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Village Keeper film image; woman sleeps on the shoulder of another woman

Village Keeper

Northern Lights

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After the tragic loss of her husband, single mother Beverly-Jean (Olunike Adeliyi, Akilla’s Escape) struggles to bridge the emotional gap between herself and her teenage children. Once a professional dancer, and now a caretaker on the verge of a second eviction, she’s losing patience with her son Tristin (Micah Mensah-Jatoe), and is worried about the panic attacks her daughter Tamika (Zahra Bentham) hides from her. Desperate to shelter her children from a surge of gun violence in Toronto, Jean takes it upon herself to cleanse the blood from crime scenes in their neighbourhood. This transformative experience impels her to examine the hidden wounds in her family’s own painful past.

Based on her award-winning short film Measure, writer-director Karen Chapman’s feature debut blends social realism with compelling psychological portraiture, making confident use of flashbacks to capture the associative nature of emotionally charged memories. Village Keeper traces a mother’s valiant efforts to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma, and her heartwarming quest to rediscover what brings her joy in life.

 

Sept 27 & 28: Q&A with director Karen Chapman and producer Enrique Baniqued

 

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Community Partner

Director
Cast

Olunike Adeliyi, Zahra Bentham, Micah Mensah-Jatoe, Maxine Simpson, Oyin Oladejo

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
18+
83 min
Drama Family Relations Q&As at VIFF Women Directors
Smallaxx Motion Pictures

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Christina Piovesan, Floyd Kane, Jordan Oram, Susana Ferreira, Taj Critchlow, Molly McGlynn, Lora Campbell, Dbi Young Anitafrika

Producer

Enrique Miguel Baniqued, Karen Chapman

Screenwriter

Karen Chapman

Cinematography

Jordan Oram

Editor

Christopher Minns, Xi Feng, Jordan Hayles

Production Design

June Charles

Original Music

Dalton Tennant

Karen Chapman headshot; Village Keeper director

Karen Chapman

Award-winning filmmaker Karen Chapman strives to centre work that is grounded in storytelling and impact. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University, she is an alumnus of programs like Norman Jewison’s Canadian Film Centre Director’s Lab and TIFF Talent Lab. Chapman is a recipient of the 2023 Micki Moore Fellowship and her short film, Measure, premiered at TIFF 2019, winning several awards. Her short documentary Quiet Minds Silent Streets premiered at TIFF 2022 and garnered multiple awards, including at the Canadian Film Festival and Yorkton Film Festival. Village Keeper is her feature film debut.

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