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Nika & Madison film image; two women sitting by a tree

Nika & Madison

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Following an act of self-defence that leaves them pursued by law enforcement, Nika (Ellyn Jade, Little Bird) and Madison (Star Slade, Dream Scenario) are forced to flee into the wilderness, fearful that coming forward will be met with prejudicial attitudes against their Indigeneity. With a conflicted pair of detectives (Amanda Brugel and Shawn Doyle) hot on their heels, Nika and Madison find their hiding places dwindling, and the threat of imprisonment looming. And yet, through their tribulations, the pair forge a bond of friendship that withstands all adversity.

Adapted from her short film Redlights (2023), Canadian Screen Award-winning director Eva Thomas’s first solo feature is impeccably cast, tightly paced, and propelled by a lively Indigenous pop soundtrack. Drawing inspiration from Thelma and Louise, co-writers Eva Thomas and Michael McGowan (All My Puny Sorrows) have crafted a tense, compelling drama that sheds light on the systemic biases Indigenous peoples face within the Canadian legal system. Lead performers Jade and Slade bring outstanding depth and chemistry to this authentic tale of resilience and sisterhood.

 

Oct 6 & 7: Q&A

 

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Director
Cast

Ellyn Jade, Star Slade, Amanda Brugel

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2025

Language

English

Film Contact
18+
87 min
Action & Suspense Drama Indigenous Cinema Women Directors

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Katelyn Cursio, Tyler Levine, Paula Devonshire, Jennifer Podemski, Ellyn Jade, Kaniehtiio Horn

Producer

Tyler Levine, Eva Thomas

Screenwriter

Eva Thomas, Michael McGowan

Cinematography

Jesse Wicklund

Editor

Jane MacRae

Production Design

Ashley Devereux

Original Music

Nigel Irwin

Eva Thomas headshot

Eva Thomas

Eva Thomas is an accomplished writer, director, and producer.  Her directorial debut short Redlights premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and in 2024 she co-directed and co-wrote her first Telefilm feature, Aberdeen. Thomas recently directed episodes for CBC’s Still Standing and won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction, Factual for the “New Richmond, QC” episode. She also worked as a writer and director on the third season of Acting Good for Bell Media/Crave and in the writing room for the series Don’t Even (Bell Media/Crave), Shelved (CTV), and Zarqa (CBC Gem).

Filmography: Aberdeen (2024)

Photo by Nadya Kwandibens

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