28.02.24, 20:30, The Body Remembers when the World Broke Open (2019)

When timid Áila finds a sobbing, barefoot woman in the street, she decides to comfort her in a fit of kindness. She finds out that young Rosie has just escaped from her abusive boyfriend and decides to take her home. There, the women process the aftermath of this traumatic event together. Shot on 16mm and largely filmed in one long take, the film paints an intimate portrait of two women and the difficulties in offering and receiving help.

Director Kathleen Hepburn collaborated for the film with lead actress and also writer and director Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. Tailfeathers is a member of the Kainai First Nation and the Sámi from Norway, two nomadic peoples who have endured oppression for generations. The beautifully titled The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open is taken from an essay by indigenous poet Billy-Ray Belcourt and emphasises the way the film reveals the need for indigenous people to care for each other, in a society that is all too often indifferent to their existence.