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
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