{{Infobox film | name = We Were Children | image = | alt = | caption = | director = Tim Wolochatiuk | producer = {{Plain list| * Kyle Irving * [[David Christensen]] }} | writer = [[Jason Sherman]] | screenplay = | story = | based_on = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} --> | narrator = | starring = | music = [[Shawn Pierce]] | cinematography = {{Plain list| * [[Jeremy Benning]] * Kim Bell }} | editing = John Whitcher | studio = {{plainlist| * [[Eagle Vision (company)|Eagle Vision]] * [[Entertainment One|eOne Television]] * [[National Film Board of Canada]] }} | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2012|10|02|[[Vancouver International Film Festival]]|2017|03|18|streaming}} | runtime = 82 m 50 s<ref name="nfbcoll">{{cite web|url=http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=58462|title=We Were Children|work=Collection page|date=11 October 2012|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|accessdate=17 November 2012}}</ref> | country = Canada | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''We Were Children''''' is a 2012 Canadian [[documentary film]] about the experiences of [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] children in the [[Canadian Indian residential school system]].<ref name="Cole" /><ref name="Sison" /><ref name=":0" /> Directed by Tim Wolochatiuk and written by [[Jason Sherman]], the film recounts the experiences of two residential school survivors: Lyna Hart, who attended the Guy Hill Residential School in [[Manitoba]], and Glen Anaquod, who attended the Lebret Indian Residential School in [[Saskatchewan]]. ''We Were Children'' presents their experiences through a combination of personal interviews and dramatic recreations.<ref name="Cole">{{cite news|url=https://www.straight.com/article-799361/vancouver/viff-2012-we-were-children-depicts-residential-school-stories|title=VIFF 2012: We Were Children depicts residential school stories|last=Cole|first=Yolande|date=2 October 2012|work=[[Georgia Straight]]|publisher=Vancouver Free Press|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref><ref name="Sison">{{cite journal|last=Sison|first=Marites N.|date=26 September 2012|title=Film tells stories of residential school survivors|journal=[[Anglican Journal]]|issn=0847-978X|url=http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/other/news-items/p/2/c/sliders/article/film-tells-stories-of-residential-school-survivors-11191//abp/141.html|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/09/28/viff-review-we-were-children/ |title=VIFF review: We Were Children |date=28 September 2012 |work=[[Vancouver Province]] |publisher=Postmedia Network Inc. |accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Cole" /> Anaquod died on May 31, 2011, before the film's completion; his family was given a [[private screening]].<ref name="Sison" /> Hart died on January 3, 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Lyna-Hart-prominent-member-of-Winnipegs-indigenous-community-passes-away-287840811.html|title=Jan 2015: Lyna Hart, prominent member of Winnipeg's indigenous community, passes away|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=7 January 2015}}</ref>

==Production== [[Eagle Vision (company)|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]]—has stated that the idea for the film originated from a discussion she had had at the [[Banff World Media Festival]].<ref name="cbc">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/we-were-children-a-healing-journey-for-residential-school-survivors-1.1216765|title=We Were Children 'a healing journey' for residential school survivors|date=19 October 2012|work=[[CBC News]]|access-date=16 November 2012}}</ref> It was Meeches who approached director Tim Wolochatiuk with the project.<ref name="Global BC">{{cite video | url=http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/interview+with+the+filmmakers+of+we+were+children/video.html?v=2286032691#guests | title=Interview with the filmmakers of 'We Were Children' | publisher=[[Global BC]] Morning News | date=2 October 2012 | medium=Video interview | location=Vancouver}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The film was shot in [[Manitoba]], namely in [[Winnipeg]], [[St-Pierre-Jolys]], and at the former Portage residential school (now the Rufus Prince building) in [[Portage la Prairie]]. It was produced by Kyle Irving for Eagle Vision, Loren Mawhinney for [[EOne|eOne Television]], and produced and executive produced by [[David Christensen]] for the [[National Film Board of Canada]].<ref name="Cole" /><ref name="Sison" /><ref name="Maxwell">{{cite news|url=http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/2011/08/25/documentary-on-residential-schools-shoots-in-portage|title=Documentary on residential schools shoots in Portage|last=Maxwell|first=Jordan|date=26 August 2011|work=Portage Daily Graphic|accessdate=17 November 2012}}</ref>

[[CBC Manitoba]] reporter Sheila North Wilson assisted the production by translating material in the script from English to [[Cree language|Cree]].<ref name="North Wilson">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/other/2012/02/02/cbc-reporter-on-the-pain-brought-by-translating-for-residential-schools-documentary/|title=Behind the scenes of made in Manitoba docudrama "We Were Children"|last=North Wilson|first=Sheila|date=2 February 2012|work=CBC Manitoba Scene|publisher=[[CBC News]]|accessdate=21 November 2012}}</ref>

== Cast == The film's [[Cast member|cast]] includes both acting performances and interviewees, as ''We Were Children'' combines interviews of its two subjects with [[Historical reenactment|dramatic recreations]] of their experiences. Among the cast were:<ref>{{IMDb title|1934472}}

[http://www.nfb.ca/film/we_were_children ''We Were Children''] at the [[National Film Board of Canada]]</ref>

* 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]],<ref name="Cole"/> followed by a screening at the [[imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival]] in Toronto on October 18. It was broadcast on the [[Aboriginal Peoples Television Network]] in March 2013,<ref name="cbc"/> followed by a DVD release from the [[National Film Board of Canada]] on 12 April 2013.<ref name="Sison"/>

==See also== * ''[[Sleeping Children Awake]]'', a 1992 documentary about residential schools *''[[Where the Spirit Lives]]'', a 1989 drama about residential schools *''[[Our Spirits Don't Speak English]]'', a 2008 documentary film about [[Native American boarding schools]] in the United States

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|1934472}} * [http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2012/10/02/we-were-children/ Blog post by Lisa Meeches] and [http://www.nfb.ca/film/we_were_children trailer] at the [[National Film Board of Canada]] * [[Global BC]] Morning News, Shaw Media Inc. {{Residential schools in Canada}}

[[Category:Films shot in Winnipeg]] [[Category:Canadian documentary films]] [[Category:2012 films]] [[Category:2012 documentary films]] [[Category:Documentary films about First Nations in Canada]] [[Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries]] [[Category:Documentary films about child abuse in Canada]] [[Category:Films produced by David Christensen]] [[Category:Documentary films about residential schools in Canada]] [[Category:2012 English-language films]] [[Category:2012 Canadian films]] [[Category:English-language documentary films]] [[Category:Algonquian peoples in popular culture]]