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Sgaaway K'uuna

Directed by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown
Canada, 2018 (fiction, 101 minutes, colour, English / Haida)
Also known as "Edge of the Knife"
Sgaaway K'uuna
Image: © Cinema Politica

Film Description:
"The first feature film made entirely in the Haida language—a critically endangered language spoken fluently by fewer than 20 people—Edge of the Knife is a stunning cinematic achievement and a spellbinding tale of pride, tragedy, and remorse set in Haida Gwaii in the 1800s. Two extended families meet at their annual fishing camp one summer on the shores of Haida Gwaii, in Canada's Pacific Northwest. Charming Adiits'ii is close to the family of his best friend Kwa and an ardent teacher to Kwa's young son. The boy looks up to him, but Kwa's wife, Hlaaya, is concerned that Adiits'ii's appetite for challenges may lead to reckless choices. Tragedy strikes when a storm hits the small encampment and Adiits'ii becomes estranged from the group. Presuming him dead, they return to their winter home without him. Adiits'ii creeps deep into the forest and begins his ominous transformation into a Gaagiid/Gaagiixiid—the legendary Haida Wildman. In this spectacular rendering of a classic Haida story, life on the land is shaped by the power of the elements, where natural and supernatural forces co-exist. Co-directed by Haida filmmaker Gwaai Edenshaw and Tsilhqot'in filmmaker Helen Haig-Brown, this ambitious project was a collaboration with Isuma, the team behind the landmark film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Made with a Haida cast and in collaboration with the Haida Council, Edge of the Knife proves that cinema can be at once a powerful vessel for riveting storytelling and a vital act of Indigenous language and culture revitalization."
-- Danis Goulet (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by: Gwaai Edenshaw, Jaalen Edenshaw, Graham Richard, Leonie Sandercock
Produced by: Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk, Stephen Grosse, Gwaai Edenshaw, Kristy Assu
Principal Cast: Curtis Brown, Diane Brown, Greg Brown, Toddi Lauren Brown, Delores Churchill, Zachary Collison, Russel Davis, Sam Derrick-York, Sherri Dick, Leo Gagnon, Merika Gladstone, Emma Grinder, Xiila Taayii Guujaaw, Sphenia Jones, Brandon Kallio, Deanna Kallio, Fraser Kallio, James Kallio, Preston Kallio, Jane Kristovich, Trey Rorick, Willy Russ, Erica Jean Ryan, Harold Williams, Richard Williams, Vernon Albert Amos Williams, Tyler York, Adeana Young, Benjamin Young
Cinematography: Jonathan Frantz
Film Editing: Sarah Hedar
Music: Kinnie Starr
Production Company: Kingulliit Productions
(sources)

Awards won by Sgaaway K'uuna

Notes about Sgaaway K'uuna

(sources)

Quote about Sgaaway K'uuna

"The script [for Sgaaway K'uuna] is based on traditional stories that have been told in Haida society since time immemorial with Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown in the co-directors chair. Sgaawaay K'uuna is the first feature film spoken entirely in the Haida language and using Haida actors, a process inspired [by] Zacharias Kunuk's Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. [...] The entire cast did an incredibly believable job with the script. [Tyler] York's committed performance takes centre stage for most of the film as he goes from a grieving family member to full-on 'crazy', making me gasp at times during his transition."
-- Erica Commanda (source)

Bibliography for Sgaaway K'uuna

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