Falls Around Her

Last updated
Falls Around Her
Falls Around Her poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Darlene Naponse
Written byDarlene Naponse
Produced byJamie Manning
Darlene Naponse
Simone Urdl
Jennifer Weiss
Starring Tantoo Cardinal
Tina Keeper
Gail Maurice
CinematographyRay Dumas
Edited byTeresa De Luca
Production
companies
Baswewe Films
The Film Farm
Release date
  • September 8, 2018 (2018-09-08)(TIFF)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
Ojibwa

Falls Around Her is a 2018 Canadian drama film, written, produced, and directed by Darlene Naponse. [1] The film stars Tantoo Cardinal as Mary Birchbark, an internationally famous First Nations musician who returns to her home community to recharge and reevaluate her life, only to find that her fame is not so easily left behind. [1]

Contents

The cast also includes Tina Keeper, Gail Maurice, Johnny Issaluk and J.D. Nicholsen. [1] The film was shot on the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation reserve near Sudbury, Ontario.

Despite Cardinal's long and distinguished career as an actress, Falls Around Her was her first-ever starring role as the main protagonist in a film. [2]

The film premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. [3] It subsequently screened as the opening gala of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in October, [1] where it won the Air Canada Audience Choice Award. [4] It opened commercially in April 2019. [5]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 100% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. [6]

Richard Crouse gave the film three and a half stars and wrote, "Falls Around Her is a tale of resilience. When we first meet Mary she's disconnected from the very things that ground her. As she slowly takes back her life, easing out of the road work and a new show in a new town every night, she opens herself to rediscovering what is really important, family, friends, being happy. She is not a victim. She's in control, putting past trauma in the rearview mirror. Cardinal is a living breathing embodiment of Mary's renewal. Her performance dominates the film, a fiery mix of experience, hurt and joy. It's remarkable work, done with a minimum of dialogue, that presents one of the most complex and interesting characters in recent memory." [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tantoo Cardinal</span> Canadian actress

Rose Marie "Tantoo" Cardinal CM is a Canadian actress of Cree and Métis heritage. In 2009, she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada, as a screen and stage actress, and as a founding member of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company."

The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team, and may be presented posthumously.

Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, formerly known as the Whitefish Lake First Nation, is an Ojibway First Nation in northern Ontario, Canada. Its reserve is located at Whitefish Lake 6 on the shores of Whitefish Lake, 20 km southwest of Sudbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Latimer</span> Canadian actor and filmmaker

Michelle Latimer is a Canadian actress, director, writer, and filmmaker. She initially rose to prominence for her role as Trish Simkin on the television series Paradise Falls, shown nationally in Canada on Showcase Television (2001–2004). Since the early 2010s, she has directed several documentaries, including her feature film directorial debut, Alias (2013), and the Viceland series, Rise, which focuses on the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests; the latter won a Canadian Screen Award at the 6th annual ceremony in 2018.

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First Peoples from around the world. The festival includes screenings, parties, panel discussions, and cultural events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cara Gee</span> Canadian actress (born 1983)

Cara Gee is a Canadian film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her roles in the television series Strange Empire and The Expanse. She is described by Forbes as "one of the most prominent indigenous women in the entertainment industry".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Garnet Jones</span> Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter

Adam Garnet Jones is an Indigenous Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter.

Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers is a Blackfoot and Sámi filmmaker, actor, and producer from the Kainai First Nation in Canada. She has won several accolades for her film work, including multiple Canadian Screen Awards.

<i>Hold the Dark</i> 2018 American film

Hold the Dark is a 2018 American action thriller film directed by Jeremy Saulnier from a screenplay by Macon Blair. It is based upon the novel of the same name by William Giraldi. The film stars Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, James Badge Dale, Riley Keough, Tantoo Cardinal, and Julian Black Antelope. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2018 and was released on September 28, 2018, by Netflix.

