A proud lesbian gas station clerk and part-time reporter for the local newspaper, Beatrice (Dana Solomon) is used to being the supplier of gossip in her rural Métis village of Wapamon Sipi. But when her estranged mother Léonore (Gail Maurice, who also writes and directs) returns in the hope of making up for lost time, Beatrice becomes the talk of the town herself. Still wounded by her mother’s departure and their fractured relationship, Beatrice finds solace in a burgeoning romance with newcomer Chani (Derica Lafrance), a soulful ranch-hand in search of her birth family.
With gorgeous, sun-soaked cinematography and an uplifting indie folk soundtrack, Maurice’s (Rosie, VIFF 2022) emotional drama explores the long-term repercussions of a child welfare system that disproportionately targets and separates Indigenous families. Revolving around a Métis Days cultural fair, complete with traditional fiddling and jig dancing, Blood Lines follows characters who, like Maurice, speak Michif, a language with just over 1,130 speakers worldwide.
Oct 5: Q&A
Community Partner
Dana Solomon, Derica Lafrance, Mélanie Bray, Bertha Durocher, Maggie Maurice, Mary Burnouf
Canada
2025
In English and Michif with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Omar Chalabi, Jeremy Smith
Producer
Gail Maurice, Paula Devonshire, Jamie Manning
Screenwriter
Gail Maurice
Cinematography
Steve Cosens
Editor
Maureen Grant, Harrison Perez
Production Design
Adriana Bogaard
Original Music
Justin Delorme
Gail Maurice
Filmography: Rosie (2022)
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
Possible Love
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Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
The Haunting
Directed by Robert Wise in 1963, The Haunting is a classic exercise in the suggestive power of cinema, adapted from Shirley Jackson's 1959 best-seller, The Haunting of Hill House, a provocative blend of supernatural and psychological horror.
