The Road Forward

{{italic title}} '''''The Road Forward''''' is a 2017 musical documentary film written and directed by [[Marie Clements]] about key moments in the history of [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Indigenous rights in Canada]], from the 1930s to today. The film was produced by the [[National Film Board of Canada]].

Clements has stated that the idea for the project came from browsing years of headlines in ''Native Voice'', an Indigenous newspaper from British Columbia that she first heard of while doing research for the 2010 Cultural Olympics, during the [[2010 Winter Olympics|Vancouver Olympics]]. Inspired by the headlines and stories, she began writing lyrics. She then worked with friends who were composers, to set music to her lyrics.<ref name=q>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/wednesday-april-26-2017-bob-mankoff-marie-clements-and-more-1.4082549/the-road-forward-an-innovative-documentary-explores-indigenous-activism-through-songs-1.4082561|title=The Road Forward: an innovative documentary explores Indigenous activism through songs|date=2017-04-26|work=CBC Radio|access-date=2017-04-28|language=en}}</ref><ref name=unreserved>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/reclaiming-retelling-and-revisioning-indigenous-stories-1.4079554/dene-m%C3%A9tis-filmmaker-inspired-by-1930s-indigenous-activists-1.4079646|title=Dene/Métis filmmaker inspired by 1930s Indigenous activists|date=2017-04-23|work=CBC Radio|access-date=2017-04-28|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Gee>{{Cite news|url=https://theprovince.com/entertainment/festivals/doxa+festival+important+role+telling+untold+stories/13329127/story.html|title=DOXA: Festival has important role telling untold stories|last=Gee|first=Dana|date=2017-04-26|work=Vancouver Province|access-date=2017-04-28|language=en-CA}}</ref>

In the film, members of the [[Native Brotherhood of British Columbia|Native Brotherhood]] and Native Sisterhood discuss the beginnings of their organizations, in 1931 and 1933 respectively, and how ''Native Voice'' had helped unite [[First Nations in British Columbia]].<ref name=Gee/>

''The Road Forward'' was initially presented as a musical theatre show in 2015, at Vancouver's [[Touchstone Theatre]]. The film features such Indigenous actors and musicians as Murray Porter, [[Michelle St. John]], [[Cheri Maracle]] and [[Evan Adams]], as well as songwriter [[Wayne Lavallee]], actor and singer [[Cheri Maracle]], hip-hop artist Ronnie Dean Harris, and [[Métis in Canada|Métis]] fiddler Jeremy James Lavallee.<ref name="unreserved" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/the-bold-future-of-indigenous-documentary-cinema/article34758558/|title=The bold future of Indigenous documentary cinema|last=Taylor|first=Kate|date=2017-04-20|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=2017-04-28|language=en-ca}}</ref>

==Release== The film premiered on April 30, 2017, at the [[Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival]] in Toronto.<ref name="q" /> It subsequently opened the [[DOXA Documentary Film Festival]] in Vancouver on May 4.<ref name=unreserved/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{Official website|https://www.nfb.ca/film/road_forward/}} *{{IMDb title|6850078}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Road Forward, The}} [[Category:2017 films]] [[Category:Documentary films about First Nations in Canada]] [[Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries]] [[Category:Documentary films about Indigenous rights in Canada]] [[Category:First Nations history in British Columbia]] [[Category:Films shot in British Columbia]] [[Category:Films set in British Columbia]] [[Category:Films based on musicals]] [[Category:Films directed by Marie Clements]] [[Category:2017 Canadian films]]