Song of Eskasoni
1993 · 28m · Canada
Directed by Brian Guns
Genres: biography, documentary
Tones: contemplative, tender
In Eskasoni, Cape Breton, Mi'kmaq poet Rita Joe draws inspiration from a community revival of Indigenous tradition and spirituality, and her life and writing embody that renewed cultural pride.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
A reverential doc about cultural reclamation—competent, even moving, but it genuinely doesn't want to complicate the narrative, and that's the one thing that might've made it essential.
A considered portrait of Rita Joe situated squarely in the lineage of Indigenous documentary practice and the NFB's own archival responsibility; the film knows exactly what it's bearing witness to and treats that act of witnessing with formal care.
The decision to let Rita's voice—both spoken and written—carry the film rather than overlay interpretation is deceptively simple, but it's the restraint that transforms what could've been a biographical summary into something that actually breathes with her presence.