The Cinematheque

To honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this program presents two stories of families impacted by residential schools. In Endless Sunlight, Tyson Houseman (nêhiyaw) connects five generations of matriarchal lineage. Kokum Penny Roan shares her relatives’ experiences with the residential school system—like her uncle burning down an institution when he was seven—overlaid with images of her granddaughter Osa Roan harvesting birch bark. What We Carry, the debut feature documentary of Jessie Anthony (Onondaga), follows the reconciliation journey for descendants of a residential school teacher. Katrinka and her daughter Bracken discover a trunk filled with the memories of their late mother and grandmother Jennifer Notley, who taught at the Desmarais Residential School (St. Martin’s) for five years in the 1960s. Bigstone Cree Nation members Kat McDermott and Willow Auger introduce the pair to the community to search for the truth and the ways we are interconnected.

Endless Sunlight
Canada 2026
Tyson Houseman
8 min. DCP

What We Carry
Canada 2025
Jessie Anthony
88 min. DCP