SIMILKAMEEN CROSSROADS

[ 2013/2022 . Canada ]

---

Synopsis

---

Similkameen Crossroads is an interactive photo-documentary by Tyler Hagan that explores the relationship between spirituality and landscape in the lives of the Upper & Lower Similkameen First Nations. Their response to colonial influence and oppression over the past several hundred years is juxtaposed with the story of the filmmaker discovering his Métis heritage, and struggling with the implications of having a shared history with both the colonizers and colonized.

In early summer of 2021, St. Ann’s Catholic Church, the building at the centre of Similkameen Crossroads, was burnt to the ground in response to the identification of hundreds of unmarked children’s graves at the site of a nearby ex-residential school. Many other Catholic churches located on Indigenous land across Canada were also burned and vandalized. In this context of violent emotion, we returned to the community and once again speaks with Carrie Allison, the church’s caretaker, to get her perspective on what happened. A new prologue addressing this revelation now accompanies the interactive documentary.

---

Crew

---

director TYLER HAGAN
producers JEN MOSS & DANA DANSEREAU
executive producer LOC DAO
writers TYLER HAGAN & JEN MOSS
art director JEREMY MENDES
photographer TYLER HAGAN 
motion picture photography KATHLEEN HEPBURN & CHRIS MENNELL
editor TYLER HAGAN
composer ERIC POWELL
sound design DAN LEAVERS


Produced by the National Film Board of Canada

www.nfb.ca/crossroads︎︎︎