Atikamekw Suns (Canada) by Chloé Leriche

On June 26, 1977, a vehicle drives into a river outside the Atikamekw community of Manawan in northern Québec. Two Whites survive the accident, but five Atikamekw lose their lives. The police conclude it was an accident, but for the victims' families, many questions remain unanswered. A historical and poetic story — choral in structure, a hybrid between documentary and fiction — Soleils Atikamekw (Atikamekw Suns) is freely inspired by the dreams, impressions, and memories of the victims’ loved ones. Over the course of seven years, the filmmaker accompanied the families of the five victims of June 26, 1977, involving them both in front of and behind the camera – playing the role of their grandparents or sharing their inability to put behind them their grief and their humiliation they suffered from the authorities. In Canada, despite appearances, racism against First Nations is still rampant in public services, as recently demonstrated by the death in hospital of Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw woman, in 2020.

Running time: 01:43:00