It’s February.
Cold, grey, and rainy. The perfect month to go out and see a movie.
We’ve got you covered if you’re looking for something more original than the slightly tired Ant-Man selection at the closest Cineplex.
Bones of Crows not only sounds like an epic movie, but it also has a real story to match.
It’s a riveting and true historical drama featuring some compelling characters.
The film covers a century-long journey of persecution, connection, pain, resilience, and compassion as experienced by Cree matriarch Aline Spears.
It begins with Aline as a young musical prodigy, but this all comes crashing down as she and her siblings are suddenly thrown into a fight for survival.
Played throughout her life by Summer Testawich, Secwépemc actor Grace Dove, and Carla Rae, it has a phenomenal cast that fully embodies their characters in an intensely moving tribute.
This is it if you’re looking for a film to move you and make you feel truly alive.
The cast includes Kindall Charters, a Nlaka’pamux First Nation member from Merritt, who plays alongside Grace Dove.
“I don’t usually cry, but I cried when I watched it; it was so spiritual,” Charters told the Victoria Times-Colonist.
“Seeing the movie helped my grandmother open up about a history that I never knew of and had my aunties and cousins talking about their experiences. It is a story that all people need to learn — a story that, until now, I only knew a small part of.”
Directed by award-winning Métis/Dene filmmaker Marie Clements, she truly put her all into the film.
It has received acclaim from audiences worldwide at film festivals, including those in Toronto and Vancouver, Cinéfest, and more.
Bones of Crows will be released theatrically next year. There will also be a miniseries on CBC and APTN. But to help Aline’s story reach more people, they’re holding free showings across the Island for the next month.
It’s a film you may want to see more than once.
The Bones of Crows community tour was made possible through the support of Rogers, I Love First Peoples, Central Mountain Air, and Pacific Coastal Airlines. The free showings are:
Feb. 2 – Campbell River – Tidemark Theatre – 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 – Tseycum First Nation (Sidney) – Star Cinema – 7 p.m.
Feb. 4 – Victoria-Colwood – Royal Bay Secondary School Theatre -7 p.m.
Feb. 4 – Victoria Film Festival – The Vic Theatre – 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 8 – Port Alberni – Alberni District High School – 12:30 p.m. – a student screening.
Feb. 10 – Ucluelet – Ucluelet Community Centre – 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 – Port Alberni – Alberni District High School – 7 p.m.
Feb. 13 – Courtenay – Sid Williams Theatre – 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 – Victoria-Colwood – Royal Bay Secondary School Theatre – 12:30 p.m. – a student screening.
Feb. 16 – Nanaimo – John Barsby Secondary School – Chandler Hall – noon – a student screening.
See it; you won’t regret it.
