It’s an experience you won’t soon forget. Embodying Oblate missionaries in historical drama The shadow of the crowsRémy Girard and Karine Vanasse spent several days filming at the former boarding school in Kamloops, British Columbia, where the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found two years ago.
Photo courtesy of Entract Films
Karine Vanasse in The Shadow of the Crows.
“It was really very moving to shoot in a place steeped in history with such an important presence,” admits Karine Vanasse in an interview and says that I still get chills when I think back to this experience.
“When you arrive in Kamloops you see this huge building in the distance. It can be considered the haunted house of the place, but they decided not to destroy the place so the families could come and pick up the children’s spirits. I love that power to say that we’re going to turn something ugly into something useful. »
Directed by Marie Clements, Bones of Crows chronicles the journey of Cree matriarch Aline Spears (played by actress Grace Dove), from her childhood in Canada’s boarding school system to her battle that led her to the Vatican.
Aware that her film’s subject matter could rekindle painful wounds in her cast (mostly Aboriginal) and members of her film crew, director Marie Clements made sure to create a calm atmosphere on her set.
“When we had to shoot more difficult scenes for the kids, elders came to do cleaning sessions for the whole team,” says Karine Vanasse.
“For the abuse scenes, there was a lot of emphasis on the actors making it clear that it wasn’t us doing it. I’ve never lived on a set where the spirit world is called that out of respect for the story we were telling. »
Photo courtesy of Entract Films
Rémy Girard in a scene from the film The Shadow of the Crows.
“We felt that being in real places gave a spiritual, mystical dimension to what we were playing,” adds Rémy Girard. Knowing we were in the same corridors, with the same doors, the same floors, the same walls. The children lived there. »
For the two Quebec actors, the presence of the children’s spirits was felt throughout filming.
“When we were shooting in Kamloops, it had been a little over a year since the bodies were discovered,” recalls Karine Vanasse. Looking out the window of the boarding school between takes, you could see the stuffed animals and crosses that the children’s families had left where they had been found. »
A duty to remember
Rémy Girard, like everyone else, was devastated to learn of the discovery of the bodies of 215 children on the grounds of the Kamloops Residential School in May 2021. The idea of collaborating on a film chronicling this dark part of our history caught on immediately.
“I think it’s the first time in the film that we’re taking the Aboriginal point of view. It is an indigenous production written, directed and produced by indigenous people with indigenous actors and technicians. There are only two white people in the film and that’s Karine and me. That was something new for me. I found the scenario interesting because we didn’t know the basics of this story. Then we really see what happened. »
Same story on Karine Vanasse’s page:
“We’re very proud that the film’s producers gave themselves the time and resources to tell this story well,” she argues.
“The director was really intrigued by the project. There was a determination but also a great light behind her. There was neither resentment nor anger behind the film. Rather, the project was motivated by a desire to tell this story with the aim of truth and reconciliation. »
♦ Crow Shadow (bones of crows) hits theaters on June 2nd.