Atikamekw Suns (French: Soleils Atikamekw) is a 2023 Canadian drama film, written, produced, and directed by Chloé Leriche. The film centres on the true story of five youths from the Atikamekw First Nation community of Manawan who were found dead in a truck in the nearby river in 1977, with police investigation remaining inconclusive to this day about whether the truck driving into the river was a simple accident or a racially-motivated attack.[1]
| Atikamekw Suns | |
|---|---|
| French | Soleils Atikamekw |
| Directed by | Chloé Leriche |
| Written by | Chloé Leriche |
| Produced by | Chloé Leriche |
| Starring | Jacques Newashish Mirotansa Chilton Wikwasa Newashish |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Languages | French Atikamekw |
Its cast includes Jacques Newashish, Mirotansa Chilton, Wikwasa Newashish-Petiquay, Carl-David Ottawa and Oshim Ottawa.
Production
editThe film received production funding from Quebec's Société de développement des entreprises culturelles in 2019,[2] and from Telefilm Canada in 2020.[3] Its planned filming in summer 2020 was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
The film was shot principally in collaboration with the community of Manawan, although auditions were held in some other Quebec cities to allow First Nations actors from outside the community to try out for various roles in the film.[1]
Distribution
editThe film premiered at the 2023 Festival du nouveau cinéma.[4]
Awards
editThe film was shortlisted for the 2023 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award.[5]
At the 2023 Festival du nouveau cinéma, it won the TV5 Public Prize for most popular francophone film.[6] At the 2023 Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival, it won the Médiafilm Robert-Claude Bérubé Prize.[7]
The film screened in the Borsos Competition at the 2023 Whistler Film Festival, where it won the awards for Best Film, Best Director for Leriche, and Best Performance for the film's entire cast as an ensemble.[8]
In 2024, the film was the winner of the Prix Gilles-Carle from the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma after being shown at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c "À la recherche de talents autochtones pour un film". Ici Radio-Canada Première, November 19, 2020.
- ^ André Duchesne, "De nouveaux films pour Monia Chokri, Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette et Émile Gaudreault". La Presse, December 16, 2019.
- ^ Lauren Malyk, "Telefilm awards nearly $8M across six French-language features". Playback, June 1, 2020.
- ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "FNC 2023: la sélection québécoise". Films du Québec, September 20, 2023.
- ^ Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Women Talking leads film nominees for 2023 DGC Awards". Playback, September 20, 2023.
- ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "(FNC 2023) Chloé Leriche et Ariane Louis-Seize récompensées". Films du Québec, October 16, 2023.
- ^ "Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles remporte le 42e FCIAT". Ici Radio-Canada Première, November 3, 2023.
- ^ Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Atikamekw Suns wins best Canadian feature at WFF". Playback, December 5, 2023.
- ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "(RVQC 2024) Lauréats dévoilés". Films du Québec, March 1, 2024.