Rhymes for Young Ghouls

Last updated

Rhymes for Young Ghouls
Rhymes for Young Ghouls poster.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by Jeff Barnaby
Written byJeff Barnaby
Produced by Aisling Chin-Yee
John Christou
Starring Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs
Glen Gould
Brandon Oakes
Cinematography Michel St-Martin
Edited byJeff Barnaby
Mathieu Belanger
Music byJeff Barnaby
Joe Barrucco
Distributed byLes Films Séville
monterey media inc. (usa)
Release date
  • 9 September 2013 (2013-09-09)(TIFF)
[1]
Running time
88 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
Mi'kmaq
Budget$1,500,000 CAD [2]

Rhymes for Young Ghouls is a 2013 Canadian independent drama film and the feature-film debut of writer-director Jeff Barnaby. Set in 1976 on the fictional Red Crow Mi'kmaq reservation, it takes place in the context of the Canadian residential school system. [3]

Contents

Although it tells the fictional story of a teenager named Aila and her plot for revenge, it is based on the history of abuse of the First Nations people by government agents, including a large number of reported cases of the mental and physical abuse of residential school children. [3] It is presented from the perspective of a teenage girl. [3]

Plot

The film opens with a brief prologue explaining the history of Canadian First Nations children being compelled by law to attend Indian residential schools. In 1969, the prepubescent Aila (Miika Whiskeyjack) lives with her father Joseph (Glen Gould), mother Anna (Roseanne Supernault) and younger brother Tyler at the fictional Red Crow Indian Reservation, a Mi'kmaq Indian reserve. Aila's parents consume drugs and alcohol to cope with the abuse they suffered at St. Dymphna's residential school. Tyler is killed by Anna during a drunk driving incident. The grief-stricken Anna dies by suicide while Joseph takes the blame and is imprisoned.

The film fast forwards seven years later to 1976. In her father's absence, the now-teenage Aila (Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs) takes over her father's drug dealing business in the care of her uncle Burner (Brandon Oakes), who himself consumes and sells drugs. To avoid being sent to St. Dymphna's school, Aila uses the proceeds from the drug money to bribe the corrupt and abusive Indian agent Popper (Mark Antony Krupa), who runs the school. In flashback scenes, it is show that a younger Popper (Sheamas Graham) was bullied by several Mi'kmaq youths including Burner. A younger Joseph (Muin Gould) comes to his aid but Popper spurns his offer of friendship and develops a hatred for the Indians in the reserve.

One day, Aila's drug money is stolen. Her predicament is complicated when her father Joseph is released from prison and returns to the Red Crow Reserve. Relations between daughter and father are initially frayed; Aila resents her father for not being there, while Joseph is unhappy that his daughter is involved in the drug business. Aila and three friends later hatch a plot to break into St. Dymphna's with the assistance of one of the resident boys, Jujijj (Shako Mattawa Jacobs), and steal the required money. However, Burner betrays them to Popper, who arrests Joseph on trumped-up property damage charges and sends Aila to St. Dymphna's.

During her induction, Aila is shorn of her long braids and imprisoned in a cell. However, she is freed by a local resident boy. Seeking revenge against Popper, Aila and her friends don Halloween costumes and break into St Dymphna's. They free Joseph and steal C$ 20,000 from Popper's office. After escaping, Aila reconciles with her father, who tells her that she is not to blame for the death of her mother and the cycle of abuse that occurred at St Dymphna's.

However, Popper catches up with them and knocks Joseph down with a rifle butt. Popper attempts to rape Aila but is shot dead by the local resident boy who freed Aila. To protect the young boy and his daughter, Joseph takes the fall for killing Popper. Gisigu (Stewart Myiow), a friend of her grandfather, becomes her mentor and promises to help steer her away from dealing with drugs. Aila also befriends the young boy who saved her and her dad from Popper.

Cast

The cast of the film includes: [4]

Production

Prospector Films of Montreal produced the film, which was shot from 21 October to 22 November 2012. [5]

Release and reception

Rhymes for Young Ghouls had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2013. [6] Its first theatrical release was on 31 January 2014 in Toronto. [3] [1] [7] [8]

The film has inspired the creation of The Aila Test, a litmus test used to analyze representation of indigenous female characters. [9]

Awards

Awards [10]
DateAwardCategoryResult
2012 Tribeca All AccessCreative Promise Award for NarrativeWon
2013 Vancouver International Film Festival [11] Best Canadian Film
Co-winner with That Burning Feeling
Won
2014 2013 Canadian Screen Awards [1] [7] [8] Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs)Nominated
Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award$50 000 in services from Technicolor, selected by Norman Jewison Won
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award Best Director of a Canadian Film (Jeff Barnaby)Won
Best First Film by a Canadian DirectorNominated
American Indian Film Festival Best Actor (Glen Gould)Won
Best Director (Jeff Barnaby)Won
Seattle International Film Festival Futurewave Youth Jury Award (Jeff Barnaby)Nominated
New Director's Showcase Award (Jeff Barnaby)Nominated
Munich Film Festival CineVision Award for Best Film By An Emerging Director (Jeff Barnaby)Nominated
2015 Jutra Awards Meilleure Musique Originale [Best Score] (Jeff Barnaby and Joe Barrucco)Nominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inhalant</span> Chemical, often household, breathed in to cause intoxication

Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They are inhaled at room temperature through volatilization or from a pressurized container, and do not include drugs that are sniffed after burning or heating. For example, amyl nitrite (poppers), nitrous oxide and toluene – a solvent widely used in contact cement, permanent markers, and certain types of glue – are considered inhalants, but smoking tobacco, cannabis, and crack cocaine are not, even though these drugs are inhaled as smoke or vapor.

