{{short description|2022 Canadian drama film}} {{Infobox film | name = Bones of Crows | image = Bones of Crows poster.jpg | caption = Film poster | director = [[Marie Clements]] | producer = Marie Clements<br>[[Trish Dolman]]<br>[[Sam Grana]]<br>Christine Haebler | writer = Marie Clements | starring = [[Grace Dove]] | music = [[Wayne Lavallee]]<br>[[Jesse Zubot]] | cinematography = [[Vince Arvidson]] | editing = Maxime Lahaie | studio = Ayasew Ooskana Pictures<br>Marie Clements Media<br>Screen Siren Pictures<br>Grana Productions | distributor = Elevation Pictures | runtime = 127 minutes | released = {{film date|2022|09|10|[[2022 Toronto International Film Festival|TIFF]]}} | country = Canada | language = English<br>Cree<br>Italian<br>French | budget = }} '''''Bones of Crows''''' is a 2022 Canadian drama film, written, produced, and directed by [[Marie Clements]] and starring [[Grace Dove]].<ref>[https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/local-arts/local-actor-grace-dove-stars-in-new-psychological-drama-4693953 "Local actor Grace Dove stars in new psychological drama"]. ''[[Prince George Citizen]]'', October 27, 2021.</ref>
The film's cast also includes Summer Testawich and Carla-Rae as Aline Spears in childhood and older age, as well as [[Phillip Lewitski]], [[Rémy Girard]], [[Karine Vanasse]], [[Michelle Thrush]], [[Glen Gould]], [[Gail Maurice]], [[Cara Gee]], [[Joshua Odjick]], [[Jonathan Whitesell]], [[Jules Arita Koostachin]] and [[Alanis Obomsawin]] in supporting roles.
The film premiered at the [[2022 Toronto International Film Festival|Toronto International Film Festival]] on September 10, 2022,<ref>Pat Mullen, [https://thatshelf.com/tiff-announces-canadian-films-for-2022-festival/ "TIFF Announces Canadian Films for 2022 Festival"]. ''That Shelf'', August 10, 2022.</ref> before going into commercial release on June 2, 2023.<ref>Gail Johnson, [https://www.createastir.ca/articles/bones-of-crows "Bones of Crows launches in movie theatres across Canada, starting June 2"]. ''STir'', May 31, 2023.</ref>
==Plot== A [[Cree people|Cree]] woman survives the [[Indian residential school system]] to become a [[code talker]] for the [[Canadian Air Force]] during [[World War II]].
==Cast== {{castlist| *[[Grace Dove]] as Aline Spears *[[Phillip Lewitski]] as Adam Whallach *[[Rémy Girard]] as Father Jacobs *[[Karine Vanasse]] as Sister Ruth *[[Alyssa Wapanatahk]] as Perseverance Spears *[[Michelle Thrush]] as January Spears *[[Glen Gould]] as Matthew Spears *[[Gail Maurice]] as Older Taylor Whallach *Carla-Rae as Older Aline Spears *[[Cara Gee]] as Percy Whallach *[[Jonathan Whitesell]] as Thomas Miller *Patrick Garrow as Archbishop Thomas Miller *Summer Testawich as Young Aline Spears *Sierra Rose McRae as Young Perseverance Spears *Ethan Evans as Preteen Johnnie *Payne Merasty as Young Tye Spears *[[Alanis Obomsawin]] as TRC Film Director *[[Joshua Odjick]] as Jake Whallach }}
==Production== The film was shot partially at the [[Kamloops Indian Residential School]]. Although the revelation of 215 [[Canadian Indian residential school gravesites|unmarked gravesites]] at the school took place just one week before shooting was to start, the [[Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc]] nation encouraged production to proceed because of the importance of getting residential school stories publicized and told.<ref>Rachel Ho, [https://exclaim.ca/film/article/marie_clements_brings_the_truth_of_residential_schools_to_the_big_screen "Marie Clements Brings the Truth of Residential Schools to the Big Screen"]. ''[[Exclaim!]]'', May 31, 2023.</ref>
==Television series== In 2021, [[CBC Television]] announced a five-hour limited series, which delves more deeply into Spears' extended family history over 100 years.<ref>[https://www.tv-eh.com/2021/10/27/cbc-radio-canada-aptn-and-ayasew-ooskana-pictures-announce-casting-and-start-of-production-on-marie-clements-bones-of-crows/ "CBC/RADIO CANADA, APTN AND AYASEW OOSKANA PICTURES ANNOUNCE CASTING AND START OF PRODUCTION ON MARIE CLEMENTS’ BONES OF CROWS"]. ''TV, eh?'', October 27, 2021.</ref>
