Return To Manomin

Documentary (2011), 72 min., HD

Realizing they are only a few years away from the complete loss of an ancient tradition, four generations of a family struggle to return to their traditional wild rice lake. Guided by the spirits of her Grandmothers and the wisdom of her aging uncle, filmmaker Michelle Derosier attempts to revive her family’s annual Manomin (wild rice) harvest with hopes of passing on the teachings of her ancestors to her children and grandchildren. This verité-style documentary shot deep in the forests of Northwestern Ontario is about the spiritual connection to the land that defines the Anishinabek and how it can be maintained while living in an ever-changing world.

“This film could be about any Anishinabek family. We belong to these quiet little places tucked away all over the Boreal forest. This is where our ancestors are, this is where our own spirits find what they need to heal from the affects of a historical legacy of being torn away from family, from traditions and the places that bind all these things together. Imagine how many of these places have been lost due to industrial activity. Imagine how many are threatened and what that could mean to whole families and communities.” Michelle Derosier, Director

OFFICIAL SELECTION (World Premiere) Biindigaate Film Festival 2011
OFFICIAL SELECTION American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco 2011

Supported by the Canada Council For the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and Eagle Lake First Nation.