Cree matriarch Aline Spears survives a childhood in Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse. She uses her uncanny ability to understand and translate codes into working for a special division of the Canadian Air Force as a Cree code talker in World War II. The story unfolds over 100 years with a cumulative force that propels us into the future.
Bones of Crows is an epic drama that spans generations of an Indigenous family's experience in Canada. It weaves together the stories of siblings who survive the residential school system and later serve in the Canadian military. The film explores their resilience, trauma, and fight for justice against a backdrop of systemic oppression and cultural erasure.
Bones of Crows has been recognized for its powerful storytelling and its unflinching portrayal of the devastating impact of Canada's residential school system and its intergenerational trauma. Critics have praised its ambition, its emotional depth, and its vital contribution to Indigenous representation in film. While some noted its sprawling narrative, the overall reception highlights its importance as a historical document and a moving artistic statement.
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Won Best Motion Picture at the Vancouver International Film Festival (2022) and was honored at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
The film's narrative structure was inspired by the concept of the medicine wheel, with each of the five filmmaking siblings representing a spoke.
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