won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary Film.[6]
What Brings Us Here
Vermette and producer Alicia Smith also created a related Instagram work, What Brings Us Here, which offers portraits of volunteers behind the community-run Winnipeg search teams the Bear Clan and Drag the Red.[7][8]
What Brings Us Here features photos by Winnipeg photographers Janine Kropla, Mark Reimer and Karen Asher. The online work combines images of searchers with their statements about why they are continuing to look for loved ones—and answers.[9]
References
- "New documentary shows lengths taken to find missing family members". CBC News, September 4, 2016.
- "This River Documentary Searches for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls". Muskrat, August 4, 2016.
- Larkins, David (6 November 2016). "New doc explores search for missing people". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- Lewis, Philip (2015-10-02). "Redemption on the Red". NFB/blog. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
- King, Randall (9 August 2016). "Local film about tragic Red River searches honoured at Montreal festival". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- Carter, Sue (13 March 2017). "Katherena Vermette doc This River wins Canadian Screen Award". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Cram, Stephanie (29 October 2016). "Instagram project asks what attracts volunteers to patrol Winnipeg neighbourhoods". CBC News. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- Chua, June (10 November 2016). "Instagram project chronicles search for missing and murdered Indigenous women". rabble.ca. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- Botelho-Urbanski, Jessica (2 November 2016). "Instagram storytelling explains why Winnipeggers pitch in to find missing persons". Metro Winnipeg. Retrieved 9 June 2017.