The Kingston Canadian Film Festival kicks off this Friday with the nation’s largest showcase devoted exclusively to Canadian film. KCFF features a mix of in-person and digital screenings this year as things get back to normal. There’s a strong crop of docs in the mix too, including three-time Canadian Screen Award nominee Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, for which POV is proud to be a partner of the film’s KCFF screening. This doc by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is a powerful portrait of the Kainai First Nations’ response to the opioid crisis as Tailfeathers returns home to her community and observes as her mother, Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, is among the community elders leading a humanist approach to the epidemic. Kímmapiiyipitssini is among the most acclaimed docs on the Canadian circuit since its award-winning debut at Hot Docs last spring.
POV is also co-presenting the digital debut of The Secret Society at KCFF. Directed by Rebecca Campbell, The Secret Society offers a multifaceted study of women’s infertility. Both docs show women on the frontlines of two urgent stories of health, care, and community.
Thanks to our friends at KCFF, POV has passes to give away to attend the digital premieres of Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy and The Secret Society. Read more about the films below and answer the trivia for your chance to win tickets.
The Secret Society
Digital Premiere – Saturday, March 5 at 12:30 pm (available until March 13 at 11:59 pm)
Edmonton-based director Rebecca Campbell’s thought-provoking documentary brings much-needed attention to a Canadian health crisis little known to viewers who have not been directly affected. Her sensitively rendered film spotlights the struggles of women with infertility issues and the law that prevents them from seeking a solution now common in other parts of the world – hiring egg donors. Presenting a complex issue of women’s health from many sides, Campbell takes a comprehensive yet thoughtful approach that addresses the wider implications while still giving her subjects the chance to share experiences that are intimately personal and deeply felt.
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy
Digital Premiere – Friday, March 4 at 2:00 pm (available until March 13 at 11:59 pm)
A deeply affecting look at the impact of the opioid crisis on a First Nations community, this powerful doc is an acutely personal project for its creator: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. Tailfeathers is a Blackfoot and Sámi actor, producer and filmmaker who audiences may also know from her extraordinary performances in The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open and this year’s KCFF selection Night Raiders. Looking for means to relieve the pain and suffering caused by substance abuse and the overdose epidemic in the Kainai First Nation, Tailfeathers connects with medical professionals, harm-reduction specialists and community members with substance-use disorder in the hopes of finding a way forward while addressing the traumas and inequities that have exacerbated the crisis.
To enter to win, all you have to do is answer the following question:
Which Canuck classic is KCFF screening in memory of filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée?
a) C.R.A.Z.Y.
b) The Young Victoria
c) Café de flore
d) Wild
Need a hint? Check out the KCFF line-up to find out!
Send your answer to info@povmagazine.com with the subject ‘KCFF’ and tell us if you’d prefer digital tickets to Kímmapiiyipitssini or The Secret Society!
