''Rosie'' is a 2022 Canadian comedy-drama film, written, produced, and directed by
Gail Maurice
Gail Maurice is a Canadian actress, writer, and producer."Canadian aboriginal filmmaker en route to Sundance with Smudge". ''Times & Transcript'', January 20, 2006. She is most noted for her performances as the title character in the film '' Johnn ...
Hamilton Spectator
''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation, ''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar.
...
'', September 10, 2021. the film centres on Rosie (Keris Hope Hill), a young
First Nations
First nations are indigenous settlers or bands.
First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to:
Indigenous groups
*List of Indigenous peoples
*First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
girl who is sent to live with her aunt Frédérique (Melanie Bray) in Montreal after her mother's death, and learns the value of rebuilding
chosen family
Chosen family—also referred to as found family, a family of choice, or ''hānai'' family—refers to non-biological kinship bonds that are intentionally formed, regardless of legal recognition. These relationships are often based on mutual care ...
from Fred and her
two-spirit
''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...
friends Flo (Constant Bernard) and Mo (Alex Trahan).
The cast also includes Josée Young,
Brandon Oakes
Brandon A. Oakes (born July 3, 1972) is an Akwesasronon actor, artist, and dancer. He is a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation.
Career
Oakes is known for his role in the film '' Through Black Spruce'', for which he was nominated for Best Ac ...
, Jocelyne Zucco, Arlen Aguayo-Stewart, Jean Pearson, Tony De Santis, Xavier Yuvens, Pierre Simpson,
Ron Lea
Ron Lea is a Canadian actor, who has had roles in '' Wind at My Back'' (1997–2000), '' Doc'', '' Street Legal'', '' This is Wonderland'', '' Victor'' (2008), ''Flashpoint'' (2009), ''Good Witch'' (2015), and ''The Strain'' (2015).
Early lif ...
, Domenico Fiore, Joseph Claude Dubois, Mike Ross, Matt Raffy and David Thompson.
The film was shot in
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, in 2021.
It premiered in the Discovery program at the
2022 Toronto International Film Festival
The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022.
The 2022 festival was staged primarily in-person; a small selection of films were offered on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform, but this represente ...
on September 9, 2022. It was subsequently selected as the closing film of the 2022
imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First Peoples ...
.
Critical response
Courtney Small of ''That Shelf'' wrote that "while the film has several important things to say, its overly sweet packaging takes away some of the overall impact of its commentary. Despite not delivering the knockout punch one hopes for, there is still enough here to maintain one’s interest in both the film and whatever Maurice creates next. ROSIE reminds us that one can find community in the direst of situations, sometimes you just need to choose who that family will be."
The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end
Canada's Top Ten
Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films."Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema". ''Welland Tribune'', November 23, ...
list for 2022.
Awards
The film was shortlisted for the
Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...
's 2022
Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award The Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award is an annual Canadian award, presented by the Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupat ...
.
It won the award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2022
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Nouveau-Brunswick, November 18, 2022. and the Audience Choice award at the 2022
imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First Peoples ...
CityNews
City''News'' is the title of news and current affairs programming on Rogers Sports & Media's Citytv network in Canada. The newscast division was founded on September 28, 1975 as City''Pulse'' as a standalone local newscast on the network's CITY- ...