The Faith Project - Kindest Spirit
2015 · 5m · Canada
Genres: coming-of-age, documentary
Tones: contemplative, tender
Cree student and youth mentor Ivana Yellowback balances urban life in Winnipeg with staying connected to her land and traditional practices. She helps other Indigenous youth find that balance after centuries of suppression.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Everyone expects a redemption narrative from Indigenous youth stories—this one quietly refuses to perform that arc, letting Ivana's life be exactly as complicated and grounded as it actually is, which is somehow more radical than any explicit provocation.
A thoughtful addition to the documentary lineage of identity-balancing narratives, with careful attention to the spaces between assertion and silence—the editing respects what doesn't need to be said about cultural continuity.
The decision to center Ivana's voice and presence rather than external narration or crisis creates an intimacy that makes the whole film breathe differently; it's a small formal choice that transforms mentorship from abstract concept into lived, embodied practice.