John Joseph "Jack" Geoghan was an American serial child rapist and Catholic priest assigned to parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts. He was reassigned to several parish posts involving interaction with children, even after receiving treatment for pedophilia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mi'kmaq</span> Indigenous ethnic group of eastern North America

The Mi'kmaq are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as Native Americans in the northeastern region of Maine. The traditional national territory of the Mi'kmaq is named Miꞌkmaꞌki.

Glen Gould is an Indigenous Canadian actor, director and producer of Miꞌkmaq and Italian descent. Between 2016 and 2020, he played the role of detective Jerry Commanda on the television series Cardinal.

Rita Joe, was a Mi'kmaq poet and songwriter, often referred to as the Poet Laureate of the Mi'kmaq people.

<i>The Boys of St. Vincent</i> 1992 Canadian TV series or program

The Boys of St. Vincent is a 1992 Canadian television miniseries directed by John N. Smith for the National Film Board of Canada. It is a two-part docudrama inspired by real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland, one of a number of child sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church.

<i>Ghoul</i> (novel) 2007 novel by Brian Keene

Ghoul is a horror novel by Brian Keene, first published in 2007. The novel follows three young boys during summer vacation as they learn that a ghoul is threatening the peace of their town. It has been published in both English and German and Ghoul was adapted into a television film that aired in 2012 on Chiller.

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Canada are well documented dating back to the 1960s. The preponderance of criminal cases with Canadian Catholic dioceses named as defendants that have surfaced since the 1980s strongly indicate that these cases were far more widespread than previously believed. While recent media reports have centred on Newfoundland dioceses, there have been reported cases—tested in court with criminal convictions—in almost all Canadian provinces. Sexual assault is the act of an individual touching another individual sexually and/or committing sexual activities forcefully and/or without the other person's consent. The phrase Catholic sexual abuse cases refers to acts of sexual abuse, typically child sexual abuse, by members of authority in the Catholic church, such as priests. Such cases have been occurring sporadically since the 11th century in Catholic churches around the world. This article summarizes some of the most notable Catholic sexual abuse cases in Canadian provinces.

Ophelia Lucy Lovibond is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Carina in the film Guardians of the Galaxy, Izzy Gould in the BBC's W1A, Joyce Prigger in Starz's Minx, and Kitty Winter in CBS's Elementary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native Americans in film</span> Depiction of Native Americans

The portrayal of Native Americans in television and films concerns indigenous roles in cinema, particularly their depiction in Hollywood productions. Especially in the Western genre, Native American stock characters can reflect contemporary and historical perceptions of Native Americans and the Wild West.

<i>Blackstone</i> (TV series) Canadian dramatic television series

Blackstone is a Canadian television series which aired on APTN and Showcase. Written, created, directed, and produced by Canadian producer Ron E. Scott, the series began filming its first season in 2010 in and around Edmonton, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Di Luccio</span> Musical artist

Natalie Di Luccio is an Italian-Canadian classical-crossover singer from Toronto, Ontario. She is often referred to as "Bollywood's Soprano" because of her unique renditions of Indian classics.

Roseanne Supernault is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for her roles as Natalie Stoney in the television series Blackstone and as the title character in the 2013 film Maïna. Originally from East Prairie, Alberta, she is of Métis and Cree descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devery Jacobs</span> Canadian actress

Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, known professionally as Devery Jacobs, is an Indigenous Canadian (Mohawk) actress and writer. For her performance in Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013), she garnered a Canadian Screen Awards nomination for Best Actress. In 2023, for her role on Reservation Dogs, she was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

<i>Indian Horse</i> 2012 novel by Canadian writer Richard Wagamese

Indian Horse is a novel by Canadian writer Richard Wagamese, published by Douglas & McIntyre in 2012. The novel centres on Saul Indian Horse, a First Nations boy from Ontario who survives the residential school system and becomes a talented ice hockey player, only for his past traumas to resurface in his adulthood.

Jeff Barnaby was a Mi'kmaq and Canadian film director, writer, composer, and film editor. He is known for his horror films Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum.

Indigenous peoples of Canada are culturally diverse. Each group has its own literature, language and culture. The term "Indigenous literature" therefore can be misleading. As writer Jeannette Armstrong states in one interview, "I would stay away from the idea of "Native" literature, there is no such thing. There is Mohawk literature, there is Okanagan literature, but there is no generic Native in 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.

This Place is a Canadian drama film, directed by V. T. Nayani and released in 2022. The film stars Devery Jacobs and Priya Guns as Kawenniióhstha and Malai, two young queer women who fall in love while both confronting family difficulties: Kawenniióhstha is searching for her estranged Iranian father, while Malai's father is seriously ill.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Rhymes for Young Ghouls". TIFF. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  2. "Box Office, Rhymes for Young Ghouls". IMDb. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cupryn, Isabel. "Rhymes for Young Ghouls - Capsule Review". Canadian Film Review. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  4. "Full Cast & Crew". IMDb . Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  5. Ng See Quan, Danielle (24 October 2012). "Cameras roll on Rhymes for Young Ghouls". Playback. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  6. "Rhymes for Young Ghouls selected to World Premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival". Prospector Films. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 Rockne Corrigan, David (8 August 2013). "TIFF lineup features Monteith, Gyllenhaal, Radcliffe". Ottawa Citizen. Postmedia News. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Rhymes for Young Ghouls". Telefilm Canada. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  9. Vassar, Shea (14 May 2020). "The 'Aila Test' evaluates representation of Indigenous women in media". www.hcn.org.
  10. awards Awards for Rhymes for Young Ghouls at IMDb
  11. Danielle Ng See Quan, "It’s a tie: VIFF picks two for Best Canadian First Feature". Playback , October 15, 2013.