The Chinook Film Group is continuing its Spring Series with the screening of Indian Horse on April 25 at the Cochrane Movie House.
Indian Horse is a Canadian drama, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and is slated for general theatrical release in 2018. The film was directed by Stephen Campanelli and written by Dennis Foon and is based off the book written by Richard Wagamese in 2012.
The film is an adaptation of Wagamese’s novel and is set in late 1950s Ontario, where seven-year-old Saul Indian Horse is torn from his Ojibway family and committed to one of Canada's notorious Catholic residential schools. In this oppressive environment, Saul is denied the freedom to speak his language or embrace his indigenous heritage and he witnesses all kinds of abuse at the hands of the very people who were entrusted with his care. Despite this, Saul finds salvation in the unlikeliest of places and favourite Canadian pastime – hockey.
Fascinated by the game, he secretly teaches himself how to not only play but develops a unique and rare skill. It's as if he has eyes in the back of his head and can see the game in a way no other player can. His talent leads him away from the misery of the school to a Northern Ontario native league and eventually the pros. But the ghosts of Saul's past will always haunt him. Forced to confront painful memories and revelations, Saul draws on the spirit of his ancestors and the understanding of his friends to gain the compassion he so sorely needs in order to begin healing. Indian Horse is a survivors' tale that foregrounds the indomitable spirit of North America's indigenous peoples in the face of aggressive assimilation policies and racism. Saul Indian Horse's story can be a tool to help foster further compassion and understanding, and in the process, become universal.
The film stats Canadian actor Sladen Peltier as Saul at age six, Forrest Goodluck as Saul at age 15 and Ajuawak Kapashesit as Saul when’s grown up at the age of 22. The movie also stars Edna Manitowabi, Evan Adams, Michiel Huisman, Michael Murphy and Martin Donovan.
Indian Horse was originally slated for production as a television film to air on Super Channel, but instead premiered as a theatrical film after Super Channel filed for bankruptcy in 2016. The movie was shot primarily in Sudbury and Peterborough, Ontario.
The movie, which runs for 100 minutes, won the top award at the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival. Other accolades include Sladen Peltier winning the 2018 Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Audience Choice and Most Popular Film Awards, three awards selected by Jury and Audience at the Dieppe Canadian Film Festival, Best Drama at the Edmonton Internal Film Festival, and 2017 Audience Award and Narrative Feature at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Indian Horse garnered decent ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score of 83 per cent and also received an average rating of 3/5 from the critics reviews.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. movie are available for $10 at the Gentry or at the doors of the Cochrane Movie House.
