| Singing Back the Buffalo | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tasha Hubbard |
| Written by | Tasha Hubbard Bonnie Thompson Amethyst First Rider Leroy Littlebear |
| Produced by | Tasha Hubbard George Hupka Jason Ryle |
| Narrated by | Tasha Hubbard Leroy Little Bear |
| Cinematography | George Hupka |
| Edited by | Hans Olson |
| Music by | John McMillan Melody McKiver |
Production companies | Buffalo Song Productions Downstream Documentary Productions |
| Distributed by | Cinema Politica |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Singing Back the Buffalo is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Tasha Hubbard and released in 2024. [1] The film profiles indigenous efforts to restore the buffalo to the North American plains ecosystem after the animals were driven to near extinction. [2]
The film follows the path of the buffalo during the spring, summer and fall of 2022, across the Northern Plains of Canada and the United States. [3]
In 2016, Hubbard was invited to film a historic transfer of buffalo, which were returned from Elk Island National Park to their original territory on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. [4] However, she put the project on pause following the controversial death of Colten Boushie, and turned her attention to making Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up , her film about the Boushie incident which was released in 2019. [1]
Hubbard was then approached to make other films about similar incidents of anti-indigenous violence, but returned to Singing Back the Buffalo after being convinced by her family that she needed to take a break from telling difficult stories and make a film that brought her joy. [1] She resumed production on the film in 2022. [5]
The film premiered at the 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, [6] and had its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. [2]
A shorter edit of the film was broadcast by CBC Television in March 2025 as an episode of The Nature of Things .
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DOXA Documentary Film Festival | Nigel Moore Award | Tasha Hubbard | Honored | [7] |
| Calgary International Film Festival | Best Canadian Documentary | Honored | [8] | ||
| Audience Award | Won | [9] | |||
| Alberta Film and Television Awards | Best Documentary Production Over 30 Minutes | Tasha Hubbard, Bonnie Thompson | Nominated | [10] | |
| Best Production Reflecting Cultural Diversity | Nominated | ||||
| Best Director in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Tasha Hubbard | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenwriter in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Nominated | ||||
| Best Editor in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Hans Olson | Nominated | |||
| Best Overall Sound in a Documentary Over 30 Minutes | Johnny Blerot | Nominated | |||
| Best Original Music Score in a Documentary | John McMillan | Nominated | |||
| Best Narrator in a Web Program or Series | Tasha Hubbard | Won | [11] | ||
| 2025 | imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival | Alanis Obomsawin Award for Best Documentary | Tasha Hubbard | Won | [12] |