Skip to main content
Angela's Shadow film image; woman standing in front of a tree

Angela's Shadow

Panorama

This event has passed

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

     

Director
Cast

Sera-Lys McArthur, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Renae Morriseau, Asivak Koostachin, Mahiigan Koostachin, David H. Lyle

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

English

18+
93 min
BC Spotlight Drama Indigenous Cinema Q&As at VIFF Women Directors
ChaKaSteTin Productions Inc.

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

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 headshot; Angela's Shadow director

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

Misericordia

Dir. Alain Guiraudie
103 min

Edgy, eccentric, and unapologetically queer, this film goes from drama to comedy without putting a foot wrong. Sex and murder are the subjects, and writer-director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake) mines them for suspense and outrageous laughs.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Stand

Dir. Christopher Auchter
95 min

This rousing doc explores a 1985 dispute over logging in the Haida Gwaii. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, director Chris Auchter employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Julie Keeps Quiet

Dir. Leonardo van Dijl
97 min

When her coach falls under investigation for inappropriate behaviour, a young tennis ace is thrown into turmoil. Her reluctance to testify about her experience puts her at odds with the club, her parents and her friends.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Resident Orca

Dir. Sarah Sharkey Pearce & Simon Schneider
97 min

Captured in Puget Sound in 1970, killer whale Lolita spent the next half century in a cramped tank in Seaquarium, Miami. The film follows a coalition of Lummi elders, animal lovers and philanthropists on a rescue mission to return her to the ocean.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Grand Tour

Dir. Miguel Gomes
129 min

A prizewinner at Cannes, the latest from the director of Tabu is a playful Asian travelogue, set in 1918 and now, in black and white and colour, a critique of colonialism, and a journey into the history of cinema itself.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Way, My Way

Dir. Bill Bennett
93 min

All manner of pilgrims flock to France and Spain to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago. One such is Bill, a stroppy sexagenarian Australian filmmaker who's determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea why.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre