Cody Lightning’s rousing hockey drama centres on the Treaty 6 Blades, a team of Indigenous youth in Northern Alberta. The film begins with their expulsion from their regional league, a low point from which they’ll rise courageously. Headed by Zamboni-driver-turned-coach Willie Gladue (Lighting himself), the team faces down all manner of challenges, both on and off the rink, on their way to a chance at redemption.
Smudge the Blades has a lot going for it: rough, realistic humour; a bracingly honest depiction of life on the reserve; a reckoning with generational trauma; and all the preceding folded into an engaging sports narrative. Most of all, the film has a terrific cast — Lightning gives an endearing performance, and every last team member stands out as a unique human presence, their scars and strengths radiating off the screen. This is a crowd-pleaser in which victory is about much more than winning the game, and in which heroism is shared among a community.
Oct 3: Filmmaker Q&A
Presented by
Supported by
Media Partner
Cody Lightning
Cody Lightning, Jana Schmieding, Ed Helms, Paulina Alexis, Treycen Wuttunee, Isaiah Kakepetum
Canada
2026
English
Frequent coarse language
Open to youth
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Harlan Kingfisher, Mike Falbo, Brett Harris, Ed Helms
Producer
Joshua Jackson, Kyle Thomas, Sara Corry, Hayley Morin, Dylan Morin, Cody Lightning
Screenwriter
Cody Lightning, Samuel Miller
Cinematography
Liam Mitchell
Editor
Lev Lewis, Thomas Hackett
Production Design
Mike Kasper, Ben Warren
Original Music
Matthew Cardinal, Marek Tyler
Northern Lights
See more films in this series
Turtle Island Rap
Taking us into the world of Indigenous hip-hop, this soulful doc profiles three up-and-comers in the genre. Exploring its subject’s personal lives as well as their career moves, the film is a work of complex human portraiture — and the music is terrific.
Send the Rain
In Kaayla Whachell and Hayley Gray's tender drama Send the Rain, a young Okinawan-Canadian attempts to evacuate her stubborn grandmother from a wildfire zone, forcing both women to confront family history, responsibility, and the pull of home.
Lifeline
When a Somali youth worker is assigned a high-stakes case, her professional responsibilities pull her back toward a community — and a past — she has worked to leave behind. Lifeline is an intimate exploration of belonging and responsibility.
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony follows a group of young female gymnasts in Pakistan's Machar Colony, a highly conservative fishing settlement. Habiba Nosheen's deeply empathetic documentary is a celebration of girlhood, resilience, and self-expression.
The Bryce Lee Story
A 13-year-old immigrant and aspiring filmmaker falsely claims he's related to Bruce Lee in this Vancouver Island-set film. The Bryce Lee Story is a heartfelt coming-of-age tale about identity, family, and the search for belonging.
First Comes Love: Nakabingwit
An engaging hybrid documentary with a rom-com aesthetic, First Comes Love: Nakabingwit follows Canadian women in the Filipino diaspora as they search for the language to discuss race, privilege, and love with their white romantic partners.
Seventeen
Seventeen takes us through a rough day in the lives of three Indigenous sex workers, shining a light on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and telling a story of solidarity and love.