National Geographic Documentary Films Acquires Sundance Film Festival Award-Winner SUGARCANE

The Film, Directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie,

Premiered to Critical and Audience Acclaim at Sundance,

Being Hailed as ‘Stunning’ and ‘Deeply Moving’

On the heels of its fourth Oscar^® nomination in six years, National Geographic Documentary Films announced today it has acquired worldwide rights to SUGARCANE following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month.

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Ed Archie NoiseCat appears in Sugarcane by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by Emily Kassie.

The film — from first-time director and TIME100 Next honoree Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emmy^® and Peabody-nominated investigative journalist and filmmaker Emily Kassie — won the U.S. Documentary Competition Directing Award at Sundance. The Kassie Films and Hedgehog Films production, in association with Impact Partners and Fit Via Vi, was produced by Kassie and Oscar nominee Kellen Quinn. Following its premiere, The Wrap declared: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house … as the lights came up … the audience’s thunderous applause erupted into a standing ovation while filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie took the stage and embraced through tears.”

A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, SUGARCANE is an epic, nuanced and sensitive cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. Amidst the groundbreaking investigation into abuse and murder at an Indian residential school in Canada, the film’s courageous participants break cycles of intergenerational trauma by bearing witness to painful, long-ignored truths and nurturing the love that endures within their families despite the revelation of genocide.

Variety also proclaimed: “SUGARCANE is the product of humane and insightful filmmakers who are determined to never let anyone forget, and put their moral outrage to exemplary good use.”

National Geographic Documentary Films will roll out SUGARCANE at global festivals throughout the rest of the year and release it in theaters before its streaming debut on Disney+.

“SUGARCANE is a cinematic tour de force and a deeply affecting, fearless call to action. The courage and compassion of the film participants and filmmakers shines through as together they unearth the traumas of the past and carve out a path to justice and healing in the present,” said Carolyn Bernstein, Executive Vice President of National Geographic Documentary Films. “It was an honor to witness and experience the profound effect this exquisite film had on the audience at its Sundance Film Festival world premiere. We are thrilled to now give SUGARCANE the global platform it deserves.”

“The truth of what happened at Indian residential and boarding schools across North America was so awful that it was hidden and suppressed by perpetrators and victims alike. But then, brave communities, like the Williams Lake First Nation, started asking questions and looking for answers,” said NoiseCat and Kassie.

“We feel incredibly grateful to have been there to witness and tell the story of their history-making investigation. It changed the lives of so many community members, and it changed ours. National Geographic Documentary Films has a long track record of championing epic and important stories that awaken audiences and transcend their moment. There couldn’t be a better home for SUGARCANE.”

The director of photography for SUGARCANE is Christopher LaMarca, and the cinematographer is Emily Kassie. The film was edited by Nathan Punwar and Maya Daisy Hawke, with music by Mali Obomsawin. Executive producers for the film are Bill Way, Elliott Whitton, Jenny Raskin, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Tegan Acton, Emma Pompetti, Grace Lay, Sumalee Montano, Sabrina Merage Naim, Douglas Choi, Adam and Melony Lewis, Meadow Fund, JanaLee Cherneski and Ian Desai, David and Linda Cornfield, Maida Lynn, and Robina Riccitiello. The co-executive producers are Kelsey Koenig, Lauren Haber, Meryl Metni and Jennifer Pelling.

The deal was negotiated by Josh Braun, Matt Burke and Ben Schwartz of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.

National Geographic Documentary Films has multiple award-winning films under its banner, including the Academy, BAFTA and seven-time Emmy Award-winning “Free Solo,” the Academy Award- and BAFTA-nominated and Peabody and Sundance Award-winning “Fire of Love,” and the Academy Award- and Emmy Award-nominated “The Cave.” Other critically acclaimed films in its collection include BAFTA nominees “The Rescue” and “Becoming Cousteau,” the Sundance and Peabody Award-winning “The Territory,” three-time Emmy Award winner “The First Wave,” Emmy winners “LA 92” and “Jane,” and the short film “The Flagmakers.”

About Julian Brave Noisecat — Director

Julian Brave NoiseCat is a writer, filmmaker and student of Salish art and history. His first documentary, SUGARCANE, directed alongside Emily Kassie, follows an investigation into abuse and missing children at the Indian residential school NoiseCat’s family was sent to near Williams Lake, British Columbia. A proud member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq’escen and descendant of the Lil’Wat Nation of Mount Currie, he is concurrently finishing his first book, We Survived the Night, which will be published by Alfred A. Knopf in North America, Profile Books in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Albin Michel in France and Aufbau Verlag in Germany. NoiseCat’s journalism has appeared in dozens of publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The New Yorker and has been recognized with many awards including the 2022 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, which honors “excellence in long-form, narrative or deep reporting on stories about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the present American landscape.” In 2021, NoiseCat was named to the TIME100 Next list of emerging leaders alongside the starting point guard of his fantasy basketball team, Luka Doncic. Before turning full-time to writing and filmmaking, NoiseCat was a political strategist, policy analyst and cultural organizer. In 2019, he helped lead a grassroots effort to bring an Indigenous canoe journey to San Francisco Bay to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Alcatraz Occupation. Eighteen canoes representing communities from as far north as Canada and as far west as Hawaii participated in the journey, which was covered by dozens of local and national media outlets, including The New York Times. In 2020, he was the first to publicly suggest that Deb Haaland should be appointed Interior Secretary. Working with leaders from Indian Country as well as the progressive and environmental movements, NoiseCat helped turn the idea into a sophisticated inside-outside campaign that drew support from celebrities, activists and even a few conservative politicians. When Haaland was sworn in she became the first Native American cabinet secretary in United States history.

About Emily Kassie — Director, Producer, Cinematographer

Emily Kassie is an Emmy® and Peabody®-nominated investigative journalist and filmmaker. Kassie shoots, directs and reports stories on geopolitical conflict, humanitarian crises, corruption and the people caught in the crossfire. Her work for The New York Times, PBS Frontline, Netflix, and others ranges from drug and weapons trafficking in the Saharan desert, to immigrant detention in the United States. In 2021, she smuggled into Taliban territory with PBS Newshour correspondent Jane Ferguson to report on their imminent siege of Kabul and targeted killing of female leaders. Her work has been honored with multiple Edward R. Murrow, World Press Photo and National Press Photographers awards. Her multimedia feature on the economic exploitation of the Syrian and West African refugee crises won the Overseas Press Club Award and made her the youngest person to win a National Magazine award. She previously oversaw visual journalism at Highline, Huffington Post’s investigative magazine, and at The Marshall Project. Kassie was named to Forbes 30 under 30 in 2020 and is a 2023 New America fellow. Her first documentary, I Married My Family’s Killer, following couples in post-genocide Rwanda, won a Student Academy Award in 2015.

About National Geographic Documentary Films

National Geographic Documentary Films is committed to bringing the world premium, feature documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers in the world. National Geographic Documentary Films is part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society. Our diverse films reach millions worldwide across National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO) and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 135 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. Recent films include the Academy Award ® and BAFTA nominated “Fire of Love,” three-time Emmy Award winner “The First Wave,” two-time Sundance award-winner “The Territory,” BAFTA nominees “The Rescue” and “Becoming Cousteau,” and Academy Award® and BAFTA winner “Free Solo.” For more information visit films.nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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