Alamy
Director Myriam Verreault’s Innu drama following a pair of childhood friends (Sharon Ishpatao Fontaine and Yamie Grégoire) whose friendship is tested as their lives evolve in very different ways gives new meaning to the idea that what is specific can be universal. Verreault and co-screenwriter Naomi Fontaine draw audiences into the story of two girls who share the same promise of many their age: to be there for each other forever. Using their tightknit First Nations community as a backdrop to highlight the prevalence of love and familial protection, as well as a proliferation of drugs and abuse, the filmmakers focus on the complex relationship between the young women whose lives and desires send them in opposite directions as they grow up. The ardent Shaniss (Grégoire) becomes a mother early in her life and often leans on Mikuan (Fontaine) and her family for support. Meanwhile, Mikuan takes an interest in poetry and falls for a white boy whose mere presence suggests to Sh