Angela’s Shadow

Dir. Jules Koostachin
2024, Canada, 93 min

Angela and Henry, a young couple with a baby on the way, embark on a short trip up to the Cree community of KiiWeeTin to visit Angela’s beloved childhood nanny, Mary. The night before they leave, a menacing shadow figure starts harassing Angela. Mary, thrilled to have Elizabeth back, is eager to bless and protect Angela and her unborn child with illegal Cree ceremonies and medicine. The shadow figure continues to plague Angela, forcing Mary to reveal the truth: Angela is Mary’s niece, and the shadow figure is the spirit of Angela’s twin sister, AaSheNii. As the darker-skinned twin, AaSheNii couldn’t escape residential school the way Angela did. It was only after the nuns starved her to death that Mary came to Ottawa to help raise Angela as her nanny. It all comes clear: Mary has summoned Angela to KiiWeeTin to draw her into her Cree community and bring peace to AaSheNii’s restless spirit. When Henry hears the news, his wannabe-anthropologist heart is ecstatic. Then, as Angela’s fear dissipates, Mary convinces her to stay in KiiWeeTin and have her baby there. Henry’s outward enthusiasm masks a growing discomfort. The thought that his perfect, pure, unborn baby is part “Indian” starts to eat at him. He begins to see AaSheNii’s shadow spirit; terrified, he decides to save Angela and his child from these “unclean savages”. Torn between staying with her new family and placating the increasingly unstable Henry, Angela agrees to go back to Ottawa, until Henry-plagued by AaSheNii-descends into a murderous psychotic break. Angela, now in early labour, hides in the bush, where Mary helps her give birth. When Henry finds them, Angela must trust her sister’s spirit, and her new-found traditions, to save herself and protect her daughter.

Join us on July 19 for a Q&A with filmmaker Jules Koostachin.

You may also like the following events from Dave Barber Cinematheque:

• This Thursday, 17th July, 07:00 pm, Staff Picks: Dog Day Afternoon in Winnipeg
• This Friday, 18th July, 07:00 pm, Cloud in Winnipeg
• Next Wednesday, 23rd July, 07:00 pm, Okurimono in Winnipeg