Shooting in Kahnawake, Kanesatake, Oka and Montreal, BEANS is the first narrative film depiction of the historic 1990 Oka Crisis in Quebec from the perspective of a 12-year-old Mohawk girl
Montreal, QC – EMAfilms and the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) are proud to announce that production began in late August on the feature film BEANS, and is scheduled to run until early October. Directed by award-winning Mohawk filmmaker Tracey Deer, who co-wrote the script with Meredith Vuchnich, the film depicts a 12-year-old Mohawk girl’s coming-of-age during the harrowing Oka Crisis in Quebec in 1990. It also marks the first feature film to explore the event narratively onscreen.
Director Tracey Deer, creator of the multi-award-winning, long-running series Mohawk Girls, was a recipient of the Birks Diamond Tribute Award, and a participant in the 2018 TIFF Filmmaker Lab and 2017 TIFF Studio. She was inspired by her childhood experiences to create this film. “I was twelve years old during the Oka Crisis and that experience completely shaped my understanding of my place in this country and how unsafe it is to be an Indigenous person,” says Deer. “I want better for future generations, and that is only possible if attitudes change and allies come on board; so my hope is that the film will give people a new perspective of our reality to build bridges of understanding and compassion.”
Anne-Marie Gélinas (Turbo Kid) from EMAfilms, producer of BEANS, has worked with Deer for the past seven years to develop and finance the film. “I believe this story is an essential one that needs to take its long overdue place in Canadian Cinema,” added Gélinas.
Co-writer and CFC alumna Meredith Vuchnich is a well-seasoned dramatic and comedic television writer. Vuchnich will also be serving as executive producer, together with CFC’s Justine Whyte. Additionally, the team includes cinematographer Marie Davignon, production designer André Chamberland, and costume designer Eric Poirier.
Joining the filmmakers is a dynamic cast of Indigenous actors who are bringing the brilliant script vividly to life. The lead role of Beans is portrayed by Kiawentiio Tarbell (Anne with an E); Beans’ friend April is played by Paulina Jewel Alexis; Beans’ younger sister Ruby is portrayed by delightful newcomer Violah Beauvais; theatre vet Rainbow Dickerson (Chicago Fire) plays Beans’ mother, Lily; BC actor Joel Montgrand (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) plays Beans’ father, Kania’Tariio; D’Pharaoh Woon-a-Tai (Murdoch Mysteries) plays Hank, April’s brother; and the role of Gary, Hank and April’s father, is played by Jay Cardinal Villeneuve (The Revenant).
BEANS was one of two projects that CFC Features, in partnership with Bell Media’s Crave, selected for development in 2018, in consultation with Women in View, to recruit promising projects by female directors. “I’m excited and proud to have CFC support these three talented female filmmakers realize the story of BEANS, allowing audiences, through the power and magic of cinema, the opportunity to revisit and reinterpret the pivotal role the Oka crisis has played in Canadian history,” shared Justine Whyte, Director & Executive Producer, CFC Features.
CFC Features invests in and collaborates with the most promising filmmakers across Canada to bring their stories to the big screen. It has produced 24 critically and commercially successful films to date; BEANS marks the 25th feature to be developed and financed for production with the support of CFC Features.
Gélinas negotiated and secured production financing for the film from Telefilm Canada; SODEC; the Canadian Media Fund; Crave, a division of Bell Media; and CFC Features, among others. The project received instrumental support in the script’s development from The Harold Greenberg Fund and the TIFF-CBC Films 2018 Screenwriter Award. BEANS will be distributed by Mongrel Media in English Canada and Metropole Films in Quebec and will be released in fall 2020, followed by a streaming premiere on Crave.
Development at CFC Features is supported by the Government of Ontario, with production support and financing provided by valued program partner, Crave, a division of Bell Media.
About EMAfilms
EMAfilms is a production company that produces stories for big and small screens, both inspiring and entertaining and with potential for international outreach. It is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year with the release of two independent films, Lepage au Soleil and Third Wedding. EMAfilms founder and producer, Anne-Marie Gélinas, works with innovative and ambitious writers and directors from around the world. Her credits include Turbo Kid (winner of the 2015 Saturn Award for Best Foreign Film), Radius, Mars and Avril, and War Witch (line producer). emafilms.com
About CFC
The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable cultural organization that supports, develops and accelerates the content, careers and companies of Canadian creative and entrepreneurial talent in the screen-based and digital industries. Its uniquely designed programs and initiatives span film, television, screen acting, screen composing and songwriting, and innovative work in the digital media and entertainment technology industries, all of which continue to push boundaries and generate world-class content, products and companies for the global marketplace. cfccreates.com
