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Finding Dawn
| Finding Dawn | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Christine Welsh |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | National Film Board of Canada Women Make Movies |
Release date |
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Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Finding Dawn is a 2006 documentary film by Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh looking into the fate of an estimated 500 Canadian Aboriginal women who have been murdered or have gone missing over the past 30 years.[1]
Subject
The film begins with the story of Dawn Crey: one of 60 women, a third of them Aboriginal, who have disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside over a 20-year period. Crey's remains were among those found on the property of British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton.[2][3] However, not enough of Dawn's DNA was found to list her as one of the murder victims at the trial. The film introduces viewers to Dawn's sister and brother, and their involvement in the annual Women's Memorial March in Vancouver.[4]
The film then focuses on BC's Highway 16, known as the Highway of Tears, which runs between Prince Rupert, British Columbia and Prince George, British Columbia, looking at the fate of Ramona Wilson.[4] Wilson was one of nine women – all but one of them Native – who have gone missing or been murdered on that stretch of road since the 1990s.
Welsh also filmed in Saskatoon, where a woman named Daleen Kay Bosse disappeared in 2004. She went missing in May but a criminal investigation didn't begin until the following January.[2] In the film, Daleen's parents and friends talk about their difficulty in getting Saskatoon police to take Daleen's disappearance seriously.[4]
Native rights activists Janice Acoose and Fay Blaney are interviewed in the film.[2]
Christine Welsh has produced, written and directed films for more than 30 years. She is an associate professor at the University of Victoria, where she teaches courses in indigenous women's studies and indigenous cinema.[1]
Impact
Finding Dawn is referenced in the later 2015 documentary Highway of Tears, which notes its impact on native viewers.[5]
See also
References
- "Acclaimed Feminist Filmmaker To Screen "Finding Dawn"". Center for the Study of Women in Society. University of Oregon. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- O'CONNOR, JENNIFER (Winter 2009). "FINDING DAWN". Herizons. Bnet.[permanent dead link]
- "Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh can be proud of her showing at the Amnesty International Film Festival". Georgia Straight. November 9, 2006. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- de Vos, Gail (January 11, 2008). "FINDING DAWN". Canadian Materials. XIV (10). Manitoba Library Association. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- Matthew Smiley (Director) (March 6, 2015). Highway of Tears (Motion picture).
External links
- Watch Finding Dawn at NFB.ca Archived 2009-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
- Women Make Movies Archived 2013-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
- Finding Dawn at IMDb
- 2006 films
- Documentary films about violence against women
- English-language Canadian films
- National Film Board of Canada documentaries
- Documentary films about First Nations in Canada
- Feminism in British Columbia
- Documentary films about Vancouver
- Métis film
- Documentary films about Indigenous rights in Canada
- Documentary films about crime in Canada
- Highway of Tears
- Violence against Indigenous women in Canada
- Women and death
- 2006 documentary films
- Métis feminism
- Murder in British Columbia
- 2000s English-language films
- 2000s Canadian films
- English-language documentary films
Highway of Tears (film)
Highway of Tears 
Directed by Matt Smiley Written by Matt Smiley Produced by Carly Pope Narrated by Nathan Fillion Edited by Brandon Lott Music by Bekon Release date- March 6, 2015
Running time79 minutes Country Canada Language English Highway of Tears is a 2015 Canadian documentary film directed by Matt Smiley and narrated by Nathan Fillion. The film concerns the notorious Highway of Tears cases on British Columbia Highway 16 from 1969 to the present.
Subject
The Highway of Tears case consists of numerous unsolved murders and disappearances of women on Highway 16, with a majority of the victims being Aboriginal.[1]
The documentary explores the possible effects of systemic racism on the investigation,[2] beginning with the Canadian Indian residential school system and including the popularity of the song "Squaws Along the Yukon" by Hank Thompson in the 1950s. The film covers the Robert Pickton murders and examines the possible roles killers Bobby Jack Fowler and Cody Legebokoff played in the Highway of Tears.[3] It also references an earlier 2006 documentary Finding Dawn. The film ends with a note that then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not support an inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada.[4]
Production
Producer Carly Pope stated the film was meant to call for an end to ignorance of the murders. Matt Smiley, an artist and filmmaker, conceived of the documentary after touring Prince George, which he felt had an ideal landscape to make a film. While he was there, his brother-in-law mentioned the case of Nicole Hoar, who went missing on Highway 16.[5] Smiley subsequently carried out interviews with community leaders and victims' families before taking his film crew to northern British Columbia to shoot the film. He credited Barb Ward-Burkitt, the executive director of the Prince George Native Friendship Centre, with supporting the project and being among the first to share her story.[5]
Smiley's purpose in screening the film was to advance efforts to calling a national inquiry.[6] Producer Carly Pope stated, "I believe the central message we're hoping to convey is that this is something occurring in our backyards that we can no longer remain ignorant to."[1] The film received funding from Carrier Sekani Family Services, with Mary Teegee, its director of child and family services, credited as an executive producer.[7]
Release and reception
Highway of Tears debuted at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in spring 2014, with the Toronto International Film Festival calling it a "hard-hitting documentary".[5] Neil Godbout, writing for the Times Colonist, calls it "a beautiful and tragic film, showcasing strength and perseverance, as well as grief and loss".[7]
The film won the Best Documentary award at the Malibu Film Festival in December 2014.[8] It received another award for best documentary from the Women in Film + Television Festival in Vancouver.[4]
References
- Culbert, Lori (24 February 2015). "Film shines light on 'forgotten' Highway of Tears women". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- Bridges, Alicia (25 March 2015). "Highway of Tears film hits home in Smithers". Smithers Interior News. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- Perry, Martina (27 May 2015). "Prince Rupert showing of Highway of Tears documentary raises concerns regarding lack of action". The Northern View. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- Bridges, Alicia (19 March 2015). "Families of Highway of Tears victims hope film saves lives". Smithers Interior News. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- "Highway of Tears documentary: Q&A with director Matthew Smiley". CBC News. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- "Highway of Tears documentary screened in Whitehorse". CBC News. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- Godbout, Neil (29 May 2015). "Highway of Tears documentary a call to action". Times Colonist. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- Bridges, Alicia (9 December 2014). "Highway of Tears documentary wins award". Smithers Interior News. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
External links
Categories:- 2015 films
- Documentary films about violence against women
- Documentary films about Indigenous rights in Canada
- Highway of Tears
- Violence against Indigenous women in Canada
- Women and death
- 2015 documentary films
- Films shot in British Columbia
- 2010s English-language films
- English-language Canadian films
- English-language documentary films
- Canadian documentary films
- 2010s Canadian films
- Documentary films about women in Canada
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