Where the Spirit Lives
# Where the Spirit Lives

Where the Spirit Lives is a 1989 television film about Aboriginal children in Canada being taken from their tribes to attend residential schools for assimilation into majority culture. Written by Keith Ross Leckie and directed by Bruce Pittman, it aired on CBC Television on October 29, 1989. It was also shown in the United States on PBS on June 6, 1990, as part of the American Playhouse series and was screened at multiple film festivals in Canada and the United States.

The film stars Michelle St. John as Amelia, a young Kainai girl captured and confined to the residential school system of the 1930s. The system was an attempt to have aboriginal youth to assimilate into the majority European-Canadian culture. Amelia resists assimilation and plans her escape. The film's cast includes Ann-Marie MacDonald and David Hemblen as teachers at the school.

## Plot

In 1937, a young Kainai girl named Ashtoh-Komi (Michelle St. John) is kidnapped along with several other children from a village as part of a Canadian policy to educate Aboriginal children and assimilate them into Canadian/British society. She is taken to a boarding school, where she is forced to adopt Western, Eurocentric ways and learn English, often under harsh treatment. Combined with the rejection of her peers (as she is a so-called "Bush Indian" who has not learnt white customs), Komi attempts to escape one night on foot with her little brother, Pita (Clayton Julian). However her plan is quickly foiled as the Indian Agent assigned to the school, Taggert (Ron White), catches up and brings them back to the school, where Komi is subjected to further punishment. Eventually Rachel (Heather Hess), Komi's only ally among the students, plead with the teachers to free her by promising to teach Komi to behave.

One teacher, Kathleen Gwillimbury (Ann-Marie MacDonald), is portrayed as sympathetic and she becomes repelled by the bigotry of others at the school. She offers Komi help in the form of giving her English lessons which culminate in cultural exchange, where Kathleen learns Kainai words from Komi in exchange for her learning their English counterparts. Now Amelia, Komi improves her English quickly with the kindness and support of her teacher, gradually adjusting to the school environment while retaining her Kainai identity. However, when Amelia learns that the teachers lied to her by telling her her parents had died, she decides to escape again, this time successfully.

## Cast

* Michelle St. John – Ashtoh-Komi/Amelia
* Kim Bruisedhead Fox – Anataki
* Clayton Julian – Pita/Abraham
* Ron White – Taggert
* Ann-Marie MacDonald – Kathleen Gwillimbury
* Doris Petrie – Miss Weir
* Chapelle Jaffe – Miss Appleby
* David Hemblen – Reverend Buckley
* John Friesen – Mr. Babcock
* Patricia Collins – Mrs. Barrington
* Graham Greene – Komi's father
* Heather Hess – Rachel

## Production

The idea for the film originated when the producers and screenwriter were working on the 13-episode CBC television series Spirit Bay, which focused on native children growing up on a Northern Ontario Indian reserve. They "kept hearing bitter stories about residential schools" and were inspired to tell a story about that system in a film.

Primary financing for the film's $2.6 million budget was provided by Telefilm Canada ($1.25 million) and the CBC ($500,000), who secured first rights to the film. Other financing came from the Ontario Film Development Corporation, Mid-Canada TV, and Atlantis Releasing. Canadian film director and producer Norman Jewison "personally contributed $12,500, half the cost of making a theatrical print for film festivals", with the other half supplied by the Ontario Film Development Corp.

The film began shooting on September 26, 1988. Locations included Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta and Toronto.

## Screenings

Although created for television, the film was shot in 35 mm and as a result was able to be screened in theaters. It was shown at various film festivals in Canada and the United States from 1989 through 2002. It was also screened at some colleges and universities, as part of college film festivals, classes, or special events related to Indigenous or Native American studies.

Film festival screenings :

| Date | Festival | Location |
| - | - | - |
| 1989 September 9 | Vancouver International Film Festival | Vancouver, BC |
| 1989 September 13 | Toronto International Film Festival | Toronto, ON |
| 1989 September 23 | Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival | Sudbury, ON |
| 1989 October | Chicago International Film Festival | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1989 October 22, 26, and 28 | Greater Fort Lauderdale Film Festival | Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| 1989 November 11 | American Indian Film Festival | San Francisco, CA |
| 1990 May 13 | Rivertown International Film Festival | Minneapolis–Saint Paul |
| 1990 July 22 | Goodwill Film Festival: A Forum of Young Cinema | Seattle |
| 1990 November 1 | Greater Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, "Back By Popular Demand" series | Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| 1990 November 10 | American Indian Film Festival (repeat screening) | San Francisco, CA |
| 1992 April 30 | WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival | Houston, TX |
| 2002 December | The Best of the 27th Annual American Indian Film Festival | Rapid City, SD |

## Awards

The film won nine awards and was nominated for two additional awards.

| Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1989 | American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco) | Best Director | Bruce Pittman | Won |
| 1989 | Chicago International Film Festival | Television Production – Feature Film Made for TV – Network Special Achievement in Direction (Gold Plaque) | Bruce Pittman | Won |
| 1989 | Vancouver International Film Festival | Most Popular Canadian Film (audience award) | Where the Spirit Lives | Won |
| 1989 | Greater Fort Lauderdale Film Festival | South Florida Critics Special Jury Prize for Drama | Where the Spirit Lives | Won |
| 1990 | Gemini Awards | Best TV Movie | Heather Haldane, Eric Jordan, Mary Young Leckie, and Paul Stephens (producers) | Won |
| 1990 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Michelle St. John | Won |
| 1990 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by a Supporting Actress | Ann-Marie MacDonald | Won |
| 1990 | Gemini Awards | Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series | Michael Todd | Won |
| 1990 | Gemini Awards | Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Bruce Pittman | Nominated |
| 1990 | Gemini Awards | Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Keith Ross Leckie | Nominated |
| 1990 | Lucas International Festival of Films for Children and Young People | Lucas Award | Bruce Pittman | Won |
