Rising Through the Fray

Uniting from across continents to bring representation to the sport they love, Indigenous Rising laces up their skates to claim their space on the roller derby track. Indigenous Rising is the first team in roller derby history to break the barriers of representing a single country at the Roller Derby World Cup — igniting a movement that pulsates throughout the sport. Rising Through the Fray follows the team as it welcomes a new generation of players set on changing the face of roller derby — a sport that champions female empowerment and inclusivity but lacks diversity.

Courtney Montour weaves energetic on-track game play with tender moments in teammates’ daily lives as skaters from over 30 Indigenous Nations navigate and learn each other’s play styles at tournaments and find strength within each other to compete and skate onto the track with pride. Intimate portraits of teammates Sour Cherry, Krispy and Hawaiian Blaze reveal stories of displacement and disconnection from their culture and identities and the journey of finding belonging within team Indigenous Rising. Rising Through the Fray offers a poignant exploration of resiliency, healing and reconnection of a roller derby family with a bond that goes beyond sport.

About the filmmaker: Courtney Montour is a Kanien’kehá:ka writer and director from Kahnawà:ke whose award-winning documentaries include Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again. Courtney was named Playback’s 2024 TV Directors of the Year, alongside Tanya Talaga, for their CBC doc series The Knowing, adapted from Talaga’s book of the same name. The duo was awarded Best Writing, Documentary for the series at the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards. Rising Through the Fray is Courtney’s debut feature.

Mar 27, 3:00 pm screning: Q&A with filmmaker