World Premiere
Angela (Sera-Lys McArthur) and Henry (Matthew Kevin Anderson), a young Ottawa couple with a baby on the way, embark on a short trip north to the Cree community of KiiWeeTin to visit Angela’s beloved childhood nanny, Mary (Renae Morriseau). When Angela is harassed by a menacing shadow figure, Mary moves to bless and protect Angela and her unborn child with illegal Cree ceremonies and medicine. And as Angela discovers the truth about both her ancestry and the spectral figure’s identity, she must delve into her newfound spiritual traditions in order to defend herself from her husband’s escalating purity-obsessed racism.
Balancing darkness and light to dramatic effect, Jules Arita Koostachin (WaaPaKe) crafts a ghost story rich in narrative traditions, period details, and uncanny allure.
Oct 2: Q&A with director Jules Koostachin and actors Asivak Koostachin, Rita Koostachin & Renae Morriseau
Oct 5: Q&A with director Jules Koostachin and actors Asivak Koostachin & Rita Koostachin
Community Partner
Sera-Lys McArthur, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Renae Morriseau, Asivak Koostachin, Mahiigan Koostachin, David H. Lyle
Canada
2024
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Patti Poskitt
Producer
Jules Arita Koostachin
Screenwriter
Jules Arita Koostachin, Steve Neufeld
Cinematography
Mike Bourquin
Editor
Lara Mazur
Production Design
Cheryl Marion
Original Music
Justin Delorme
Jules Arita Koostachin
Born in Moose Factory, Ontario, Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin was raised by her Cree-speaking grandparents in Moosonee and her mother in Ottawa. Jules is a member of the Attawapiskat First Nation, the Ancestral lands of the MoshKeKo AsKi InNiNeWak. She earned a PhD in Indigenous documentary methodologies from UBC and a master’s in documentary media from TMU. Jules’ acclaimed works include Remembering Inninimowin (2010), Broken Angel (2023), and WaaPaKe (2023). Through VisJuelles Productions, she’s developing projects like KaTaWaSiSin and Truth in Toronto.
Filmography: Remembering Inninimowin (2010); Broken Angel (2023); WaaPaKe (2023)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
Seeds
Shot over nine years, Brittany Shyne’s Sundance-winning documentary is a tender portrait of Black farming families in the American South. A moving meditation on land, legacy, and the strength it takes to hold on.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.
Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story
Harlem-based photographer, freedom fighter and activist Kwame Brathwaite took 500,000 photos across his 70-year career, always devoted to celebrating the joy and beauty of African American life. Brathwaite pioneered the idea that Black is Beautiful.
Cutting Through Rocks
Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.
A Poet
When embittered poet Oscar Restrepo takes a job at a local high school, he meets Yurlady, a talented student from a poor background. Seeking to help her cultivate her art, he draws her into the poetry world — to disastrous and comedic results.