Fire Song (2015)

Shane, a gay Anishnabe teenager in Northern Ontario, is struggling to support his family in the aftermath of his sister's suicide. If he fails, he will be forced to choose between his family's home and his own future.

Director:

Adam Garnet Jones

Writer:

Adam Garnet Jones

Stars:

Andrew Martin, Jennifer Podemski, Harley Legarde

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Martin	...	Shane
Jennifer Podemski	...	Jackie
Harley Legarde	...	David (as Harley Legarde-Beacham)
Mary Galloway	...	Tara
Brendt Thomas Diabo	...	Kyle
Ma-Nee Chacaby	...	Evie
Alexis Legarde	...	Ashley (as Alexis LeGarde)
Krysten Flett	...	Debbie
Misty Dore	...	Roberta
Derek C. Miller	...	Glen (as Derek Miller)
Shirley McLean	...	Janice
Tom Lylas Polson Jr.	...	Uncle Pete
Morteesha Chickekoo-Bannon	...	Destiny
Dallas Napash-Lidemark	...	Robbie
Erin Bottle	...	Officer Garrison

Storyline

Shane, an academically bright First Nations youth who recently graduated from high school, still lives on the reserve with his mother, Jackie. Especially with their house needing major repairs, they are having troubles making ends meet, with Shane needing to do most of the heavy financial lifting as Jackie is emotionally incapacitated from wallowing in her grief over the recent suicide of her daughter, Shane's sister, Destiny. Although Shane openly has long been in a relationship with Tara, he, still in the closet, has as long been in a clandestine relationship with David. Suspicions abound at least among their peers that David is gay, such rumors which do not apply to Shane. Shane wants to move to Toronto to go to school, and wants David to come with him. Shane's plan is not only to make a better life for himself, but so that he and David can live an open life together, something he knows they cannot do on the reserve. David, however, wants to stay on the reserve to enact positive ...

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Plot Keywords:

teenager | leaking ceiling | mother son relationship | walking down the street | smoking a cigarette | 

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Taglines:

Refuse to be broken.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brendt Thomas Diabo was in a hardcore band for years before finding his folk self. He is a talented country/folk singer/songwriter.

User Reviews

What living on a reservation is truly like.

This movie tackles many issues that are not only common but prevalent on reservations. Alcohol and drug abuse, high suicide rates, homophobia, and trying to find any way to escape the place that is holding you back. The characters are well thought out, and stay very true to what Native people are like. There is not a lot of emotion shown in tribal settings. This movie shows what it is like to be a two spirit person since colonization, onece respected leaders in tribes, the white settlers first tried to erase this by forcing Christianity down native peoples throats. If you have never live on a reservation this movie is a bit hard to follow. I suggest doing some research on the conditions on reservations.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 2016 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eggplant Picture & Sound

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1