The documentary, also a premiere by filmmaker Secwepemc Sean Stilleris available to stream on September 30 via Crave, CTV.ca and the CTV app
OTTAWA (ON), September 30, 2022 /CNW/ – Starting today, Canadian Geographic’s first feature-length documentary, return homeis widely available through Bell Media properties, including Crave.
return home follows the founder of Orange Shirt Day Phyllis Jack Webstad on a cathartic nationwide educational tour while, back home in Secwepemc territory, her family struggles to cope with the multigenerational trauma of from Canada boarding school system. The documentary, shot during the pandemic amid one of the lowest salmon runs in recorded history, masterfully connects from Canada colonial history with the fate of wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia Fraser River. Available to stream on Crave, CTV.ca and the CTV app, return home is now available to the public, for the first time, as Canada reflects on the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It will also debut on Crave’s linear channel at 9:00 p.m. ETSeptember 30.
The film received top honors from Canadian and international film festivals, including Best Canadian Documentary at Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver international film festivals. It recently won the Best Living with Wildlife program award at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, Montana – and, this past spring, return home was voted one of the Audience Top 20 at Hot Docs in Toronto. The film is set to continue its festival run in the fall with screenings across Canada and United States.
Director Sean Stiller hopes the film’s release will help elevate the critical work of survivor societies, including the Orange Shirt Society. “Bringing return home at Crave and CTV will help amplify the important work of Phyllis,” says Stiller, a member of William’s Lake First Nation (Secwépemc), who met Webstad years ago in Williams Lake. “The stories shared in this film are not unique to British Columbia: the plight of wild salmon – like the ongoing impact of the multi-generational trauma of Indigenous peoples – is being felt across Turtle Island.”
Honorable Pablo RodriguezMinister of Canadian Heritage underscored the importance of this film and the ongoing struggles of residential school survivors: “I encourage people to take a moment to recognize the ongoing and intergenerational effects of residential schools in Canada and to reflect on the role that each of us must play in the healing process. We must remain steadfast in our support for Indigenous partners, survivors and their families. We must learn from history and continue the conversation so that the atrocities of the past are never repeated. The documentary return home gives us the opportunity to begin or continue our learning journey on the path to reconciliation,” he said.
In addition to wide distribution through Bell Media properties, return home will organize a series of special screenings across the country on the occasion of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In Toronto, the film will be available free to Hot Docs members, at the festival’s Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema on Bloor Street. It will also be available for a special screening at Trent University and at a community event organized by the Orange Shirt Society. Funded by the government of Canada, return home is part of a larger educational program, The paths of reconciliationwho has created educational resources around from Canada boarding school system.
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society will honor survivors, their families and communities today with the Blessing of the Grounds Ceremony for a permanent Garden of Reconciliation at 50 Sussex Drive – its Ottawa Headquarter. Following the ceremony, the Society is hosting a private event with the Office of the Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves. Along with the event, the The paths of reconciliation will launch an interactive online map documenting the search and recovery of unmarked burial sites by survivors, families, communities and nations across the country.
About Canadian Geographic Films
For nearly a century, Canadian Geographic dedicated himself to doing Canada best known to Canadians and the world, primarily through its award-winning magazine. As our country undergoes significant changes in its population, climate, environment, economy and culture, Canadian Geographic Films leads a digital transformation to support a better understanding of from Canada geography — the diversity of the human and physical landscape — as well as changes affecting its people and the environment. return home is a true testament to this, as Canadian Geographic Films’ first feature-length documentary. The production company has a number of other projects in development, with documentaries and TV series slated for release in 2022.
About the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Editor of Canadian Geographicthe Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) is dedicated to making Canada better known to Canadians and the world — its people and places, its natural and cultural heritage and its environment. The Company is one of from Canada largest nonprofit educational organizations, comprising more than 26,000 members from across the country. The RCGS is funded primarily by membership dues and donations. The Society’s Board of Directors and its program committees are made up entirely of volunteers
SOURCE Royal Canadian Geographical Society
For further information: To schedule an interview with Canadian Geographic, filmmaker Sean Stiller or Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Jack Webstad, please contact: Media Contact, Melanie Greco, [email protected]647-456-2653
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