Sask film to be a part of NFB's Celebration of Canada's Confederation
- EFN Staff | December 20, 2016
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will be celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Canada’s Confederation with three major projects including Legacies150, Aabiziingwashi (#WideAwake): Indigenous Cinema on Tour, and Special Online Programming. A University of Saskatchewan assistant professor and filmmaker’s documentary will be showcased in the upcoming celebration under the Aabiziingwashi project.
Tasha Hubbard’s film called Birth of a Family is a film that tells the story of how the Sixties Scoop impacted one family.
Read about the Tasha Hubbard film that won Short Doc at the Yorkton Film Festival
“The film finished in time to be included for necessary dialogue that needs to happen,” says Hubbard, filmmaker of 18-years. “Canada 150 is being seen as a celebration in some ways and yet, there are a lot of stories that haven’t been told that are much less celebratory but are absolutely the history of Canada. The Sixties Scoop is apart of that and this is a policy that had tragic implications on a lot of Indigenous people.”
The Sixties Scoop was a policy that started in the 60s where the removal of Indigenous children from their families and placed into foster homes occurred. It was another dark chapter in Canadian history that Hubbard believes needs to be brought out into the light more.
“This is a policy that had tragic implications on a lot of Indigenous people…that needs to be a part of the conversation when we look at Canada as a country,” she says. “There are a lot of dark places in the history. Film provides a way of looking into those dark corners.”
The film is based on a story of Betty Ann Adam, a reporter for the Star Phoenix, and her siblings who were all separated through the Sixties Scoop. Many years later, the four siblings were reunited. It’s a story that Michelle van Beusekom, NFB’s Executive Director of English Language Production, feels is important for all Canadians to watch.
“It’s surprising that many Canadians don’t know what the 60s Scoop was. It’s something that’s talked a little bit by the media but its something that people aren’t widely familiar of. Everyone should know,” she says. “It’s apart of a sad history that we have in Canada. Our goal is to put a spotlight on Indigenous perspective, shine a light, and create these forums of exchange. It’s about trying to contribute in some way through film to this process of reconciliation.”
NFB will be hosting with partners to begin their film showcasing in January with over a hundred screenings of films by Indigenous filmmakers that were produced by the NFB across the country. The project is a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and one of the Call to Action is using works of media as a way of building dialogue and understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. The idea of NFB’s Aabiziingwashi project is to create opportunities for people to look at this country and history through Indigenous eyes.
Hubbard is happy that her film was picked to be showcased across the nation. She hopes people will grasp a firm understanding of what the Sixties Scoop was and the impact it had on Indigenous families.
“I would like viewers to see the personal impact of these policies that has been placed upon Indigenous people without our consent. I hope people have that time to see these policies have an ongoing legacy and the way one family decided to turn that into something positive but also realize this is one person’s story around the 60s scoop.,” says Hubbard.