''We Were Children'' is a 2012 Canadian

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the experiences of

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 ...

children in the

Canadian Indian residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The sch ...

. Directed by Tim Wolochatiuk and written by

Jason Sherman Jason Sherman (born July 28, 1962, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. After graduating from the creative writing program at York University in 1985, Sherman co-founded What Publishing with Kevin Connolly, which produc ...

, the film recounts the experiences of two residential school survivors: Lyna Hart, who attended the Guy Hill Residential School in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, and Glen Anaquod, who attended the Lebret Indian Residential School in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. ''We Were Children'' presents their experiences through a combination of personal interviews and dramatic recreations. Hart considered her involvement in ''We Were Children'' a vital step in her healing process, marking the first time she had fully shared her experiences. Anaquod died on May 31, 2011, before the film's completion; his family was given a

private screening A public screening is the showing of moving pictures, sporting events, and music concerts to an audience in a public place. The event screened may be live or recorded, free or paid, and may use film, video, or a broadcast method such as satellit ...

. Hart died on January 3, 2015.

Production

Eagle Vision's executive producer Lisa Meeches—whose parents and older siblings were sent to residential schools, and who spent over 7 years travelling across Canada to collect residential school survivors' stories for the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

—has stated that the idea for the film originated from a discussion she had had at the

Banff World Media Festival Founded in 1979, the Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Banff Springs Hotel, Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canad ...

. It was Meeches who approached director Tim Wolochatiuk with the project. The film was shot in

, namely in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

St-Pierre-Jolys St-Pierre-Jolys (formerly ''Rivière-aux-Rats''/Rat River, ''St-Pierre''/St. Pierre) is a village in the Canadian province of Manitoba, located southeast of Winnipeg on Highway 59 near the Rat River. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality o ...

, and at the former Portage residential school (now the Rufus Prince building) in

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...

. It was produced by Kyle Irving for Eagle Vision, Loren Mawhinney for eOne Television, and produced and executive produced by

David Christensen David Christensen is an Alberta film director and producer who since October 2007 has been an executive producer with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) at its Northwest Centre, based in Edmonton. Directing His directorial credits include ...

for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

CBC Manitoba CBWT-DT (channel 6) is a CBC Television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has common ownership with Ici Radio-Canada Télé station CBWFT-DT (channel 3). The two stations share studios on Portage Avenue and Young Street in Downtown Winni ...

reporter Sheila North Wilson assisted the production by translating material in the script from English to

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

Cast

The film's

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

includes both acting performances and interviewees, as ''We Were Children'' combines interviews of its two subjects with dramatic recreations of their experiences. Among the cast were:
''We Were Children''
at the

* Lyna Hart — self ** Alicia Hamelin — Lyna, 4 years old ** Jade Hamelin — Lyna, 10 years old ** Jennie Morin — Lyna, 18 yrs old * Glen Anaquod — self ** René Batson — Glen, 6–7 years old ** Brun Montour (as Bruin Montour) — Glen, 12 yrs old (as Bruin Montour) ** Justin Ducharme — Glen, 18 years old ** Justin Courchene — Glen, Adult * Darcy Fehr — Glen's Teacher Priest * Darren Felbel — Priest, Saskatchewan * Rebecca Gibson — Sister Mary * Lois Brothers — Glen's Teacher * Fawnda Neckoway - Lyna's Mother * Glenn Cochrane — Lyna's Grandfather * Kayla Contois-Moar — Virginia

Release

''We Were Children'' premiered on 2 October 2012 at the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

, followed by a screening at the

imagineNATIVE Film + 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 People ...

in Toronto on October 18. It was broadcast on the

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is a group of Television in Canada, Canadian Specialty channel, specialty television channels based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The channels broadcast programming produced by or highlighting Indigenous p ...

in March 2013, followed by a DVD release from the

on 12 April 2013.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1934472
Blog post by Lisa Meeches
an
trailer
at the

Global BC CHAN-DT (channel 8), branded Global British Columbia or Global BC (formerly British Columbia Television or BCTV), is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Global Television Networ ...

Morning News, Shaw Media Inc. Films shot in Winnipeg Canadian documentary films 2012 films 2012 documentary films Documentary films about First Nations National Film Board of Canada documentaries Documentary films about child abuse Documentary films about Indigenous rights in Canada Films produced by David Christensen Works about residential schools in Canada 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films English-language documentary films

Production

Cast

Release

See also

References

External links