<i>Edge of the Knife</i> 2018 Haida-language film

Edge of the Knife is a 2018 Canadian drama film co-directed by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown. It is the first feature film spoken only in the Haida language. Set in 19th-century Haida Gwaii, it tells the classic Haida story of a traumatized and stranded man transformed into Gaagiixiid, the wildman.

<i>Through Black Spruce</i> (film) 2018 film by Don McKellar

Through Black Spruce is a 2018 Canadian drama film, directed by Don McKellar. An adaptation of Joseph Boyden's novel Through Black Spruce, the film stars Brandon Oakes, Tantoo Cardinal, Graham Greene, Tanaya Beatty, Parveen Kaur and Roseanne Supernault. The film was shot primarily in Moosonee, Ontario.

<i>The Grizzlies</i> 2018 Canadian film

The Grizzlies is a 2018 Canadian sports drama film, directed by Miranda de Pencier. Based on a true story, the film depicts a youth lacrosse team that was set up to help combat an onslaught of youth suicide in the community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut.

Darlene Naponse is an Anishinaabe filmmaker, writer, director, and community activist from Canada. She is most noted for her 2018 film Falls Around Her, which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018 and subsequently won the Air Canada Audience Choice Award at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in October.

<i>Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up</i> 2019 Canadian film

nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Tasha Hubbard and released in 2019. The film centres on the 2016 death of Colten Boushie, and depicts his family's struggle to attain justice after the controversial acquittal of Boushie's killer. Narrated by Hubbard, the film also includes a number of animated segments which contextualize the broader history of indigenous peoples of Canada.

<i>The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open</i> 2019 film

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open is a 2019 Canadian drama film written and directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn.

Biidaban: First Light is a Canadian immersive virtual reality film, created by Lisa Jackson and released in 2018. The film places viewers in an immersive vision of a Downtown Toronto that has been reclaimed by nature, with vegetation and animals living freely inside the urban landscape, with narration in the indigenous Wendat, Mohawk and Ojibwe languages.

Sort Of is a Canadian television sitcom, released on CBC Television beginning in 2021. Created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, the series stars Baig as Sabi Mehboob, a non-binary millennial trying to balance their roles as a child of Pakistani immigrant parents, a bartender at an LGBTQ bookstore and café, and a caregiver to the young children of a professional couple.

Rosie is a 2022 Canadian comedy-drama film, written, produced, and directed by Gail Maurice. Maurice's feature directorial debut and an expansion of her 2018 short film of the same name, the film centres on Rosie, a young First Nations girl who is sent to live with her aunt Frédérique in Montreal after her mother's death, and learns the value of rebuilding chosen family from Fred and her two-spirit friends Flo and Mo.

<i>Stellar</i> (film) 2022 Canadian film directed by Darlene Naponse

Stellar is a 2022 Canadian romantic drama film, written, produced, and directed by Darlene Naponse. The film stars Braeden Clarke and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as an indigenous man and woman who meet and initiate a romantic relationship, setting off a cosmic chain of events that may save the world from destruction.

Sage Paul is a Denesuliné and Canadian fashion designer who uses fashion design to promote Indigenous cultures. She co-founded and serves as executive and artistic Director of the nonprofit organization Indigenous Fashion Arts.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Falls Around Her opens imagineNATIVE". Northern Stars, August 28, 2018.
  2. "Tantoo Cardinal on getting her first starring role in a feature film". Q , September 5, 2018.
  3. "TIFF 2018: CBC Indigenous lists 6 films to watch". CBC News, August 29, 2018.
  4. "Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her wins imagineNATIVE audience choice award". National Screen Institute, October 26, 2018.
  5. "Indigenous actress Tantoo Cardinal shows her talents in two good movies opening Friday". Toronto Star , March 28, 2019.
  6. "Falls Around Her". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved March 3, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  7. "FALLS AROUND HER: 3 ½ STARS. "Cardinal's performance dominates the film."". richardcrouse.ca. Retrieved March 3, 2024.