The television version premiered on September 20, 2023, on both CBC<ref name=setsfall>Greg David, [https://www.tv-eh.com/2023/08/24/cbc-sets-call-2023-streaming-and-broadcast-premiere-dates-for-new-and-returning-original-series-on-cbc-gem-and-cbc-television/ "CBC sets fall 2023 streaming and broadcast premiere dates for new and returning original series on CBC Gem and CBC Television"]. ''TV, eh?'', August 24, 2023.</ref> and [[Aboriginal Peoples Television Network|APTN]], with a [[Cree language]] version also airing on APTN beginning September 25.<ref>Greg David, [https://www.tv-eh.com/2023/08/30/changing-leaves-inspiring-stories-aptn-unveils-fall-programming-with-indigenous-resilience-at-its-core/ "Changing leaves, inspiring stories: APTN unveils fall programming with Indigenous resilience at its core"]. ''TV, eh?'', August 30, 2023.</ref>
==Reception== ===Critical response=== {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|95|7.8|19}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bones_of_crows|title=Bones of Crows|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=May 3, 2024}}</ref>
Aparita Bhandari of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' wrote that "Although it’s a difficult film to watch, the loving way in which it depicts Indigenous families and their traditions, including a simple family dinner, offers a perspective often missing from news stories. The historical span from the late 1800s to present day also gives the film heft; the flashbacks used to reflect how memories carry intergenerational trauma are a poignant device. It’s a gift to watch the largely Indigenous cast bring to life a story that many of them have a personal connection to."<ref>Aparita Bhandari, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-marie-clements-wont-let-canada-forget-its-painful-past-with-sweeping/ "Marie Clements won’t let Canada forget its painful past with sweeping epic Bones of Crows"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', May 31, 2023</ref>
For ''Original Cin'', Kim Hughes wrote that "Clements’ searing film — notably and beautifully shot on traditional territories and with its unanimously strong performances abetted by a brilliant cameo by filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin — is unsparing, as perhaps it must be. The horrors of residential schools should be perceived through a lens of revulsion and deep regret. Still, it is very hard to watch children being stomped on, tortured, molested, dying, and then to watch their adult selves funneling all that trauma into behaviour guaranteed to further compound their suffering and disenfranchisement. Equal parts indictment and historical score-setter, Bones of Crows is the film we deserve, its message of personal and spiritual resilience unmistakable. But enter knowing it is bleak beyond the most chilling slasher flick. Because it’s true."<ref>Kim Hughes, [https://www.original-cin.ca/posts/2023/6/1/bones-of-crows-fact-based-drama-depicts-the-horrors-of-residential-schools "Bones of Crows: Fact-Based Drama Depicts the Horrors of Residential Schools"]. ''Original Cin'', June 1, 2023.</ref>
===Awards=== The film received five [[Canadian Screen Award]] nominations at the [[11th Canadian Screen Awards]] in 2023, for [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] (Clements), [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] (Clements, [[Wayne Lavallee]] and [[Jesse Zubot]] for "You Are My Bones"), [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Makeup|Best Makeup]] (Darci Jackson and Elizabeth McLeod), [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Hair|Best Hair]] (Charlene Dunn) and [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Visual Effects|Best Visual Effects]] (Eric Gambini, Sarah Krusch Flanagan, Louis Mackall, Virginie Strub, Andrew Joe, Gabriel Chiang and Linus Burghardt).<ref>[https://windsorfilmfestival.com/the-2023-canadian-screen-award-nominees/ "The 2023 Canadian Screen Award Nominees"]. ''[[Windsor International Film Festival]]'', February 22, 2023.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|21342838}}
{{Residential schools in Canada}}
[[Category:2022 films]] [[Category:2022 drama films]] [[Category:Canadian drama films]] [[Category:Films directed by Marie Clements]] [[Category:2022 English-language films]] [[Category:English-language Canadian films]] [[Category:Cree-language films]] [[Category:Italian-language Canadian films]] [[Category:2022 Canadian films]] [[Category:2023 Canadian television series debuts]] [[Category:2020s Canadian drama television series]] [[Category:CBC Television original programming]] [[Category:Aboriginal Peoples Television Network original programming]] [[Category:Films about residential schools in Canada]] [[Category:English-language drama films]]