Latest News: The 27th BFF opened this year with ATIKAMEKW SUNS by Director Chloé Leriche on May 31 to a SOLD OUT theater. The filmmaker was available for Q & A at the end of the screening. A successful reception followed the screening.
Atikamekw Suns
Director: Chloé Leriche
Canada, 2023, 103 min
Shooting Format:7.5k, RedCode 4:1
Festival Year:2024
Category:Narrative Feature
Genre:Fiction
WINNER: Grand Chameleon Award and Best Narrative Feature
Cast:Mirociw Chilton, Jacques Newashish, Wikwasa Newashish, Carl-David Ottawa, Oshim Ottawa
Crew:Writer: Chloé Leriche. Producer: Chloé Leriche. Cinematographer: Glauco Bermudez; Music : Mélanie Bélair; Editing : Chloé Leriche, Natalie Lamoureux; Sound : Martyne Morin; Art Direction: Julie-Christina Picher
Email:chloeleriche123@gmail.com
Synopsis
On June 26, 1977, a vehicle drives into a river outside the Atikamekw community of Manawan in northern Québec. Two Whites survive the accident, but five Atikamekw lose their lives. The police conclude it was an accident, but for the victims' families, many questions remain unanswered.
Atikamekw Suns (Soleils Atikamekw) is freely inspired by the dreams, impressions, and memories of the victims' loved ones.
Over the course of seven years, the filmmaker accompanied the families of the five victims of June 26, 1977, involving them both in front of and behind the camera – playing the role of their grandparents or sharing their inability to put behind them their grief and their humiliation they suffered from the authorities.
In Canada, despite appearances, racism against First Nations is still rampant in public services, as recently demonstrated by the death in hospital of Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw woman, in 2020.
About the director
Chloé Leriche was born in Quebec (Canada) in 1974. A self-taught filmmaker, she has written, directed, edited, and produced films and videos since 1999. Her work has been presented at numerous international festivals. She has participated in more than 200 short films as a filmmaker-instructor and assisted First Nations' youths in producing their works with the “Wapikoni Mobile” production centre on wheels. These collaborations gave rise to her first feature film, Before the Streets (Avant les rues) which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2016 and went on to garner prizes around the world. Atikamekw Suns (Soleils Atikamekw), is Chloé Leriche's second feature film.