‘Cinema of truth’: An honest depiction of Indigenous masculinity screens at RIDM

The 28th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival is underway, showcasing a selection of nearly 140 films from both local and international talent and among the filmmakers featured is director Sinakson Trevor Solway, whose 77-minute documentary entitled Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man, offers a rare and intimate glimpse into Indigenous masculinity.

Set in the prairies on the Siksika Nation of Alberta, Solway describes a long and at times challenging process that took over four years of filming and 90 days of editing in order to authentically showcase the truths and realities of people’s lives without being too intrusive.

“We had this ‘cinéma vérité’ approach that was very observational, very hands-off, and having those 90 days gave us the freedom to explore all these different narratives and not feel like we’re pigeonholed into telling one type of story,” explained Solway.

Too often depicted as one-dimensional beings in the media, in Western films or sports logos, Solway says he realized there was much more complexity to the men he grew up observing.

“The men in my life, they were tough and they were brave and courageous, but they were also sensitive, caring and nurturing, and so I wanted to make a film that allowed space for all those things to exist,” he added.

Before bringing the Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man to any premiere theatre event or festival, Solway says the film was shown to an audience in Siksika in a special and private moment.

“Rarely do we get to look at men for an extended period of time in this kind of emotional or vulnerable space,” he said. “It was really a special moment to see your people see themselves represented on the screen, and I think that just starts to open up their eyes for what their potential could be.”

“It was such an amazing subject in the reality right now, where toxic masculinity is discussed, but through the lens of an Indigenous filmmaker in the community, and I think the originality, the tenderness and the sensitiveness in the way that he portrayed that was amazing,” said Anne-Claire Lefaivre, assistant director general of programming and marketing at the National Film Board.

And with a blossoming partnership between Solway and the NFB, whose mandate to tell rich and diverse Canadian and Indigenous stories throughout the country, eventually led to the documentary’s success.

After premiering at Hot Docs Cinema and receiving an abundance of positive feedback and support, Solway’s documentary is one of 57 national films being showcased for RIDM this year, with Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man screening twice on Nov. 22 and 24.

“I think the quality of the film, the quality of the images and the beauty of the film just convinced the programmers that it was something they could program,” said Lefaivre.

Though Solway says that while he’s enjoying this special moment, he already has his eyes set on a new idea after feeling inspired while filming the Blackfoot ancestral ceremonial dance.

“I want to create a documentary in a similar style that explores the Prairie Chicken Dance — it’s one of our sacred societies in Siksika, and I think it’s, it’ll be nice for the world to see the kind of values and lessons that come out of that dance,” he explained.